Today In Hip-Hop, Revisiting- Dr. Octagon, Kool Keith's Debut LP. May 6, 1996

It's hard to exaggerate the role that Kool Keith's debut solo album as Dr. Octagon played in revitalizing underground hip-hop. It certainly didn't bring the scene back to life single-handedly, but it attracted more attention than any non-mainstream rap album in quite a while, thanks to its inventive production and Keith's bizarre, free-associative rhymes. Dr. Octagon represented the first truly new, genuine alternative to commercial hip-hop since the Native Tongues' heyday. It appealed strongly to alternative audiences who'd grown up with rap music, but simply hadn't related to it since the rise of gangsta. Moreover, it predated seminal releases by Company Flow, Black Star, and the Jurassic 5, helping those groups get the attention they deserved, and reinvented Keith as a leader of the new subterranean movement. As if that weren't enough, the album launched the career of Dan the Automator, one of the new underground's brightest producers, and shed some light on the burgeoning turntablist revival via the scratching fireworks of DJ Q-Bert. The Automator's futuristic, horror-soundtrack production seemed to bridge the gap between hip-hop and the more electronic-oriented trip-hop (which has since narrowed even more), and it's creepily effective support for Keith's crazed alter ego. Dr. Octagon is an incompetent, time-traveling, possibly extraterrestrial surgeon who pretends to be a female gynecologist and molests his patients and nurses. The concept makes for some undeniably juvenile (and, arguably, hilarious) moments, but the real focus is Keith's astounding wordplay; it often seems based on sound alone, not literal meaning, and even his skit dialogue is full of non sequiturs. Keith has since lost his taste for the album, tiring of hearing it compared favorably to his subsequent work, and complaining that the only new audience he gained was white. However, it's the best musical backing he's ever had (especially the brilliant singles "Earth People" and "Blue Flowers"), and even if he's since explored some of these themes ad nauseum, Dr. Octagon remains as startling and original as the day it was released.

LISTEN TO THE CLASSIC LP HERE!!!

Keith Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, 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 began his rap career with the group Ultramagnetic MCs. After the release of their influential 1988 albumCritical Beatdown, 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 a stressful interview, and he never expected the story to become so well known.

After continuing with Ultramagnetic for two more albums (1992's Funk Your Head Up and 1993's The Four Horsemen), Thornton released his first notable solo single, "Earth People," in 1995, under the name Dr. Octagon. This was followed by the release of 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 (as, simply, Dr. Octagon)a year prior. DreamWorks also issued an instrumental version of the album, titled Instrumentalyst (Octagon Beats).Thornton followed the album with Sex Style in 1997, under the name Kool Keith.

In 1996, Thornton collaborated with Tim Dog for the single "The Industry is Wack," performing under the name Ultra—the album Big Time soon followed. 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. 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, and stands as Thornton's most commercially-successful project to date.

Check Out Some Classic Kool Keith Video's!

R.I.P DR. OCTAGON-

'NEW YORK'-KOOL KEITH

'TREES ARE DYING'-KOOL KEITH