Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is generally considered to be one of hip-hop's most eccentric and unusual personalities.[1]
Thornton began his career with the group Ultramagnetic MCs under the pseudonym Kool Keith in 1984. Four years later, their release of the album Critical Beatdown was critically acclaimed and later became recognized as widely influential for its innovative production, complex rhymes, and chopped sampling. Just after its release, Thornton was reportedly institutionalized in Bellevue Hospital Center.[3][4] However, he later said that the idea that he was institutionalized came from a flippant remark made during an interview, and he never expected the story to become so well known.[5]
Ultramagnetic MCs would release two more albums (1992's Funk Your Head Up and 1993's The Four Horsemen) with little commercial success due to West Coast hip hop's changing landscape. They went on hiatus for years, leading Thorton to embark on a solo career.
Dr. Octagon debuts (1995–1996)
Thornton released his first notable solo single, "Earth People", in 1995, under the name Dr. Octagon. This was followed by the release of the concept albumDr. Octagonecologyst the following year. The album's production by Dan the Automator and Kutmasta Kurt, with scratching by DJ Qbert was acclaimed by critics, and the album was released nationally by DreamWorks Records in 1997, after an initial release on the smaller Bulk Recordings label (as, simply, Dr. Octagon) a year prior. Dr. Octagonecologyst was considered a departure from old school hip hop to abstract hip hop, with surrealistic, horror, science-fiction, and sexual themes.[6] DreamWorks also issued an instrumental version of the album, titled Instrumentalyst (Octagon Beats).[3][4]
Further releases (1996–2001)
In 1996, Thornton collaborated with Tim Dog for the single "The Industry is Wack", performing under the name Ultra[3][4]—the album Big Time soon followed. The following year, Thornton followed the release the sophomore album, Sex Style under the name Kool Keith. Being a dirty rap concept album, Thornton described it as "pornocore", filled with sexual metaphors to diss other rappers.[7] An instrumental version was also released.[8] This year, a collaborative album with Godfather Don titled Cenobites, was released as an LP.
In 1999, he released the album First Come, First Served under the name "Dr. Dooom", in which the album's main character killed off Dr. Octagon on the album's opening track. The same year, on August 10, 1999, Thornton released Black Elvis/Lost in Space, under the major record labels Ruffhouse and Columbia. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #74 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #180 on the Billboard 200,[9] Despite standing out as Thornton's most commercially successful project to date, he was disappointed with the album's delays and promotional efforts, even though a promotional video was made for the lead single, "Livin' Astro", which aired on a few episodes of the MTV show Amp in early 2000. Its sequel, Black Elvis 2, was released in 2023.
On June 5, 2001, Thornton released the album Spankmaster on TVT and Gothom Records.[10] It peaked at #16 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #11 on the Top Independent Albums chart and #48 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[11] The album has yet to be on streaming.
Collaborations (2000–2004)
On July 25, 2000, Thornton released the album Matthew. It peaked at #47 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.[12] The following month, Thornton collaborated with Ice-T, Marc Live, Black Silver and Pimp Rex for the album Pimp to Eat, under the group name Analog Brothers, with Keith performing as Keith Korg and Ice-T as Ice Oscillator.[3] The album was re-released by Mello Music Group on streaming, CD, and LP in 2016.[13]Masters of Illusion, a collaboration with KutMasta Kurt and Motion Man, followed a few months later.
Thornton, Marc Live and H-Bomb formed the group KHM, releasing the album Game on November 19, 2002. They later changed their name to "Clayborne Family" by the release of their second album two years later.[4] During the same year (2004) that Clayborne Family was released in, Kool Keith Presents Thee Undatakerz (with Reverend Tom (Kool Keith) Al Bury-U (BIG NONAME), M-Balmer and The Funeral Director) and Diesel Truckers, another collaboration with KutMasta Kurt.
Second Dr. Octagon album (2002–2004)
In 2002, Thornton began recording The Resurrection of Dr. Octagon with producer Fanatik J,[14][15] signing a contract with CMH Records to release the album, which was eventually completed without much input from Thornton, due to a falling out over contractual terms.[15]
On October 12, 2004, Real Talk Entertainment issued the album Dr. Octagon Part 2. The album was discontinued by court order.[citation needed] On June 27, The Return of Dr. Octagon was released by OCD International, an imprint of CMH, advertised as the official follow-up to Dr. Octagonecologyst.[15] Some critics felt that it was not as good as its predecessor.[16][17] Thornton stated that he liked the album, but felt that it hurt his reputation as a musician.[15] In August, Thornton performed under the Dr. Octagon billing, but did not acknowledge the release of the OCD album.[18]
Further collaborations and solo albums (2006–present)
On April 25, 2006, Thornton released the album Nogatco Rd. under the name Mr. Nogatco, and Project Polaroid, a collaboration with TomC3.[4]The Return of Dr. Octagon, the sequel to Dr. Octagonecologyst, was released two months later, as well as a Dr. Dooom sequel titled Dr. Dooom 2 being released two years later.
In 2007, Ultramagnetic MCs released the reunion album The Best Kept Secret.[4] In 2009, Kool Keith released the concept album Tashan Dorrsett; a follow-up, The Legend of Tashan Dorrsett, followed two years later.[4] In 2012, Kool Keith performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos.[19] He has stated that he is considering retiring from music.[20] In 2013, Keith appeared as Dr. Octagon on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song "Buried Alive", from their album Mosquito. In 2015, Keith released "Time? Astonishing!" with producer L'Orange and began the start of his relationship with Mello Music Group.[21] Since then, Keith also re-issued his group album with the Analog Brothers (Ice-T, Pimp Rex, Marc Live, Silver Synth) "Pimp To Eat" with Mello Music.[22] Kool Keith's recent solo album Feature Magnetic was dropped on September 16, 2016 and it features MF DOOM, Slug from Atmosphere, Dirt Nasty and many others.[23] Artwork for the "Feature Magnetic" album was produced by Marc Santo.
In 2018, Keith collaborated once again with Dan the Automator and DJ Qbert for another Dr. Octagon album.[24][25]Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation was released on streaming services on April 6, 2018,[26] with the physical release scheduled for Record Store Day,[27] April 21, 2018. The Record Store Day release includes both vinyl and CD copies. Using his Deltron persona, Del the Funky Homosapien guests on "3030 Meets the Doc, Pt. 1". NPR offered a first look at the album on March 29, 2018.[28] Kool Keith appears on "Western" by the bluegrass-rap group Gangstagrass, performing as himself. Throughout five years, Thornton released Controller of Trap, Keith, Computer Technology, Saks 5th Ave, Space Goretex (with Thetan), Keith's Salon, Subatomic (with Del the Funky Homosapien), Serpent (with Real Bad Man), and Black Elvis 2.
Thornton's fan site refers to his discography of roughly fifty album releases, most of which have been commercially released. Singles such as "Spectrum" continue to appear online under the artist's name, on sites such as SoundCloud and Spotify.
Lyrical and performance style
Kool Keith performing at Mezzanine in San Francisco, California during the 2009 Noise Pop Festival
Thornton's lyrics are often abstract,[29]surreal,[30] and filled with non-sequiturs and profane humor.[31] For example, "Technical Difficulties," from the album Dr. Octagonecologyst, contains the following lyrics: "Intestines, investments, hide money in your stomach / Who can stop Pepto-Bismol? Only a Gremlin eatin' in Larry Parker like Gizmo." Thornton is also known for an explicit style focusing on sexual themes, which Thornton has referred to as "pornocore".[32][33] In a 2007 interview, Thornton claims to have "invented horrorcore".[34]
Alter egos
Kool Keith is known for his many alter egos. As of 2012, Kool Keith had at least 58 such alter egos: these include well-known aliases such as Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, and Black Elvis, which appeared on albums bearing their names; and the more obscure, such as firearms dealer "Crazy Lou" and "Exotron Geiger Counter One Gamma Plus Sequencer," as he introduced himself in an appearance on Marley Marl's radio show In Control.[35] Some of Kool Keith's monikers have only existed on album artwork, such as "Mr. Green" and "Elvin Presley."[36]
In reference to his relationship between himself and his various stage personalities, Keith has said, "I don't even feel like I'm a human being anymore".[37]
^Hess, Mickey (2007). "The Rap Persona". Is Hip Hop Dead? The Past, Present, and Future of America's Most-Wanted Music. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 75–76. ISBN978-0-275-99461-7.
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