Kool Keith

Fact Sheet

Musical genre:

An original member of New York's new school pioneers Ultramagnetic MCs and sometime patient of Bellevue asylum, Kool Keith Thornton is also a somewhat controversial solo rapper known for pornographic and brutal yet also very abstract lyrics. Under the name Dr. Octagon Keith recorded the album Dr. Octagonecologyst, which was released by the English trip hop label Mo' Wax. Kool Keith is also part of the Masters of Illusion and the Analog Brothers. In 1999 Keith recorded the album First Come, First Served as Dr. Dooom, released by Funky Ass Records.

Keith's style is unique. Nearly all of his albums are him satirizing a form of commercialized hip-hop that he finds to be devoid of any heart. Similarly, nearly all of his works lambast major labels and the glory of being famous.

Too illustrate his point, Keith killed off a substantial portion his fan-base by pulling a bait-and-switch: He made "Dr. Octagonecologyst" under the name Dr. Octagon, which gained a lot of popularity, especially amongst fans of indie rock and underground hip-hop in general. As opposed to jumping off of this popularity into a mega-successful career, his next released, "First Come, First Served" (under the name Dr. Dooom) would commence with the track, "Who Killed Dr. Octagon?" in which Keith literally kills off the Dr. Octagon persona for good.

Keith Thornton is said to have been in a psychiatric ward at one point in his life.

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