Octagon IV

Aaahhh... the final (?) chapter in the Dr. Octagon quadrilogy - a direct response to the hack-and-slash production of The Return Of... a year before. With original Dooom producer KutMasta Kurt back at the helm, Kool Keith resurrects his other psychotic surgeon to finally "put the clamp" on his alter ego and be done with the strange mess the Dr. Octagon character created. The introspective "R.I.P. Dr. Octagon" isn't some token hip-hop song, it's a completely pissed-off dismissal of the whole persona tinged with anger, regret and general fucking irritation at the music industry. It's direct and to the point, Keith unapologetically drops names and labels with a refreshing snicker. He's just as surprised to see the monster he created and only happy enough to kill him off - the recording of Dr. Dooom 2 must have been insanely cathartic. As far as the other music on the album, it picks up right where First Come, First Served left off, minimalist downbeats accompanying sweetly gruesome rhymes. The themes are familiar: the stalker anthem "I Followed You", murder, violence, shitty deadbeat life in the ghetto, you name it. There's a humorous intro entitled "Simon" as well, a scathing attack on American Idol and its cocksure ringleader. I'd love to see someone try to qualify next season with that...

True Story

Octagon III

After a nearly 10-year hiatus, Dr. Octagon finally arose from the dead, albeit on an album significantly different in style and creation from the original. The project began in 2002, Kool Keith partnered with unknown producer Fanatik J, hoping to replicate the debut gold discovered with Dan "The Automator" Nakamura on Dr. Octagonecologyst years before. Unfortunately lightning did not strike twice - Keith and Fanatik split after a year due to contract disputes. The album was shelved until rights were sold to the production trio of One-Watt Sun, who completely rebuilt the album and removed any involvement Fanatik J had in its creation. By this point Kool Keith was barely involved in the project - he recorded vocals for only three songs (not ironically, the 3 best on the record) and sent in some lyric outtakes from years past - giving the producers the green light to edit them in as they found fit. The result? Well, it isn't terrible but if you expecting a cut-and-dry Dr. Octagonecologyst II you'll be disappointed. The beats are odd European-styled house grooves, not the laid back funk you'd expect from most of Keith's catalog. It works OK and there's evidently a whole back story throughout the record for those who want to decipher the lyrics line by line. My favorite track is the trippy scratch ditty "Jumpstart" which is probably the closest sounding thing to Octagon's first record. Worth a listen just because, hey, it's Kool Keith but not for much else.

Got Any Kids?

Octagon II

With a Photoshop 4.0 cover like that you know you're in for something special. 32 seconds into First Come, First Served Dr. Octagon is murdered by a new nemesis, the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Dooom. Kool Keith serves up another epic 70 minutes of fucked-up horror-laced hip-hop (it's too tripped out to simply call it "horrorcore") under a new alias. As fare as the production - it's a worthwhile attempt to replicate the sound of Dr. Octagonecologyst by new producer KutMasta Kurt. At times some of the beats sound a little thin but all in all it's solid. "Neighbors Next Door" and "Side Line" are personal faves. Enjoy.

Bring The Ruckus

Octagon I

Man, Kool Keith is one fucking cool motherfucker. While other rappers were busy milking what was left of the weed bandwagon or trying to steal what scraps they could from 2Pac, Keith Thorton went against the grain and created a coolly fucked-up alter ego which had more in common with a 1960's Corman B-movie than what Jay-Z was quickly turning hip hop into. Having left the Ultramagnetic MC's a year earlier, one would assume Keith would follow in the footsteps of almost every other  newly solo rapper with a overly self-aggrandizing debut. Instead he did the absolute opposite - he hid behind the facade of an extraterrestrial time-traveling gynecologist, recruited scratch extraordinaire DJ Qbert and an unknown producer named Dan Nakamura (who would later gain fame working for the Gorillaz). The result is a trip-hop classic - nearly 20 years old and barely aged a day. Keith's rhymes are just as quasi-non-linear and fucked up as ever - delivered in that strangely smooth style of his (the American version of Slick Rick) while the beats are fresh and completely original. Think back to the first time you heard "Blue Flowers" and realized the guy was a fucking genius. Essential.

(A Visit To The Doctor)