Nearly three years after MF DOOM’s death, the revered artist’s widow, Jasmine Dumile, has been reported to have pointed to concerns surrounding the circumstances of his hospitalization.
As first reported by Leeds Live this week, doctors have said that symptoms DOOM experienced that led him to the hospital were due to a “rare” reaction he had to recently prescribed ACE inhibitors. Formally known as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, this type of medication is prescribed to help lower blood pressure in patients.
According to the report, which cited statements made in connection with a still-in-progress investigation, the reaction caused DOOM to experience angiodema, defined as a “sudden swelling that is often caused by an allergic reaction.” The report adds that DOOM’s “tongue and throat had started to swell” when he went to the hospital. At the time, he was reportedly only two doses into the medication's process.
As for the specifics hospital-related questions, Jasmin is quoted as saying that DOOM had called her “in distress” while in the hospital. At this time, per the report, DOOM is alleged in a statement to the Wakefield Coroner’s Court to have been put in an old room that “wasn’t set up” to modern expectations. According to Jasmin, she simultaneously called nurses using another phone to inform them of her husband’s condition.
Also being questioned by Jasmin and lawyers are issues including how often he was checked on in the hospital and why staff allegedly waited two hours to administer meds for his swollen throat.
On Oct. 21, the report notes, DOOM experienced difficulty breathing and attempted to get off his hospital bed when he “collapsed and suffered respiratory arrest.”
Due to the state of COVID-19 in 2020, DOOM’s wife was not allowed to visit him in the hospital; in fact, she’s quoted as saying, she “was not able to see him until the 31st [of October]—that’s when the respirator was turned off that was helping him breathe.”
When reached by Complex on Wednesday, a rep for MF DOOM's estate said they had no comment.
In December 2020, Jasmine announced MF DOOM’s death two months earlier at the age of 49.
“The greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover and friend I could ever ask for,” she said in a statement at the time. “Thank you for all the things you have shown, taught and given to me, our children and our family. Thank you for teaching me how to forgive beings and give another chance, not to be so quick to judge and write off. Thank you for showing how not to be afraid to love and be the best person I could ever be. My world will never be the same without you. Words will never express what you and Malachi mean to me, I love both and adore you always. May THE ALL continue to bless you, our family and the planet.”
The massively influential artist’s transition was mourned in tribute messages shared by Tyler, the Creator, Q-Tip, Playboi Carti, Questlove, Lupe Fiasco, and numerous others. Lupe, notably, said he had “learned so much” from DOOM about “the art of rapping.” He also later shared a special freestyle in DOOM's honor.
In March of this year, Jasmine again urged the return of the late artist’s handwritten notebooks. Previously, Now-Again Records founder Eothen “Egon” Alapatt had been accused of refusing to turn over the notebooks after "many unsuccessful attempts" to get them back.
