Kool Keith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kool Keith
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Kool Keith performing in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Keith Matthew Thornton |
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| Born | October 7, 1963 New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
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Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and music producer from The Bronx, New York City. He is famous for his unique, imaginative, and sometimes hard-to-understand lyrics. Kool Keith has created a lot of music, both by himself and with other groups. Many people see him as one of hip-hop's most unusual and interesting artists.
Kool Keith helped start the group Ultramagnetic MCs. Their first album, Critical Beatdown, came out in 1988. After two more albums with the group, Funk Your Head Up and The Four Horsemen, Kool Keith released his first solo album. This was Dr. Octagonecologyst in 1996, released under the name Dr. Octagon. He then released many other hip hop albums on his own, like First Come, First Served (as Dr. Dooom) and his recent album Keith.
After releasing only one album with a big record company, Black Elvis/Lost in Space, Kool Keith decided to release his music independently again. He continued to make solo music and work with groups like Analog Brothers, Masters of Illusion, Thee Undatakerz, and Project Polaroid. He also appeared on songs with other artists like Peeping Tom and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Contents
Kool Keith's Music Journey
Starting with Ultramagnetic MCs (1984–1993)
Keith Thornton began his music career in 1984 with the group Ultramagnetic MCs, using the name Kool Keith. Four years later, their album Critical Beatdown was released. It was praised by critics and became very important in hip hop because of its new sounds, clever rhymes, and unique way of using music samples.
After this album, Ultramagnetic MCs released two more albums: Funk Your Head Up in 1992 and The Four Horsemen in 1993. These albums didn't sell as well because the style of hip hop was changing, especially with the rise of West Coast hip hop. The group then took a long break, and Keith started his solo career.
The Birth of Dr. Octagon (1995–1996)
In 1995, Thornton released his first important solo song, "Earth People," using the name Dr. Octagon. The next year, he released a special album called Dr. Octagonecologyst. This album told a story and was produced by Dan the Automator and Kutmasta Kurt, with amazing scratching by DJ Qbert.
Critics loved the album. It was first released by a smaller company, Bulk Recordings, but then a bigger company, DreamWorks Records, released it across the country in 1997. Dr. Octagonecologyst was seen as a big change from older hip hop styles. It featured strange, dream-like, and science fiction themes.
More Albums and Characters (1996–2001)
In 1996, Thornton worked with Tim Dog on a song called "The Industry is Wack," using the name Ultra. An album called Big Time soon followed. The next year, he released an album called Cenobites with Godfather Don.
In 1999, he released First Come, First Served under the name "Dr. Dooom." On this album, the character Dr. Dooom "killed off" Dr. Octagon in the first song. Also in 1999, Thornton released Black Elvis/Lost in Space with big record companies Ruffhouse and Columbia. This album was his most successful, reaching high spots on music charts. Even though it did well, Keith was not happy with how long it took to release and how it was promoted.
On June 5, 2001, Thornton released the album Spankmaster. This album also did well on various music charts.
Working with Other Artists (2000–2004)
On July 25, 2000, Thornton released the album Matthew. A few months later, he released Masters of Illusion with KutMasta Kurt and Motion Man.
Thornton, Marc Live, and H-Bomb formed a group called KHM and released the album Game in 2002. They later changed their name to "Clayborne Family" for their second album. In 2004, he also released Kool Keith Presents Thee Undatakerz with other artists, and Diesel Truckers, another project with KutMasta Kurt.
The Second Dr. Octagon Album (2002–2004)
In 2002, Thornton started working on The Resurrection of Dr. Octagon. However, he had some disagreements with the record company, and the album was finished mostly without his help.
In 2004, an album called Dr. Octagon Part 2 was released, but it was later stopped by a court order. Then, The Return of Dr. Octagon was released, advertised as the official follow-up to Dr. Octagonecologyst. Some critics felt it wasn't as good as the first one. Thornton said he liked the album but felt it hurt his reputation.
Recent Music and Collaborations (2006–Present)
On April 25, 2006, Thornton released Nogatco Rd. as Mr. Nogatco, and Project Polaroid with TomC3. The Return of Dr. Octagon came out two months later, and a sequel to Dr. Dooom, Dr. Dooom 2, was released two years after that.
In 2007, Ultramagnetic MCs released a reunion album called The Best Kept Secret. In 2009, Kool Keith released the story-based album Tashan Dorrsett, with a follow-up two years later. In 2013, Keith appeared as Dr. Octagon on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song "Buried Alive." In 2015, Keith released "Time? Astonishing!" with producer L'Orange.
Kool Keith's recent solo album Feature Magnetic was released on September 16, 2016. It featured other famous rappers like MF DOOM and Slug.
In 2018, Keith worked again with Dan the Automator and DJ Qbert on another Dr. Octagon album called Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation. This album was released on streaming services and later physically. Kool Keith also appeared on a song called "Western" by the group Gangstagrass. Over the past five years, Thornton has released many albums, including Controller of Trap, Keith, Computer Technology, Saks 5th Ave, Space Goretex, Keith's Salon, Subatomic, Serpent, and Black Elvis 2.
Kool Keith has released about fifty albums in total. New songs like "Spectrum" continue to appear online on sites like SoundCloud and Spotify.
Kool Keith's Unique Style
Kool Keith's lyrics are often very creative, like a dream, and full of funny, unexpected phrases. For example, in his song "Technical Difficulties" from the album Dr. Octagonecologyst, he raps: "Intestines, investments, hide money in your stomach / Who can stop Pepto-Bismol? Only a Gremlin eatin' in Larry Parker like Gizmo." This shows how he uses surprising and imaginative words.
Kool Keith's Many Characters
Kool Keith is famous for having many different characters, or "alter egos." As of 2012, he had at least 58 of these characters! Some well-known ones are Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, and Black Elvis, which are names of his albums. Others are more hidden, like "Crazy Lou," who sells firearms, or "Exotron Geiger Counter One Gamma Plus Sequencer." Some of his characters have only appeared on album covers, like "Mr. Green" and "Elvin Presley."
Kool Keith once said about his many characters, "I don't even feel like I'm a human being anymore." This shows how much he gets into these different personalities.
Kool Keith's Albums
Solo albums
- Dr. Octagonecologyst (1996)
- First Come, First Served (1999)
- Black Elvis/Lost in Space (1999)
- Matthew (2000)
- Spankmaster (2001)
- Nogatco Rd. (2006)
- The Return of Dr. Octagon (2006)
- Dr. Dooom 2 (2008)
- Tashan Dorrsett (2009)
- Love & Danger (2012)
- Demolition Crash (2014)
- El Dorado Driven (2014)
- Feature Magnetic (2016)
- Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation (2018)
- Controller of Trap (2018)
- Keith (2019)
- Computer Technology (2019)
- Saks 5th Ave (2019)
- Keith's Salon (2021)
- Black Elvis 2 (2023)
- Mr. Controller (2023)
- World Area (2023)
Collaborative albums
- Big Time (with Tim Dog as Ultra) (1996)
- The Cenobites (with Godfather Don as The Cenobites) (1997)
- A Much Better Tomorrow (with Dan The Automator) (2000)
- Masters of Illusion (with KutMasta Kurt and Motion Man as Masters of Illusion) (2000)
- Game (with Jacky Jasper and Marc Live as KHM) (2002)
- Kool Keith Presents Thee Undatakerz (with M-Balmer, The Funeral Director and Al Bury-U as Thee Undatakerz) (2004)
- Kool Keith Official Space Tape (with DJ Junkaz Lou) (2004)
- Diesel Truckers (with KutMasta Kurt as The Diesel Truckers) (2004)
- Clayborne Family (with Jacky Jasper and Marc Live as Clayborne Family) (2004)
- The Original SoundTrack Album of Project Polaroid (with TomC3 as Project Polaroid) (2006)
- Idea of a Masterpiece (with 57-41) (2009)
- Bikinis N Thongs (with Denis Deft) (2009)
- Time? Astonishing! (with L'Orange) (2015)
- A Couple of Slices (with Ray West) (2015)
- Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation The SP 1200 Remixes (with Dan The Automator) (2018)
- The Foundation Album (2019)
- Space Goretex (with Thetan) (2020)
- Subatomic (2022, with FNKPMPN)
- Serpent (2023, with Real Bad Man)
- Lonnie Parachute (2023, with Your Best Friend Jippy)
- STRIKE! eMERGENCY heARTS Mix (with scott crow, Ceschi, Xiu Xiu)(2024)(Emergency Hearts)
- STRIKE! Mark Pistel Mix (with scott crow, Ceschi, Mark Pistel, Xiu Xiu)(2024)(Emergency Hearts)
- STRIKE! AwareNess Remix (with scott crow, Ceschi, AwareNess, Xiu Xiu)(2024)(Emergency Hearts)
