Leeds Hospital has apologized to MF DOOM‘s family after being questioned about the quality of the rapper’s care prior to his death.
- READ MORE: MF DOOM, 1971 – 2020: world-building rap hero who styled himself as a supervillain
The British-born rapper – whose real name was Daniel Dumile – died on October 31, 2020, aged 49. His cause of death was not revealed until earlier this week. His wife Jasmine Dumile confirmed that her partner passed away from a condition known as angioedema, a rare and severe reaction he had to his blood pressure medication.
Dumile’s wife claimed that it was negligence by the staff at the Leeds hospital that led to MF DOOM’s eventual passing, and alleged that those working at St James’ Hospital at the time failed to check on her husband frequently. She also claims that the medical staff were two hours late when it came to administering medication for him.
At an inquest into his death, the NHS trust which runs St. James’ acknowledged that there were “missed opportunities” surrounding his treatment for his angioedema.
According to The Guardian, assistant coroner Janine Wolstenholme said that the care plan made for the rapper in the hospital was not sufficiently detailed and that doctors were given a “false reassurance” when DOOM’s health appeared to improve.
She added that the trust accepted that doctors had not sought “specialist input” such as an immunologist for the patient’s condition.
Dr Hamish McLure, the chief medical officer of the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, said in a statement: “I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Daniel’s family, friends and fans at this difficult time. I apologise that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect.
He continued: “Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation and the report has been shared with Daniel’s family. As a result we have put in place a number of actions and the wider learning from what happened is to be used as a teaching topic in a number of different clinical specialities. We also support the coroner’s recommendation for clearer national guidance and awareness in this area.”
In the time since his death, various figures from across the music industry have come together to keep the rapper’s legacy alive. This includes a posthumous feature on ‘Cheat Codes’ – an album made by Danger Mouse and Black Thought – and plans for a biography, called The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap’s Masked Iconoclast, written by veteran music journalist S. H. Fernando Jr.
Thom Yorke also shared a remix of MF DOOM‘s ‘Gazzillion Ear’ in tribute to the late musician, and a street block in Long Beach, New York was officially renamed in his memory.
The honour was granted to the rapper after extensive lobbying from Dr. Patrick C. Graham, a professor, public and social sector leader and former schoolmate of DOOM.
More recently, it was confirmed that an album called ‘Madvillainy 2’ – a sequel to Madlib and MF DOOM‘s 2004 ‘Madvillainy’ LP – is still in the works, over 20 years after the release of its predecessor.