About Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton , 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.
Kool Keith was a cofounding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, whose debut Critical Beatdown was released in 1988. After two more albums with the group, Funk Your Head Up and The Four Horsemen, Kool Keith released his critically acclaimed solo debut album, Dr. Octagonecologyst, under the name Dr. Octagon in 1996. He subsequently released a series of further independently released hip hop albums, including Sex Style, First Come, First Served , and most recently Keith.
After releasing only one album on a major label, Black Elvis/Lost in Space, Kool Keith subsequently returned to independently releasing music, producing further efforts as a solo artist and in collaboration with groups such as Analog Brothers, Masters of Illusion, Thee Undatakerz and Project Polaroid. Kool Keith has also made guest appearances in collaboration with Peeping Tom and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He was also featured on the short track DDT on Jurassic 5's album Power in Numbers. The Prodigy's hit "Smack My Bitch Up" was based on a sample of Kool Keith's voice saying "Change my pitch up. Smack my bitch up" on Give The Drummer Some by Ultramagnetic MCs.
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. 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.
Ultramagnetic MCs would release two more albums 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.
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 album Dr. 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 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. DreamWorks also issued an instrumental version of the album, titled Instrumentalyst .
Map & Directions To Venue
