Biography
KMD distinguished itself through an uncommon mix of wry comedy and assertive Black awareness. Emerging in the late 1980s as one of rap’s most inventive and hopeful outfits, the Long Beach, New York threesome gained early notice when founding member Zev Love X appeared on, and supplied the title for, “The Gas Face,” the biggest single from 3rd Bass’s debut album. Although the group issued just one record during its original run, that effort, Mr. Hood, proved substantial. At once playful and pointed, the album generated a pair of singles that reached the charts after their videos rotated on Yo! MTV Raps and later earned a spot on Ego Trip’s ranked list of the finest hip-hop LPs of 1991. Work on the follow-up, the more confrontational Black Bastards, was derailed by the death of DJ Subroc—who served as both producer and MC alongside his older brother Zev—and by a combination of press misreadings and label hesitation over the intended meaning of the group’s visuals and themes. When the project eventually received an official commercial release, KMD had already disbanded and Zev Love X had transformed himself into MF Doom.
Formed in Long Beach in 1988 under the full name Kausing Much Damage (or, alternatively, a Positive Kause in a Much Damaged Society), the crew originally consisted of brothers Zev Love X and DJ Subroc. They were first joined by Rodan, who departed to finish high school, then by Onyx the Birthstone Kid. The teenage lineup secured backing from 3rd Bass, forging a mutually beneficial alliance. Zev’s coinage for an expression of contempt supplied both title and premise for “The Gas Face,” the second single from 3rd Bass’s Def Jam debut The Cactus Album; the track entered Billboard’s rap chart in January 1990 and climbed to number five. Zev’s cameo on the song also served as KMD’s introduction, leading to the group’s signing with Elektra by A&R executive Dante Ross, who had earlier brought De La Soul, Queen Latifah, and Digital Underground to Tommy Boy. The trio’s first release under the new deal was the buoyant “Peachfuzz,” which reached the rap chart the next February yet fell just short of the Top Ten. Their debut album, Mr. Hood, arrived in May with 3rd Bass members MC Serch and Prime Minister Pete Nice credited as executive producers and spawned the charting single “Who Me?,” a pointed critique of racial slurs and conduct. Apart from a guest spot by fellow Five Percent Nation artists and labelmates Brand Nubian plus production help on two cuts from Ross’s Stimulated Dummies team, the project was created entirely in-house, with all three members contributing to writing, beats, and vocals. It logged ten weeks on Billboard’s Hot R&B Albums chart, overlapping with 3rd Bass’s return via Derelicts of Dialect, which included KMD on “Ace in the Hole.”
Much like 3rd Bass, KMD would record only one more album, yet its route to release proved circuitous and marked by loss. Onyx exited during the sessions, and before completion Subroc was fatally struck by a car while crossing New York’s Nassau Expressway. Grieving, Zev Love X completed the record, a harder-edged collection compared with Mr. Hood. The lead single “What a N*gga Know?” (also styled “What a N*ggy Know?”) appeared in April 1994. Promotional copies of the parent album, Black Bastards, began circulating at the same time. Two Billboard columns sharply criticized the title and cover art, which depicted a Sambo figure as the target in a hangman game; the illustration was interpreted by some as endorsing lynching rather than symbolizing the demise of a racist stereotype. KMD’s earlier sleeves, beginning with the crossed-out Sambo image on “Peachfuzz,” along with the lyrics and video for “Who Me?,” had already clarified Zev’s pro-Black perspective across multiple formats. Mounting external pressure nevertheless led Elektra to shelve the May 1994 release, drop the group, and provide Zev a settlement plus permission to place the album elsewhere. A partial version, Black Bastards (Black Bastards Ruffs + Rares), surfaced in 1998 on Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ’Em imprint, by which time Zev had resurfaced in mask as MF Doom, also on Fondle ’Em. The complete Black Bastards finally appeared in 2000 on Doom’s Metal Face label and was reissued in 2015 as a deluxe edition that included a pop-up book. Doom, the inventive and widely admired MC and producer formerly known as Zev Love X, died in 2020.
Formed in Long Beach in 1988 under the full name Kausing Much Damage (or, alternatively, a Positive Kause in a Much Damaged Society), the crew originally consisted of brothers Zev Love X and DJ Subroc. They were first joined by Rodan, who departed to finish high school, then by Onyx the Birthstone Kid. The teenage lineup secured backing from 3rd Bass, forging a mutually beneficial alliance. Zev’s coinage for an expression of contempt supplied both title and premise for “The Gas Face,” the second single from 3rd Bass’s Def Jam debut The Cactus Album; the track entered Billboard’s rap chart in January 1990 and climbed to number five. Zev’s cameo on the song also served as KMD’s introduction, leading to the group’s signing with Elektra by A&R executive Dante Ross, who had earlier brought De La Soul, Queen Latifah, and Digital Underground to Tommy Boy. The trio’s first release under the new deal was the buoyant “Peachfuzz,” which reached the rap chart the next February yet fell just short of the Top Ten. Their debut album, Mr. Hood, arrived in May with 3rd Bass members MC Serch and Prime Minister Pete Nice credited as executive producers and spawned the charting single “Who Me?,” a pointed critique of racial slurs and conduct. Apart from a guest spot by fellow Five Percent Nation artists and labelmates Brand Nubian plus production help on two cuts from Ross’s Stimulated Dummies team, the project was created entirely in-house, with all three members contributing to writing, beats, and vocals. It logged ten weeks on Billboard’s Hot R&B Albums chart, overlapping with 3rd Bass’s return via Derelicts of Dialect, which included KMD on “Ace in the Hole.”
Much like 3rd Bass, KMD would record only one more album, yet its route to release proved circuitous and marked by loss. Onyx exited during the sessions, and before completion Subroc was fatally struck by a car while crossing New York’s Nassau Expressway. Grieving, Zev Love X completed the record, a harder-edged collection compared with Mr. Hood. The lead single “What a N*gga Know?” (also styled “What a N*ggy Know?”) appeared in April 1994. Promotional copies of the parent album, Black Bastards, began circulating at the same time. Two Billboard columns sharply criticized the title and cover art, which depicted a Sambo figure as the target in a hangman game; the illustration was interpreted by some as endorsing lynching rather than symbolizing the demise of a racist stereotype. KMD’s earlier sleeves, beginning with the crossed-out Sambo image on “Peachfuzz,” along with the lyrics and video for “Who Me?,” had already clarified Zev’s pro-Black perspective across multiple formats. Mounting external pressure nevertheless led Elektra to shelve the May 1994 release, drop the group, and provide Zev a settlement plus permission to place the album elsewhere. A partial version, Black Bastards (Black Bastards Ruffs + Rares), surfaced in 1998 on Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ’Em imprint, by which time Zev had resurfaced in mask as MF Doom, also on Fondle ’Em. The complete Black Bastards finally appeared in 2000 on Doom’s Metal Face label and was reissued in 2015 as a deluxe edition that included a pop-up book. Doom, the inventive and widely admired MC and producer formerly known as Zev Love X, died in 2020.
Albums
