On October 19, 1999, Operation: Doomsday introduced the world to the solo genius of MF DOOM. Behind that now-legendary record was a collaboration between the masked villain and Bobbito Garcia—one half of the iconic Stretch and Bobbito radio duo, and the founder of Fondle ‘Em Records.
“I wanna say happy anniversary to Operation: Doomsday, a collaboration between myself and MF DOOM to put out his debut album as a solo artist,” Garcia said in a recent reflection. “It happened on this date, October 19th, 1999—thanks to Dart Adams, the historian who put me up on that. I didn’t even know myself.”
The album’s first pressing was modest—just 3,000 vinyl copies priced at $6.50 wholesale. They were distributed by Fat Beats and pressed by Freeze Records, the same crew known for EPMD and Nice & Smooth. Garcia’s label, Fondle ‘Em Records, had built its reputation in the vinyl underground, championing left-field voices in New York’s indie rap scene.
“I was die-hard about vinyl,” he recalled, “but I felt like DOOM deserved to have his stuff out on as many different formats as possible. So we did a double vinyl back then. It used to cost a dollar ten per 12-inch.” That pressing marked the label’s first-ever CD release—a turning point that quietly pushed DOOM’s music beyond collectors and crate diggers into a wider audience.
Looking back, Garcia admits he never expected what came next. “After we sold, what, 5,000 copies, we just stopped it. The album then wound up getting reissued on Sub Verse a few years later. And since then, Operation: Doomsday has probably sold half a million records at this point. I have no idea—I didn’t keep track.”
What began as a small-run pressing from Garcia’s downtown apartment evolved into one of the most celebrated underground rap albums of all time. “I’m so proud of my brother, who’s no longer with us, for what he wound up accomplishing as an artist,” Garcia said. “Me and him—basically in my crib when I used to live downtown in the Lower—just who knew that all this would happen? Rest in peace to MF DOOM.”
A fitting tribute to humble beginnings, friendship, and the kind of creative freedom that still fuels hip-hop’s underground spirit twenty-five years later.
