Formerly known as Zev Love X from the early '90s crew K.M.D., MF Doom's 1999 debut full-length Operation Doomsday, on Bobbito's Fondle 'Em Records, was undoubtedly one of the year's finest albums. Strapped with a descriptive and charismatic, multidimensional rhyme style, Doom's lyrical skills put most emcees to shame. As fierce as his verses are, he is also an incredible producer, with an affinity for '80s loops and dirty drum sounds sorely lacking in an increasingly synth-based medium. Interspersed with freaky storybook record snippets, he weaves an intricate web of nonstop sonic magic incomparable to 99 percent of modern hip-hop. Guest spots feature DJ Cucumber Slice, Kurious, MF Grimm, the Monster Island posse, and more. Since then, Doom has released an extraordinary amount of material on several different labels. K.M.D.'s legendary Black Bastards LP from '94 finally came out, followed by a Best of K.M.D. compilation. Under the pseudonym Viktor Vaughn, he dropped the electro-freaky Vaudeville Villain (Sound-Ink) in 2003, and VV2 (Insomniac) the following year. As King Geedorah (his M.I.C. alias) he wowed fans with Take Me To Your Leader on the UK label Big Dada, and the highly-anticipated Mmmm...Food hit the scene through Rhymesayers in 2004. That same year saw Doom teaming up with fellow eccentric Madlib for the undeniably classic Madvillainy project, all the while he has produced seemingly dozens of instrumental records for his ongoing Special Herbs series, plus a concert album Live From Planet X, and a collaborative effort with longtime homie MF Grimm. In 2005, Doom stands as one of if not the biggest star in the crowded underground hip-hop circuit, adored by fans worldwide and selling out shows everywhere he plays. On deck is the DangerDoom LP with Dangermouse (in conjunction with a cartoon show on Adult Swim), and an upcoming project with Wu-Tang all-star and fellow comic book nerd Ghostface. If fresh samples, bangin' beats, and high-caliber lyricism are what you're into, few can do it with more flair and originality than MF Doom.