Has MF Doom taken his fake-out too far?
Here’s something that I wrote for Current Music a couple weeks ago:
MF Doom is at it again. The underground emcee managed to aggravate a whole room of fans on Saturday by billing a fake show at LA’s GrandStar Jazz Club. After standing around through opening acts and DJs, fans began to suspect that something wasn’t right when someone assumed to be Doom took the stage and then didn’t even take the mic. Boos erupted, and some of the commotion was even caught on tape by upset concert-goers.Take a look at some fan footage from the venue and decide on the situation yourself:
Mischief has always been a large part of Doom’s persona. There were a few other live fake-outs in 2007, one of the most notable being the possible imposter at the Pitchfork Music Festival this year.
In March, Doom told Rolling Stone that the hijinks are a deliberate part of his persona:
“Everything that we do is villain style,” Doom says. “Everybody has the right to get it or not get it. Once I throw it out, it’s there for interpretation. It might’ve seemed like it didn’t go well, but how do we know that wasn’t just pre-orchestrated so that we’re talking about it now? I tell you one thing: People are asking more now for live shows and I’m charging more, so it must’ve worked somewhere.”
Since writing it, I’ve thought even more about the orchestration of image being just as much a part of production as the artistry itself — whether in music, movies, or some other form of entertainment. An especially relevant name that comes to mind right now when considering image in the public eye is Lady GaGa. Every time she makes an appearance anywhere, both on stage and off, spectators try to figure out how much the extravagance and sometimes downright strange costuming is gimmick-y and how much is just an expression of who she really is? I mean, is she seriously the kind of person who goes around wearing Kermit coats? What about that video of her singing at the piano in 2005, before all the glitz and outrageous accoutrement? Is that who she is? People get yet another curveball thrown at them when they then discover that someone who seems so off-the-wall and seemingly inaccessible is also the kind of person who sends waiting fans pizza as a consolation. (Shana of BeGayLittleBird.com called Lady Gaga 2009′s greatest meme.)
The New York Times also recently published a piece on Megan Fox, another early-twenties celebrity who’s part of a different field but talks extensively about the image she creates and perpetuates in order to be successful (and keep her private life her own). PR and public image have been a huge part of the entertainment industry, but unlike celebrities of the 30s and forties, for instance, I find it interesting how much the orchestration of a person’s image is openly talked about today. It’s as much a part of the production process as the creation of whatever music or movies these people get attached to. Sometimes it because the image is a deliberate part of the artwork, which seems to be the case with someone Lady Gaga or MF Doom, and then other times, it seems more like a necessity for the job, because of how prevalent tabloid culture is today.
Then again, they all sort of exist on the same spectrum. The lines between real and fake are constantly being blurred anymore. That’s probably a large part of why I ultimately tune it out when consumers complain about manufactured personas, because we already live in a world where The Hills is a popular television show. I kind of doubt real separation is even possible at this point.
