The beauty of Operation: Doomsday was although it’s a full length album that retained the raw, gritty underground demo-ish feel of the 12″s that fueled it (note: the versions that appear on the album were re-recorded and sound much more polished than their original 1997 incarnations). Fondle Em‘s catalog appealed to the same audience as indie Rap labels like Rawkus, Solesides (Quannum Projects), Rhymesayers Entertainment, Fat Beats, Eastern Conference and Def Jux. This helped to strengthen and further bolster the growing number of underground artists making classic material away from the mainstream.
DOOM’s audience grew steadily as the album built an organic following. Once it became available in record stores in following months and he began to tour as underground Rap came into its own as a force to be reckoned with.
The re-emergence and steady ascent of MF DOOM from obscurity to underground champion between 1997 and 2000 corresponded directly to the rise of the independent Rap scene following the split with the mainstream rap industry. A new crop of artists became prominent in Rap supported by a devoted fan base with new classics to advocate for. Here we are 15 years later and DOOM’s original mission is still underway.
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