Back From The Dread

First off, after the unexpected shit demise of Photobucket I've finally reset the page to look basically (I think) like how it used to after switching everything over to a new photo host... that being said... music on...

Dude what the fuck is my hard-on for Kool Keith? Everything that fucker touches is gold. Even his new shit which you could argue against is light years past what any old school rapper is trying to do these days. Regardless, my way-cooler-than-me brother was wicked into Ultramagnetic back in the day... while Critical Beatdown is still a good listen, the quartet's best moment is their 1992 The Four Horsemen LP. By this point Keith was easily becoming the apex predator of the group - shit he raps more prolifically on this bitch then he does on some his solo albums. Clinging to all the dark groove samples of the early-90's hip-hop scene it's some of my favorite shit from the soon to be solo KK. Groovy shit with Keith dropping his trademark insane lyrics.... gotta fucking love it. Doo-doo rhyme hooks forever.

See That Man On The Street

Time For Sex

As I've rambled about before from this ol' soapbox, my favorite albums of Kool Keith's fucking epic discography are those conceived with Kutmasta Kurt. A long decade after the duo dropped Keith's ultimate Sex Style (here) comes an hour of outtakes and demos; shit that didn't make the final cut or was simply never made it out of demo status. To be honest, why? The shit rules. It is fucking awesome to hear Keith rapping his trademark dirty "do-do" freestyle over Kurt's absolutely minimal groove-heavy beats once again - by no means are these apologetic bottom-of-the-barrel scraps. Shit, the fact they came up with a token "skit" cements the fact that Sex Style should have been a double LP. Regardless, it is now with this album as a companion, discovering another cache of top-dollar Keith at his peak is simply money.

Oh. My. God. Girl.

Raw Dog Style

Completely overlooked West Coast supergroup debut featuring the indomitable Keith Korg (Kool Keith), Ice Oscillator (Ice-T who raps light years better on this record than anything else in his solo catalog), Marc Moog (Mark Live - a producer most known for his work with Ice-T), Silver Synth (Kool Keith protegé Black Silver) and Rex Roland JX-3P (Pimp Rex). While the latter three of the quintet may be mere plankton in the vast hip-hop ocean, Kool Keith kills (as usual) on this record and I simply cannot get over fucking Ice-T. Where the fuck was this guy on all of his records?!?! He raps with a smart fluency and keeps with the fast-ass rhythms like a pro. Man, it is so refreshing not to hear Ice simply brag about himself for 60 minutes! Of course the music sounds exactly like the evil synthesizer shit Kool Keith was dropping at the time (Spankmaster anyone? You'd be hard-pressed to convince me that this album was anything but Keith's idea...) but it flows great and the rappers give more than enough time to each other's skills. The one thing that I can't get over is my obsessive opinion that someone in the posse is the deep-voiced dude from Jurassic 5...

Shut Down Show

Why I think it's booty...

Man, it's been a while since my sorry ass posted anything. Been busy with nothing so what better way to return to form than with hip-hop legend and blog favorite Kool Keith. Continuing in the tradition of 1997's epic Sex Style, Spankmaster finds the Bronx wordsmith back in familiar territory - tricky tongue-twisting dirty rap to amaze and offend. "Eldaradoe's" and "Maxin In The Shade" harken the grooves of the old Kut Masta Kurt days, while "N.B.A" sinister flow would have fit perfectly on any of Dr. Octagon's records. "Jealous" is probably my favorite track; a sluggish, classic old-school boast where Keith disses the industry, focusing especially on DJ Funkmaster Flex. There are a few forgettable "guest" rappers on the record which he could have done without but all in all a huge return to form for Keith in the new millenium.

Dark Vader

Stuck On Pussy Drive

 

I know I posted the Dr. Octagon quadrilogy just a few months ago but driving back from band practice tonight it struck me that I never uploaded the truest testament to Kool Keith's amazing lyrical skills (and fucked-up psyche but that's another story). Possible the most vulgar hip-hop album ever - the unbelievable Sex Style is without a doubt the finest release in Keith's prolific catalog. Doing what he does best, the ex-Ultramagnetic absolutely destroys the competition with post-modern classics like "Don't Crush It" and "Still The Best" - fucking shit that in 1997 the lukewarm hip hop world would have killed to have owned if they had the fucking balls. Fuck B.I.G. and Jay-Z, this album is the best shit to hit the CD racks since those MTV-owned poster boys pretended to sing about sunshine. Kool Keith should be a fucking billionaire. Enjoy.

Lollypop

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)