MF DOOM’s Metalface Records reissue KMD’s “Black Bastards”.

This year marks 30 years since the KMD cult album Black bastards was born. The duo consisted of MF Doom – then called Zev Love X – and his brother DJ Subroc.

The Instagram of the late MF Doom, who died in 2020 at the age of 49, confirmed it this week Black bastards gets a special reissue teasing “Red Vinyl Gatefold Edition”, “Standard Black Vinyl” and apparel.

The 30-year reissue will be out on March 31st via Dooms Metalface Records (as indicated by various outlets including Consequence and HipHopDX).

KMD released Black bastards in 2000, but the official website listing the product contextualizes the plate’s true origin and enduring meaning:

“Unfortunately, Subroc faced a sudden and untimely death in 1993, just as the duo was finishing the album. Wracked with grief, his brother Zev Love X – now the only remaining member of the group – was determined to carry on the legacy of KMD, but Elektra Records unceremoniously shelved the project at the eleventh hour due to controversy surrounding the provocative cover artwork of the album . After the fallout with Elektra, Zev tried for years to release the album on other labels, but kept hitting dead ends. Struggling through the pain of losing his brother, coupled with the inability to release their latest project together, a discouraged Zev Love X quietly withdrew from the scene and quietly began plotting his revenge against an industry that had mentally broken him had. So to understand the true origin story of supervillain MF Doom, one must recognize and appreciate the development of his earlier group KMD and the backstory of their pivotal album. Black bastards.”

News of MF Doom’s unexpected death broke in December 2020. His wife Jasmine issued a statement confirming Doom “passed over” on October 31, 2020.

In 2021, the Long Beach City Council honored the late legend’s legacy by naming a street after him: MF Doom Way.

“His hip-hop lyrics display some of the best linguistic metaphors in the culture and inspire intergenerational and interracial admiration,” said Dr. Patrick Graham, a former MF Doom schoolmate, in a statement on the MF Doom Way petition (as transmitted by Stereogum). at that time). “His life and art symbolize the resilience we need in our current context.”