Easter Eggs: Video Game Samples Of MF DOOM
Video game classic's become MF DOOM cult classic's.
Easter Eggs is a format looking at archival video games and the impact they’ve had on cultural icons and phenomena.
Growing up, MF DOOM had cited music, comics and video games as three loves that had stuck with him throughout his life. But while it’s easy to trace names from Sade to Scooby Doo to Steely Dan in his music - video games remain far more of an enigma.
Diving into the back catalogue there are some surprising moments where MF DOOM’s love for video games reveal themselves. Take “Do Not Fire” for example, a short 53 second bridge on his highly celebrated Madvillainy album with Madlib. Around the 9 second mark, you can hear the signature moves of Dhalism from Street Fighter II.
Video: DIYtegirl
Moreover, on the full version of PENNYROYAL, for his Special Herbs Vol. 5 & 6, MF DOOM samples the demons and the shotgun blast from the era defining DOOM video game, in a very self-aware way. While these sounds first appear as a very subtle backdrop during the song, it completely opens up in the outro.
Video: DIYtegirl
MF DOOM always operated with a lot of secrecy, so these hidden samples manifest like stealthy Easter Eggs in his creative process. Tracking and dissecting these always feels like a rewarding journey for his most passionate followers. It allowed them to focus on digging into MF DOOM’s mind through his music rather than his fleeting public presence.
I like to think that these small video game samples hidden in bridging songs and outros are testament to the unmatchable depth of cultural knowledge and sophistication that MF DOOM had. While we may never hear a new track from him (unless AI has something to say about it), as we continue to dive into his archives, there’s something reassuring about the surprises that still await us within the familiar.