Following the shocking news of MF DOOM's death at age 49, Lupe Fiasco has paid tribute to to the late legend by explaining how inspirational he was.
Messages of respect for the Madvillainy rapper have been flooding in ever since his wife Jasmine revealed he died on Oct. 31, 2020, and Lupe has been hit particularly hard by the news. While he's understandably heartbroken by the loss, he made a suggestion that rappers refer to "similes" as "Dumiles," as a small gesture to one of the genre's greats.
"To whom it may concern: I ask and propose that from this point forward all rappers from everywhere and from every style and every level in the craft refer to 'Similes” as 'Dumiles,'" he wrote. "Pronounced 'Doom-ah-lays.' A small gesture for a fallen master. MF DOOM 🙏🏾 Can I get a 2nd?"
He followed-up with a tweet that highlighted just how much of an impact DOOM had on him as a rapper, too. "'When they get to know us people dig us, leaders in the fights for equal rights for niggas...' -MF DOOM. One of my favorite lines of all-time. Wanted to be like him," wrote Lupe, who then compared one of his own lines to DOOM. "'Sit back and watch the world through the eyeholes in my oil paintings,' -LF Trying His Best To Be Like MF."
A few hours later, Lupe shared a touching freestyle that he recorded in honor of DOOM. "Thanx DOOM... I learned so much from you about the art of rapping," he wrote. "Studied and analyzed you for years as recently as a few days ago. I wish I could've met you to tell you that... Here's some raps... Rest easy."
Rapped in a style very similar to DOOM, with plenty of wordplay, he even quotes some of his iconic lines. "Living off borrowed time the clock tick faster, MCs in the class observe the slick master," he raps. "Exactly how you taught, we'll take it from here, look how far you brought us."
Listen to the freestyle above.