Masked rapper Doom (see too: his alter-ego MF DOOM) toured Europe for the first time this spring. Result: sold-out halls from London to Amsterdam (Paradiso) to the VK in Brussels. It was about time to...

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Masked rapper Doom (see too: his alter-ego MF DOOM) toured Europe for the first time this spring. Result: sold-out halls from London to Amsterdam (Paradiso) to the VK in Brussels. It was about time too, as Doom (Daniel Dumile to his friends) started freestyling under that name back in ’97 in the famous Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan (with a sock over his head then already). His nom de plume is derived from the comic-strip series based upon super-villain Doctor Doom, who also inspired Kool Keith better known as Dr. Octagon (see: his Dr. Dooom project). The sock soon became a mask like that of his comic-strip hero. Since then, Doom has never performed without. Furthermore: he never allows himself to be photographed without it.

He debuted in '99 with ‘Operation: Doomsday’ under the name MF Doom (or rather: Metal Face Doom). His breakthrough came in ’04 with the album ‘Madvillainy’ under the name Madvillain with collaboration of Madlib. The album ‘The Mouse And The Mask’ with Danger Mouse, under the moniker Danger Doom, made him known to a broader audience of music-lovers too. He had his status confirmed by the fact that he was often to be heard as guest rapper to Gorillaz and Thom Yorke remixed one of his tracks. Those who want to be properly prepared should of course take another listen to his most recent album ‘Born Like This’ (from ’09) under the moniker Doom, and also take a surf on the web so as to be able to distinguish between his alter-egos (including Metal Fingers, King Geedorah or Viktor Vaughn.

Support act will be the avant-première of 'Back To Scratch' by DJ Grazzhoppa's DJ Big Band. Following previous detours via jazz and world-music, with Back To Scratch' this DJ Big Band returns to the essence of turntablism: hip hop. No less than 6 DJs will set themselves behind the wheels of steel and the ones and twos.