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Kool Keith
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Kool Keith Biography
Kool Keith comes in many forms and many incarnations, but his style is
distinctly his own. Just as there's no mistaking his smooth lyrical
delivery and searing hip-hop prose with its underlying edgy beats,
there's no denying the incredible force of power that is Kool Keith.
Whether as a founding member of the legendary Ultramagnetic MCs, or in
the guises of his renegade rap personas that include Black Elvis, Dr.
Octagon and Dr. Dooom, Keith has established himself as an innovative
lyricist whose raps stretch the envelope to the limit while exciting
and entertaining the listener. Kool Keith, nee Keith Thornton, first
emerged as part of the legendary New York crew, the Ultramagnetic MCs.
At a time when rap was slowly making the transition from B-Boy
braggadocio to a more aggressive, politicized stance, the group quickly
established themselves as lyrical innovators with such classics albums
as Critical Beatdown, Funk Your Head Up, and the Four Horsemen. Kool
Keith launched a solo career and through his various releases he
explored his many sides, from the playful to the downright carnal,
releasing such independent records as Kool Keith's Sex Style and Dr.
Dooom's First Come, First Served. In addition to his many rap outings,
Keith proved he was not averse to cross-genre experimentation and even
collaborated with the electronica outfit Hardkiss on "Abandon Ship"
(Sharks & Mermaids mix) on the Astralwerks imprint; in fact, Kool
Keith appears on the Prodigy album Fat Of The Land as the voice of
"Smack My Bitch Up" and on the track "Diesel Power." On a recent
commercial tip, Kool Keith appears as Dr. Ultra, the lead character in
a series of nationally-broadcast television ads for Sprite. Looking
back at his vast eclectic body of work, Keith says ..."I'm not about
nostalgia, I'm not about looking back. If I made a hit, I moved on and
never looked back.... the future is what I should be dwelling on right
now."