In 1994, Grimm survived an attempted murder where he was shot seven times by rival drug dealers,
[13] following a previous three shots in an earlier murder attempt in 1986. As a result of the 1994 attack, he was deafened, blinded, paralyzed from the waist down, and comatose; doctors predicted that he would suffer nulled senses and be paralyzed for the rest of his life. MF Grimm's half-brother and manager Jansen Smalls died in the attack. As a result of this attack, all the music labels interested in Grimm's music cut all contact with him. Grimm recovered full vision, hearing, and speech ability, but still uses a
wheelchair.
[14]
Grimm founded label
Day By Day Entertainment in the late-1990s. At around the same time, he put together his
Godzilla-inspired MC collective, the
Monsta Island Czars, which at the time also featured MF DOOM. However, to pay for the extensive medical bills from his hospitalization, Grimm turned back to drug dealing. This lifestyle eventually caught up with him again when his organization was taken down by the police.
Facing narcotics conspiracy charges, Grimm was sentenced to
life imprisonment under the
Rockefeller Drug Laws in 2000. Before his sentence began, Grimm recorded his debut album,
The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera.
[15]
MF Grimm - Wikipedia