God bless
former Ultramagnetic MC
“Kool Keith” Thornton,
crazy motherfucker that he is. Less than a month after unveiling the
alien-obsessed ravings of his new Mr.
Nogatco persona, he brings back his most beloved character. Dr. Octagon, the deranged
gynecologist from the year 3000 returns for yet another strikingly original
effort rife with all manner of disgusting bodily fluids. For those unaware, the
original Dr. Octagon
album, a collaborative effort with Dan
The Automater on the boards and DJ Q-Bert on the wheels, was released 10 years ago. Dr. Octagynecologist was an instant cult classic,
sounding like nothing that had ever been made before.

“Our operators are masturbating right now,
but your call has been placed in a bucket of stomach fluid and will be attended
by a double-talking robot approximately 7,000 years from now,” Keith intones seriously on the
opening intro (which practically begs to be used as an answering machine
message), before launching into the furious, futuristic electro-funk of “Trees.”
The sound of which suggests Keith may be the unholy offspring of Afrika Bambaataa and Blowfly. The monolithic stomp of “Aliens”
features Thornton‘s
trademark verbose flow, which is full of colorful imagery and occasionally
obtuse lyrics that serve to draw you deeper into the enigmatic worlds he
creates. Ants uses grinding
guitars, Indian-influenced strings and a neck-snapping beat to create a killer
backing track as Keith
portrays himself as a giant looking down on the mindless drones of humanity:
“Ants/Terrible looking/Walking side
to side like a work farm/Some mean no harm/With the Fire Department, ring the
alarm/Ants work for America/Some work for Saddam.” He may be crazy,
but lyrics like this prove Kool Keith
is no fool.

On the skit
“Don’t
Worry Mz Pop Music,” Thornton
decries the moronic state of the genre, but on “Perfect World”
he proves that few Hip Hop artists on the current scene can match him for
balancing sheer ingenious creativity with infectious musical accessibility.
This is Kool Keith‘s
best album in years– arguably even better than his classic Octagonecologyst – and marks a fine
return to form for one of rap music’s most distinctive and original talents.