First things first: Happy MF Birthday to MF DOOM. The supervillain has influenced artists across multiple generations, from Mos Def to Tyler, The Creator, doing it all behind the shadows and now iconic mask. Long-time fans have probably only seen him on Youtube because getting fooled by a villain is a real thing, but even trying to see the rapper online can be difficult. Anyone that wants to hide in this internet era will have plenty of fake content covering them. Unofficial (but as official as you’ll ever get) fan-made videos and directors finding creative ways to feature DOOM in videos without actually featuring DOOM help the man with many aliases maintain a low profile while still keeping some semblance of an online presence.

Legit music video footage of DOOM does exist, however, and Youtube’s results algorithm can make you click the HD cartoon version of classic DOOM tracks instead of the actual video. In his honor (Actually, he’d probably hate me for doing this), I’m ranking every fuzzy, 240p quality (and the two HD quality) official MF DOOM music video I could find. The rules are they have to actually show the supervillain rapping the actual song that’s playing, and cartoon DOOM doesn’t count.

10-My Favorite Ladies

Doom is catcalling women, smoking, and running, three things you won’t see him do in any other video. It’s actually pretty funny to watch the supervillain run around New York chasing his favorite ladies. His mature fling kicks him out of the bedroom, and one woman earlier doesn’t even acknowledge him. Oh well, Metal Face still has a few women in the pocket, willing to take a train ride with him and share a taxi after the aforementioned mature woman kicks him out. DOOM doesn’t take losses. It is hard to enjoy the video fully because of it’s editing choices. Photos of the ladies in the video pop in for no reason at all. The cuts are awkward, the fades feel random, and the effects don’t help the video at all. This DOOM video falls victim to the classic case of doing too much.

9-Who Me

Before Daniel Dumile became MF DOOM, he was Zev Love X from the 90s rap group KMD, which included fellow lyricist Onyx the Birthstone Kid and Daniels’s brother DJ Subroc. Subroc passed away from a car accident, and Dumile left the hip-hop scene until his emergence as MF DOOM. KMD followed heavily in the Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul sound that dominated a corner of 90s hip-hop. “Who Me” is one of two videos from their first album “Mr. Hood” in 1991. The young and spunky Zev raps with frustration over the comparison of the Sambo caricature and how non-black people use it to depict black people. The classic rap on the train tracks scene is here, and there’s even a Phife Dawg appearance. If you want a view of a 21-year old DOOM without the mask, go watch some KMD videos.

8-I Hear Voices

When MF DOOM videos aren’t dark and weird, they’re funny, colorful and weird. DOOM’s alarm clock wakes him up at seven in the morning (which should surprise everyone), but he also raps in his sleep (which shouldn’t surprise anyone). The rest of the video is just the everyday life of a supervillain in the middle of a New York winter. He eats MF O’s brand cereal for breakfast, scurries to the subway, and uses the payphone, all while dodging his evil alter ego harassing him in billboards and bulletin board notices. I’m not from New York, but that’s normal, right?

7-GUV’NOR

The second to last video recorded for the 2012 “Keys to the Kuffs” album is “GUV’NOR”, a weird and disjointed video from the start. Director Ninian Doff records DOOM doing similar tasks twice with small changes, splits them in half and glues them back together with the power of video editing software. DOOM looks awkward at every step and verse, but it's also DOOM in his highest quality. To counter you actually seeing him, DOOM’s eyes are blurred out because it’s DOOM. The visual is different, colorful, and a nice change of pace to the dark and moody videos that exist of the supervillian on the internet.

6-Peach Fuzz

Every villain was a regular citizen at one point. Before MF DOOM could exist, there had to be Zev Love X on “Peachfuzz.” Arguably KMD’s most popular single, Zev tries to convince girls he’s just as smooth and charming as LL Cool J despite not being in any way close to LL.. KMD’s Black Muslim identity shines with the crew rocking turbans and kufis while manning the table promoting Muslim culture. A higher up tells them, “No rapping to the girls.” The crew immediately starts rapping to girls. Zev sounds reminiscent of DOOM the most in this video while riding a bike through the park and comparing himself to a pigeon. The video is fun, quirky and the best one KMD was able to release as a group.

5-BOOKHEAD

The most recent official music video with MF DOOM actually in it came five years ago under the JJ DOOM moniker for his collaboration with Jneiro Jarel on the 2012 album ‘Key’s to the Kuffs.” Metal face turns into Mirror Face as what should have been a routine trip to the corner stores changes DOOM’s entire afternoon. The video is a strong reminder that you portray what you put in, and DOOM has always been the one to exude knowledge and understanding before anything else. It’s an interesting concept that’s executed perfectly. DOOM with a mirror as a face somehow looks more menacing than the metal one we’re accustomed to. Director Steve Powers and DOOM triumphed with this one.

4-Accordion

Simple, dark, weird, and artistic-- that is MF DOOM down to his core, and that’s what makes the “Accordion” video so great. DOOM is a silhouette most of the video as he raps down different dimly light hallways, sometimes with an accordion player and a curly-haired dancer behind him. The minimalism works wonders, the accordion feels eerie, and DOOM pulls the mic out of his back pocket like it's a wallet. It’s the most viewed video that actually features the supervillain himself, and for good reason.

3-Dead Bent

There are a lot of sides to MF DOOM, and most fans can name all of them. In “Dead Bent,” we see two of those personalities in a split screen shot. One side, covered in a black and white filter and with a mic in hand, DOOM gets his diabolical day started by admiring the sun, getting dressed and stealing produce from the fresh market stand around the corner, all while rapping behind the spooky “Dead Bent” beat. The other side pops with color and shows the inverse action of evil DOOM. While evil black and white DOOM is still waking up, colorful DOOM is putting the fruits and veggies back that evil DOOM stole. The structure mirrors Pulp Fiction, with the viewer not exactly understanding who did what first. It’s one of the few videos with a strong sense of storytelling, structure, and a peak inside the life of the most elusive rap personae to ever grip a mic.

2-Questions

“Questions” was very close to being number one on this list. It’s easily the most emotional one he’s ever made. DOOM raps in front of the now gone New York Trade Towers, which in itself brings up a ton of emotion. “I keep the flick of you with the machete sword in your hand,” DOOM raps while holding half a bottle whiskey in one hand and a machete in the other. It cuts from DOOM flailing said machete in the park to the actual photo DOOM is rapping about. The photo fades away and a distraught DOOM fades in, mask off, and holding his head in his hands while sitting on the park bench. It’s at that point you begin to remember the man behind the mask, and the pain he feels dealing with a brand of success that doesn’t include his brother, the one he thought he had with KMD. I’m glad he made this one.

1-RhineStone Cowboy

There’s a reason this video has the second most views out of all the official videos that actually feature the supervillain himself. “Rhinestone Cowboy” is everything that makes a DOOM video great in one. The artistic expression shows not only in his rhymes, but in the movements from the curly-haired dancer from the “Accordion” making a second appearance. She dances to the beat perfectly behind a rapping MF DOOM, who stands close to the camera and takes up a quarter of the screen. Sporadically, DOOM will retreat to the shadows and reappear in the limelight.

Meanwhile, a story unfolds of a stranger finding the infamous DOOM mask and trying to become rap’s most beloved villian. The imposter tries to rap, drink, and hold the mic like the metal one--none of it works. Defeated, he abandons the mask. Behind a round of applause that’s naturally on the Madlib-produced track, DOOM stumbles across his mask. He throws his hands in the air in triumph even though he didn’t really do anything. The storyline mixed with the traditional moody DOOM visuals makes this the best MF DOOM video he’s actually in.