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Deshawn was born
on April 8, 1976 in St. Mary's Hospital in Long Beach,
California. As a teenager he had a passion for playing
basketball and even received Most Valuable Player (MVP) Honors
at Lindberg Middle School and Norwalk High School. After
graduating from High School, DeShawn decided to focus on another
passion he had: hip-hop.
He soon teamed up with the likes of Crisis, Rugged Monk,
Holocaust, Christbearer and Meko to form their own scene in Cali
with the Black Knights and Northstar. One night in Cali they
bumped into Cappadonna and the RZA and tried to get them to
listen to their demo. RZA preferred to
hear them live and dragged them into one of his vans to
freestyle on some of his beats he had lying around. They found
themselves battling Cappadonna, RZA and the Killarmy crew for
over 3 hours, resulting in an immediate approval from RZA to
become the very first West Coast Killa Beez.
Wu fans first soon got to hear from them on the legendary Killa
Beez compilation album “The Swarm” in 1998. They got one
chance/track from RZA to hit the jackpot … and boy, did they hit
it ! ‘Punishment’ gained them immediate critical acclaim and
fans worldwide, through epic verses from both Holocaust and Doc
Doom. Here’s a taste of what Doc Doom served the Wu World as an
appetizer for what was yet to come :
“I bring lyrics
to existence when I preach these powerful words
The priest of pandemonium, the War God has emerged
Above sea-level that's when thunder roars and lightnin strike
down
Atrocity, let it pour acid rain upon your compound
Chaotically, the Black Knights, we move robotically
Lyrically perform lobotomy on your biology …”
A few months later
fans got another glimpse at Doom’s talent as he got to shine
twice on the “RZA as Bobby Digital” album, again alongside
fellow Black Knight Holocaust and others like Ghostface, Dom
Pachino and Killa Sin. With great result as “Terrorist” and
especially “Holocaust” still prove to be notorious Digi joints
to this very day.
Next step was helping RZA in the studio on the Ghost Dog
soundtrack , considered by many as one of the greatest hip-hop
soundtracks ever . Doc Doom and his Black Knights went in like
there was no tomorrow on “Zip Code”, painting a very grim
picture of LA hood life. On this track Doom showed he was
lyrically evolving away from Holocaust’s gothic style towards
more gangsta orientated topics, calling his crew the “modern day
N.W.A.” . This was specifically made clear in the chorus where
he went :
”Killah Cali,
the home of the Crips and Bloods
Pimps and thugs, relax or you get hit with slugs
Dent your mug, my niggas ain't showin no love !”
By the end of that
same year we saw them getting another guest spot on another
(lesser known) compilation: Poppa Wu’s “Vision of the tenth
Chamber”. Here they teamed up with partners in crime Northstar
to perform “Simply ludicrous”, which later reappeared on
Northstar’s debut album as “Black Knights of the Northstar”.
Doom’s input on this one was rather minimal unfortunately.
While steadily working with RZA and preparing his debut album
with the Black Knights, Doom got yet another chance to gain fans
on the Wu Chronicles Chapter 2 album, where they continued to
explore the gangsta theme on “Only 4 my niggas”.
Then, finally in 2001 they finished their debut album “Every
night is a Black Knight” but due to labels folding, this didn’t
get past “test press promo” status. So the Knights had to wait a
little longer to showcase their talents on an own album. Luckily
the Knights proved their skills on another album, getting no less
than 5 shots on RZA’s “The Sting” compilation. Highlight for
Deshawn must surely have been getting his self produced “Rollin”
track on this West Coast killa Beez compilation.
Meanwhile, Doom had been helping out his former fellow Black
Knight Warcloud on his cult solo albums “Smuggling booze in the
graveyard” and “Nightmares that resurface from the shallow
sleep” where especially the Shogun assassin produced “Raw head
spear (Howling wolves)“ made quite an impression :
“My darts
travel at the speed of light
So son take heed before you grab a mic
Doc Doom is dangerous and dangerously lyrics strike
Throughout the dungeon pit, spic niggaz be lovin' it
Vow to never ever break the covenant
Black Knights, West Coast Killa Beez, Bobby Digital
Nowadays, rappers in this industry so trivial
That means materialistic, bring that shit through my district
And get ya top twisted like a Mystic
You midget, you talk shit and niggaz live it, for real it's
'Bout as real as it's ever gonna get, right here, right now
Bang the underground sound that's world reknown
I'm like a pitcher on the mound, throwin' strikes to these rap
clowns
So back down, Black Knight brigade, we bust like four round
Only faggots pushin' my button like when phones dial (muthafucka)
Now I'm the greatest sound that's world renown
I'm like a pitcher throwin' strikes -- aww! “
Then finally in
2003, they decided to release their debut album independently,
selling it at Wu Tang shows. This proved to be a success as they
reached sold-out status rapidly and later got to rerelease it in
2005 through Chambermusik, only to sell out each pressing again
and again. To this very day , Wu collectors bid crazy prices
online whenever one of these is up for sale. Doom was all over
this album lyrically but also proved to be a talent behind the
boards , presenting 2 cuts: the fore mentioned “Rollin” feat Rza
and “From the dirt up”. The latter one not only proved Doom
really had an ear for great hooks and harmonies but also
unfortunately was a hint at things to come:
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“Startin' From
the Dirt Up,
niggas gettin' murdered
Livin' in these ghetto streets”
After that Doc
Doom lost valuable time getting locked up . When he got released
, he started working on the Black Knights follow up album but
sadly his visions of the hood life turned into reality on that
fatal day in 2007 where he got shot on the streets he loved to
rap about …
The Black Knights vowed to carry on his legacy and to make sure
he’ll get his shine on the second album, to show us what a great
talent was once again lost to the never ceasing street violence
in today’s America.
We from Wu-International have tried to do the same for this
unique Killa Bee with this tribute article today. So put on some
Doc Doom songs and pour out some liquor as indeed and truly Doc
Doom is the one the West is really missing …
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RIP Doc Doom
(1976-2007) |
