Gotta love heading out to see a highly regarded underground maverick, whose career has spanned three decades, influenced multiple generations of Hip Hop artists and has way too many aliases to care to mention: all on a school night!
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PERTHQUAKE
Kool Keith, aka Dr Octogon, aka Dr Dooom, aka Black Elvis, aka…
As you have probably gathered Kool Keith; who will be making his way to Shape on the 11th this month, is a Hip Hop artist that isn’t shy in utilising aliases in his musical endeavours. Having first come onto the scene as a founding member of the Ultrmagnetic MC’s, Keith has gone onto record successfully as a solo artist often under the aforemntioned plethora of different aliases.
Lyrically known for exploring the abstract with a unique sense of humour and a stream-of-coscience like flow, as well as this Keith is known for a style that focuses on sexual themes that he has dubbed ‘pornocore’. Keith also credits himself for the creation of the ’Horrorcore’ sub-genre.
Kool Keith will be at Shape on the 11th of August, get more info here, and tickets from Shape.
Kool Keith @ Shape
Presenting…. Original member of New York’s new-school pioneers the Ultramagnetic MCs, solo rapper of many alias and all round psychiatric lyrical master KOOL KEITH!!
Best know for his signature style, a stream-of-consciousness lyrical flow and complex vocals, skills that have earnt 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!
His 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. Keith later claimed that having been a mental patient in Bellevue was only a joke which he perpetrated on a far too gullible media… (Claims of Keith Matthew Thornton being committed to Bellevue have been authenticated.) With Ultramagnetic, his abstract style developed, maturing in songs like “Poppa Large.” He was also probably the first rapper to create multiple aliases for himself!!
Working with Industry veterans Kutmasta Kurt and Dan “the Automator” Nakamura, these two helped produce tracks featuring Keith’s new alias, Dr Octagon releasing 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! In the following 10 years we have seen the character ‘Dr Octagon’ be killed off by another new alias ‘ Dr Dooom’, then ‘Black Elvis’ was born – yet another alias, an unsolicited ‘Return of Dr Octagon’ album produced by someone else and another couple of alias in the way of ‘Project Polaroid’ and ‘Mr. Nagatco’ monikers!
Regarded as a true veteran of the underground scene and style, KOOL KEITH drops into Perth for what is sure to be a crazy night of original flows!
