Talk:MF Doom
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Why doesn't Wikipedia write "MF DOOM" in all capital letters?
Wikipedia has its own manual of style, and does not write things in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. See MOS:ALLCAPS for more information. But that's how Doom wrote his own name!
On Wikipedia, secondary sources (such as coverage in Rolling Stone or the New York Times) are more important than primary sources (such as Doom's albums or singles). In other words, how Doom chose to write his own name isn't as important to Wikipedia as how other reliable sources write it. See WP:PSTS for more information. Can't we make an exception?
Per MOS:BIOEXCEPT, Wikipedia makes exceptions to its style guide only when an overwhelming majority of reliable secondary sources use that exceptional style. This is not the case for Doom. Some reliable sources write "DOOM" uppercase, while others write "Doom" lowercase. For examples of how the name is written in secondary sources published since 2020, see this non-exhaustive list. Why does Wikipedia say MF Doom was British-American?
Wikipedia is based on reliable secondary sources. These sources variously describe Doom as American, British-American or British-born. The consensus among Wikipedia editors is that "British-American" is the best compromise for the lead sentence. It reflects the plurality of sources and is a reasonable interpretation of his identity. The complexity of MF Doom's nationality and citizenship is described in detail in the article body. |
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Please change the capitalization of his name to be all caps.
[edit]The reasoning in the FAQ is really dumb. "how DOOM chose to write his own name isn't as important to Wikipedia as how other sources write it". He himself is the most reliable source there is. You're going to value some other source's opinions more than his own words?
He made an entire song about how his name is spelled in all caps, called "All Caps". Even if it doesn't follow Wikipedia's style and guidelines, this change would be entirely harmless and it would make fans satisfied. Please just respect his legacy. Tylertcfan758 (talk) 12:36, 24 December 2024 (UTC)
- Wikipedia has rules. This article is on Wikipedia. This article follows the rules of Wikipedia. Popcornfud (talk) 13:28, 24 December 2024 (UTC)
- "Wikipedia has no firm rules" Wikipedia#Policies and content. Smirkjuice (talk) 05:42, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
- @Popcornfud Annoying post. Beyond what @Smirkjuice pointed out, WP:IGNOREALLRULES, and the fact that the article title that you claim "follows the rules of Wikipedia" already has one word fully capitalized, where exactly in the rules are capitalization schemes for nicknames mentioned? I've seen plenty rendered with no caps, which violates english grammar conventions; I'm confident that this article's title falls exclusively under WP:COMMONNAME, and MF DOOM would appear to be the common name. Kaotao (talk) 08:44, 16 February 2025 (UTC)
- Thank you, DOOM deserves respect. Musicmf (talk) 05:11, 11 March 2025 (UTC)
- If you look at the sources, many of them have "MF Doom", and none of them have "Mf Doom". That is why Wikipedia capitalizes the first two letters. jlwoodwa (talk) 00:51, 6 April 2025 (UTC)
- DOOM spells his name as MF DOOM in every single album he did throughout his career Cxuzush (talk) 03:58, 27 April 2025 (UTC)
- Wikipedia doesn't care how he spelled it. See the FAQ. Popcornfud (talk) 15:13, 27 April 2025 (UTC)
- @Popcornfud
- Articles that have his name spelt as MF DOOM:
- https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mf-doom-madlib-madvillain-egon-1142507/
- https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/estate-of-late-rapper-mf-doom-sues-temu-over-alleged-counterfeit-merchandise/ar-AA1Krh1U
- https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/madvillain-madvillainy-demos/
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/mf-doom-handwritten-notebooks-returned-widow-legal-battle/
- https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/kurious-mf-doom-rap-new-album-interview-1235113062/
- https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mf-doom-mm-food-20th-anniversary-edition/
- https://pitchfork.com/features/article/untangling-mf-dooms-lifelong-struggle-with-the-us-immigration-system/
- https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/madlib-mf-doom-madvillainy-accordion-sample-1234709391/
- https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/10-songs-that-show-why-mfandnbspdoomandnbspwas-the-ultimate-rappers-rapper/ Veberet (talk) 18:31, 10 December 2025 (UTC)
- it also pains me to see it written like this, but titlecase "Doom" is significantly more common according to Google Ngrams LGaps (talk) 22:03, 13 April 2026 (UTC)
- Wikipedia doesn't care how he spelled it. See the FAQ. Popcornfud (talk) 15:13, 27 April 2025 (UTC)
- DOOM spells his name as MF DOOM in every single album he did throughout his career Cxuzush (talk) 03:58, 27 April 2025 (UTC)
- i found an example of an article where the artist is stylized in all lowercase, but i guess all caps can't be? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_hooks ~2026-28483-13 (talk) 20:46, 11 May 2026 (UTC)
- Additionally, MGMT, NSYNC, AC/DC, DMX, and ABBA are all caps in the titles, and many artists such as Kiss (Band), Knower, and Haim (band) all feature all caps names immediately after the initial name. Johnsonsmith12 (talk) 17:38, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- As someone who's been cleaning up some of the usage of all caps for the subject in other articles, I think it sounds reasonable to follow the style of those last 3 pages here, i.e. (stylized in all caps as MF DOOM or DOOM) though that should be the only time it's written that way in the article text. ᴸᵃᶠᶠʸTaffer💬(they/she) In solidarity 17:44, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- MGMT, AC/DC, DMX and ABBA are all either initialisms or acronyms and so should be capitalized per MOS:CAPSACRS. This doesn't apply to Doom.
- I assume NSYNC is capitalized on Wikipedia because (unlike Doom) a substantial majority of reliable sources capitalize it, but I haven't checked. (Also keep in mind that just because something is done in XYZ article doesn't mean it's a good idea and should be done on every article too.) Popcornfud (talk) 12:42, 27 June 2026 (UTC)
- As someone who's been cleaning up some of the usage of all caps for the subject in other articles, I think it sounds reasonable to follow the style of those last 3 pages here, i.e. (stylized in all caps as MF DOOM or DOOM) though that should be the only time it's written that way in the article text. ᴸᵃᶠᶠʸTaffer💬(they/she) In solidarity 17:44, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Additionally, MGMT, NSYNC, AC/DC, DMX, and ABBA are all caps in the titles, and many artists such as Kiss (Band), Knower, and Haim (band) all feature all caps names immediately after the initial name. Johnsonsmith12 (talk) 17:38, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Oppose See also discussions at:
- 2009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:MF_Doom/Archive_1#Requested_move_(2009)_Move_%22MF_Doom%22_to_MF_DOOM
- 2015: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:MF_Doom/Archive_1#Requested_move_7_February_2015
- 2015: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:MF_Doom/Archive_1#All_Caps
- 2021: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:MF_Doom/Archive_2#DOOM_vs._Doom
- 2021: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:MF_Doom/Archive_2#Semi-protected_edit_request_on_6_January_2021
- 2022: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:MF_Doom/Archive_2#All_caps
- Again MF DOOM should be in all caps, every reason given to date for not doing so has been of absolutely no substance 86.111.160.242 (talk) 11:23, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
- AGREE, it's ALL CAPS when you spell the man name. This isn't a scenario where using the name and its style and its spelling as the artist prefers may confuse people or trip up search engines, if anything insisting on keeping it non-all-caps might. "But my Wikipedia standards, there are multiple sources typing it without all caps!", opponents will say. I shall propose to you multiple counterarguments to that. First let me guide you not far, as a search for more "DOOM" within Wikipedia may lead you to the page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOOM_Inc. I can't help but marvel at the uppercase there. As DOOM released more songs — which i see fit as reliable sources of information — signed as DOOM in all capitals than there is total references (I could not be bothered to read through them and inspect the capitalization) on the page which I just brought up (15, that's as much as there is songs on MM..FOOD alone) then using this slightly manipulative argument in a villainous spirit, I must conclude that apparently the editing standards of Wikipedia aren't quite so important after all. And they can't be without ruining the site, for if the Bible is way far more widely distributed and discussed than any source on cosmology then should the page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang be removed in favor of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_creation_narrative? It's like someone spelling Barbra Streisand's name wrong. How does that action justify spelling it wrong again? Besides doing it to clear the potential confusion it doesn't. The editors' pettiness results in ordinary disinformation. In at least two songs DOOM mentioned how to write his name correctly, these are obviously "All Caps" (https://genius.com/Madvillain-all-caps-lyrics) and the less well-known "Monkey Suite" (https://genius.com/Madvillain-monkey-suite-lyrics). Writing in anything but ALL CAPS the name of someone who has made a whole song culminating in how his name shall be written in ALL CAPS is disinformation. UŻYTKOWNIK THC (talk) 20:29, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 4 December 2025
[edit]This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request. |
In the 'Family' section of 'Personal life' "and for nearly two years,he saw them only via video calls" needs a space after the comma. ~2025-38495-83 (talk) 16:13, 4 December 2025 (UTC)
British-American
[edit]Per MOS:ETHNICITY, his nationality should be "British and American". I have no issues with the rationale of presenting both countries here but feel it is important to follow the MOS to make it clear that both countries are of equal standing. Having it as it is implies he is British of American descent, or American of British descent, so to avoid that confusion it is best to write "and". orangesclub 🍊 21:24, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
- I'm on the fence here, as I can't figure out how the MOS guidance should be applied to the case of Doom.
- The MOS cites Arnold Schwarzenegger and Peter Lorre as examples of "X and American", but in both cases it's because they had dual citizenship. But Doom didn't have dual citizenship, so does this apply?
- As far as I can tell, the MOS doesn't cite any other circumstances when the "X and Y" phrasing be used, but I might not be interpreting it correctly. Popcornfud (talk) 12:55, 19 December 2025 (UTC)
- @Orangesclub I agree ~2025-34710-17 (talk) 17:25, 24 January 2026 (UTC)
“And American” He was not American
[edit]While I would certainly like US immigration law to be more open to foreign talent (I have a 27+ year waitlist for my Green Card lol) MF Doom was never an American citizen or a legal alien there. He arrived, as the article notes, on a temporary visit B visa
He is British and only British (unless someone can prove he holds those Caribbean nationalities through his parents) Hexadecimal16 (talk) 19:12, 4 April 2026 (UTC)
- See the FAQ. Popcornfud (talk) 02:32, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- Saw it before commenting, incorrect information from “some sources” should not make its way to Wikipedia. He was never legally American. You can add something like “based in the United States” until 2010 Hexadecimal16 (talk) 11:18, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- Wikipedia is based on sources. We can't write articles based on our own interpretations of the facts. This is explained in the FAQ. Popcornfud (talk) 11:42, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- Those sources are very clearly wrong! This is not an interpretation of the fact, but a fact. US citizens cannot get deported from America
- I haven’t actually seen many sources that describe him as American though. Mostly this Wikipedia page and other sources who are citing this Wikipedia page. Hexadecimal16 (talk) 11:45, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- Here are some sources that describe Doom as American or British-American: BBC, BBC, BBC, NME, Rolling Stone.
- We can't simply dismiss these sources based on our own interpretations. If you don't like that, you have a bigger problem with how Wikipedia works that goes beyond this page. See WP:TRUTH.
- Note that Wikipedia doesn't claim that Doom was an American citizen. Nationality or nationhood is not the same as citizenship. See MOS:NATIONALITY. Popcornfud (talk) 12:35, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- I wonder if these sources calling him British-American is due to this article itself. (see circular citation or referencing)
- Regardless, in case of disputed nationality (like Copernicus), MOS:NATIONALITY recommends omitting the nationality of the subject. Since his nationality remains disputed and contradictory, I would recommend omitting it in the lead section Hexadecimal16 (talk) 12:44, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- Wikipedia is based on sources. We can't write articles based on our own interpretations of the facts. This is explained in the FAQ. Popcornfud (talk) 11:42, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
- Saw it before commenting, incorrect information from “some sources” should not make its way to Wikipedia. He was never legally American. You can add something like “based in the United States” until 2010 Hexadecimal16 (talk) 11:18, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
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