KMD

KMD was an American hip hop trio active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, formed in Long Island, New York. The group is historically significant chiefly as the launching pad for rapper and producer Daniel Dumile, who performed as Zev Love X before later reinventing himself as MF DOOM. Zev Love X and his younger brother, DJ Subroc, anchored the group, with an early third member later replaced by Onyx the Birthstone Kid.

Musically, KMD blended playful, Afrocentric-leaning wordplay with dense sampling and a laid-back East Coast boom-bap sound typical of the golden-age era, drawing early attention through an association with 3rd Bass. Their work carried social commentary alongside humor, tackling race and identity with a mix of satire and sincerity, most visibly on their unreleased second album, which became notorious for its provocative subject matter and cover art disputes with their label, Elektra Records.

The group's momentum was cut short by the death of DJ Subroc, which effectively ended KMD and profoundly affected Dumile, who withdrew from music for years before resurfacing as MF DOOM. KMD's catalog is now regarded as a formative chapter in underground hip hop, valued both on its own terms and as the origin story of one of the genre's most acclaimed and influential later figures.