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Kool Keith

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Kool Keith

Keith Matthew Thornton (born c. 1964), better known as Kool Keith, is an American hip hop artist and record producer.

Biography

Career

An original member of New York's new school pioneers the Ultramagnetic MCs, Thornton is best known as a solo rapper. His signature style is stream-of-consciousness lyrical flow and complex vocals, two skills that earn him a perennial nod from the underground hip-hop community. The average Kool Keith album is peppered with bizarre, disjointed, even delusional or disassociated themes, concepts, and references. Nearly all of his albums incorporate a satirical dislike for more commercialized strains of hip-hop, as well as major record labels.

Thornton's early career and lyrics with the Ultramagnetic MCs often referenced his time as a patient of Bellevue, a psychiatric hospital, where he was treated for depression. He later claimed this was an inside joke. (Claims of Keith Matthew Thornton being committed to Bellevue have been authenticated[citation needed].) With Ultramagnetic, his abstract style developed, maturing in songs like "Poppa Large." He was probably the first rapper to create multiple aliases for himself. Keith attempted to go solo at least twice in 1990 and 1992, the latter hiatus affording Keith the time to record several tracks later featured on The Cenobites LP. After Ultramagnetic broke up for good in 1994, he moved to California and landed a deal with Capitol Records for a solo album. After changes at label left the project unreleased, Thornton won back rights to the tapes and released the Big Willie Smith EP in 1995. Production duties were split between Kutmasta Kurt and Ultramagnetic's TR Love and Moe Luv. Around this time, Kutmasta Kurt also produced tracks featuring Keith's new alias, Dr. Octagon. Another Bay Area producer, Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, then a friend of Kurt, took over the majority of the production for what became Dr. Octagonecologyst, which was released by the English trip hop label Mo' Wax. DJ Qbert was also a major contributor to the album's sound, employing scratch techniques previously unheard on a rap album. The album received critical acclaim, including from media sources outside the mainstream hip-hop community. The critical success of the album helped to open the accessibility of the underground hip hop scene to an appreciative audience. The album is considered a landmark in the acid rap genre. For the Automator, this album laid the foundation for a burgeoning career and accolades as a producer; for Thornton, the success of Octagonecologyst seemed to put him in danger of being typecast as a "space and Mars" rapper, or an industry tool, which he throughout his career has looked down upon. Instrumentalyst, showcasing the production, became a surprise success.

In 1996, Keith revealed in an interview that he was working on the next Dr. Octagon album. Tracks were also recorded with Automator under the Big Willie Smith moniker which were not released until Automator's 2000 A Much Better Tomorrow LP. Eventually the Big Willie Smith alias was changed to Willie Biggs, possibly as a reaction to Will Smith's Big Willie Style album, and this is the moniker used on Keith's first true solo release, 1997's Sex Style, although a few references to Smith remain.

Thornton released an album with Tim Dog in 1997 under the name "Ultra." This album was also mostly produced by Kutmasta Kurt, and introduced Thornton's Reverend Tom alias. Also in 1997, he appeared on the track "Diesel Power" from The Prodigy's album The Fat of the Land. He is credited in the liner notes as Kool Keith.

Frustrated with Automator's ultimate control over the project and limits of his new image, Thornton abandoned the "Octagon" character, who was literally killed off in the introduction to his next album, First Come, First Served, by his new persona, Dr. Dooom. This album focused on his "horror-core" material, which first appeared on the Cenobites LP. He released an instrumental version of this and other post-Octagon albums.

Released soon after the independent First Come First Served was the major-label effort Black Elvis/Lost in Space, (they were intended to be released simultaneously) which featured Thornton finding yet another persona in Black Elvis. While the Dr. Dooom record was produced with the minimalist beats and production work of Kutmasta Kurt, Lost In Space featured much more complex lyrical stylings and deeper, multi-layered tracks Thornton developed with a host of collaborators. The dichotomy effectively split the Dr. Octagon character in two, Dooom representing the horror elements and Black Elvis handling sci-fi duties. In the liner notes to the Black Elvis album, released by Columbia/Ruff House, he even calls out his "twin brother" Dr. Dooom, saying "you need to get with a major, buddy."

Thornton played Crazy Lou, a gun dealer and former Marine who was, "dishonorably discharged for sexual misconduct with a deadly weapon," in Prince Paul's 1999 "hip-hopera" A Prince Amongst Thieves.

In 2000, Thornton released Matthew, which included the wide anti-label rant "Test Press". He produced the entire album, except for "Backstage Passes", which was done by Kutmasta Kurt, who also provided additional drums programming.

Teaming up with Detroit's Esham, Thornton released Spankmaster in 2001. With Esham and Thornton handling production, it was the first Kool Keith album with no involvement by Kutmasta Kurt, who had reportedly turned down an offer to produce it.[citation needed] It was met with indifference by critics and fans alike, many complaining about its low budget sound and recycled themes.

Subsequent collaborations have included Masters of Illusion, Clayborne Family, the Analog Brothers and Thee Undatakerz, who have collaborated with members of the Wu Tang Clan to produce the soundtrack to Blade: Trinity. Thornton later disowned the Undatakerz project. He also appeared with Ol' Dirty Bastard on the compilation album WWF Aggression, on a song featured as a tribute to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Mankind. He is also a well-known favorite of Princess Superstar, and has collaborated with her on several tracks.

Thornton and Kutmasta Kurt then revived their "Diesel Truckers" aliases, first used on the Dr. Dooom album, for a fairly well received 2004 LP, their first to be released as a "Kool Keith Featuring Kutmasta Kurt" album.

In early 2006, Thornton contributed to "Getaway", a track for former Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton's Peeping Tom album (released June 30, 2006).

The Dr. Octagon character was resurrected in 2006, engendering some confusion and controversy. Apprarently, in 2002 Thornton briefly considered releasing another Dr. Octagon album and hastily tried to secure a record deal for it. Allegedly friends went through a phone book of record labels from A-Z, sending off offer faxes to find a buyer. When they got to C, namely 'CMH', they received and accepted an offer, and the album was commissioned. Thornton then collaborated with unknown guitarist/producer Fanatik J. However, the album they submitted was turned down by CMH due to its poor quality, and CMH insisted it was remade. A production team by the name of One Watt Sun, made up of two Australians and one American, remixed one of the vocal accapellas recorded during the Fanatik J sessions, and the result was the track "Perfect World". Impressed CMH gave One Watt Sun the Job of remaking the album. They used a mix of vocals recorded during these original sessions with Fanatik J, along with three songs recorded later with Thornton. While it's not the album Thorton necessarily intended to create, he has publicly endorsed the album (wire magazine), he did apply and was paid to make it, and he has since been touring off the back of it. The album has a strong futuristic dance edge to it, out of step with the more organic production of the first album. However, despite it not appealing to all of his fans, it has received serious praise across the board, and, like the original, is in many ways sonically ahead of its time.

Two other 2006 LPs were somewhat overshadowed by the Dr. Octagon fiasco, released under the Project Polaroid and Mr. Nogatco monikers. These albums, particularly Project Polaroid, ironically sounded far closer to the original Dr. Octagon album than its alleged sequel. Both albums also featured a sci-fi theme.

In early 2007 it was announced by Threshold Recordings that a sequel to the 1999 Dr. Dooom album would be released, in addition to a collection of Sex Style outtakes. Also, an album under the alias Tashan Dorrsett is set to be released on DJ Junkaz Lou's Junkadelic Music label in late 2007.

Ultramagnetic MC's released their first new studio album since 1993, The Best Kept Secret, on January, 9, 2007 on Oglio Records. Critical response was muted and the album had lackluster sales.

Discography

With Ultramagnetic MCs

See Ultramagnetic MCs discography.

With Ultra (Kool Keith and Tim Dog)

As Dr. Octagon

With Cenubites (Kool Keith and Godfather Don)

As Dr. Dooom

With Analog Brothers

As Kool Keith

With Kutmasta Kurt

With Nancy Des Rose

With Thee Undatakers

With KHM

With Siamese Sex Show

As Mr. Nogatco

With TOMC3

Guest appearances

Performance aliases

Keith Matthew Thornton is Kool Keith's real name. Known for creating a gang of characters, Keith has written and performed under many pseudonyms.

This list is quoted from KoolKeith.Co. Uk.[1][2]

  • Kool Keith: His rapper name.
  • Keith Turbo: He used this alias for the Keith Turbo track from the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
  • Keith Televasquez: He used this alias on Clifton with Motion Man on the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
  • Keith Korg: His Analog Brothers alias.
  • Matthew: Keith’s middle name and alias for a full LP.
  • Dr. Sperm: Known to be his first alias as a rapper.
  • Dr Octagon: ...
  • Dr. Ultra: He was Dr. Ultra in the "Five Deadly Venoms" Sprite commercials.
  • Dr. Dooom: He created this character with sick rhymes and a goal of killing Dr. Octagon.
  • Black Elvis: Dr. Dooom's twin. Created for the Columbia Recors album
  • Poppa Large: A big shot rapper on the East Coast
  • Mr. Green: He used this alias on the back cover of Ultra's Big Time LP.
  • Mr. Gerbik: The dangerous 208 year old uncle of Dr. Octagon. Half shark-alligator, half man.
  • Orange Man: This was one of his characters in the Livin' Astro video.
  • MC Baldylocks: Unknown right now.
  • The Fourth Horseman: He considered himself The Fourth Horseman on the Ultramagnetic MC's Four Horsemen LP.
  • Blonde Man: He referred to himself as Blonde Man in the liner notes of the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
  • Clean Man: This was an alias he used back when hiphopsite.com ran koolkeith.com.
  • Shark Man: Another name for Mr. Gerbik.
  • Tommy Ellis: A cross between Tommy Hilfiger and Perry Ellis. Used the name in an interview on The Wake Up Show circa 1996.
  • Elephant Man: From 1996 to 1998 he always said he planned on releasing an album under the alias Elephant Man.
  • Alien Man: This was an alias he used back when hiphopsite.com ran koolkeith.com.
  • Jimmy Steele: He referred to himself as Jimmy Steele in the liner notes of the Black Elvis/Lost In Space LP.
  • Willie Biggs: He used this alias in the track Still The Best from the Sex Style LP. He also used it on the back cover of Ultra's Big Time LP.
  • Big Willie Smith: He released a limited EP with the Beat Terrorists under this alias.
  • Willie Natural: This was an alias he used back when hiphopsite.com ran koolkeith.com.
  • Reverend Tom: He first used this alias on the track Fat Lady from Ultra's Big Time LP and later used it on Thee Undatakerz LP.
  • Mike Stanley: He uses this alias in DJ Spooky's Riddim Warfare LP.
  • Larry Lopez: He used this name with Heather Hunter for "Toot Toot Hey Beep Beep".
  • The X: He used this name on the inside cover of the Ultramagnetic MC's Four Horsemen LP.
  • Rhythm X: He first used this alias in the track Funk Radio from Ultramagnetic MC's Funk Your Head Up LP.
  • X-Caliber: He first used this alias in the track Funk Radio from Ultramagnetic MC's Funk Your Head Up LP.
  • X-74: He used this alias in the song "Kick a Dope Verse" by The Cenobites.
  • Fly Ricky the Wine Taster: This was an alias he used back when hiphopsite.com ran koolkeith.com.
  • Rico from Puerto Rico: This was an alias he used back when hiphopsite.com ran koolkeith.com.
  • Funk Igniter Plus: He first used this alias in the track Funk Radio from Ultramagnetic MC's Funk Your Head Up LP, and he still uses this alias.
  • Robbie Analog: He used this alias to make fun of the RZA (Bobby Digital) on the inside cover of Dr. Dooom's LP.
  • Sinister 6000: Kool Keith's brother. He used this alias on Automator's A Better Tomorrow.
  • Crazy Lou: He used this name as the guns and ammo salesman in Weapon World from Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves.
  • Lonnie Hendrex: This was one of his characters in the Livin' Astro video.
  • Light Blue Cop: This was one of his characters in the Livin' Astro video.
  • The Kid in the Commercial: This was one of his characters in the Livin' Astro video.
  • Joe Kingpin: He used this alias in the track Still The Best from the Sex Style LP.
  • Black Linen: He used this alias in the track Silk Suit, Black Linen from the Masters of Illusion LP. Motion Man was Silk Suit.
  • Elvin Presley: He gave away cards at concerts. The cards had a picture of him with the name Elvin Presley.
  • Deli Boy: He was called Deli Boy in the comedy/porn "Sex For Life Too".
  • Sk88 Johnson: He used this alias in the Bootleg Skater videos.
  • Platinum Rich: One the Diesel Truckers, along with The Funky Redneck.
  • Exotron Geiger Counter Plus One Megotron: He used this alias on Marley Marl In Control in 1989. He also used a longer version. He also used this alias in Ultramagnetic MC's track Traveling At The Speed Of Thought.
  • Activity: This was his name when he was with the NYC Breakers
  • Exxon: He gave away cards at concerts. The cards had a picture of him with the name Exxon.
  • Captain Kool: This was an alias he was supposed to use according to Liveonerecords.com.
  • Captain Black: This was an alias he was supposed to use according to Liveonerecords.com.
  • Exotron Geiger Counter One Gama Plus Sequencer: He used this alias on Marley Marl In Control in 1989. He also used a shorter version.
  • Robert Perry: He used this alias for the track Robert Perry from his Lost Masters LP.
  • John Clayborne Cousin of Jimmy Hicks: He used this alias on the Clayborne Family LP with Marc Live and Jacky Jasper.
  • Mr. Nogatco: Released an album under this name with Izreal.
  • Tashan Dorrsett: Supposed to release an album under this name with DJ Junkaz Lou.
  • Naquan aka Underwear Pissy: Alias on the new Ultramagnetic MC's album, "The Best Kept Secret".
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