RUN

"You motherfuckers think I'm crazy right? I know.... But I am." Sinister 6000, Mr. Gerbick, Reverend Tom, Willie Biggs, Clean Man, Dr. Octagon. All of these names reflect personas of arguably the most twisted MC ever, Kool Keith. A founding member of the classic group The Ultramagnetic MCs, Keith was behind some of the most innovative and lyrical music of the late 80s and early 90s. In fact, in can be argued, and quite convincingly, that every MC with an abstract style owes some form of homage to Kool Keith. Unfortunately however, Ultramagnetic was consistently slept on, and no great surprise. They were so far ahead of their time that people couldn't understand what they were talking about.

Now it's 99, and ain't a damn thing changed. After unspecified difficulties with Dan "Automator" Nakamura, who produced the Dr. Octagon album along with several other of Keith's works, he's abandoned the Dr. Octagon persona and introduced the world to Dr. Dooom. (Yes, I know there are three Os instead of two). The intro begs the question, "Who killed Dr. Octagon?" as there is a page calling him a treat a patient with rabies. The answer, quite simply, Dr. Dooom.

Each of Keith's persona's has a tendency to explore a theme. Dr. Octagon, for example, was a demented physician, with a proclivity for torture, vivisection and human experimentation. He stole the Ultramagnetic time machine and went to the year 3000, bringing back some innovation to infuse into the stale hip-hop of the time.

This new album is no different, as Dr. Dooom uses Keith's mastery of abstraction and a lyrical flow that seems to defy sanity to call out all the evils he sees in hip-hop music today. It's not only generalizations this time either. In this one, names are being named.

Witness Keith calling out: Funkmaster Flex - "When I see Flex, I'ma ask him why he's playing a lotta records from a bunch of homos." Oh, you thought big names were safe? Hey Nas, Dooom's got something to tell you. "You wack nigga! Trying to act large in a video in Nevada / you fuckin' pink maggot / I'll take your mic, you can't have it."

Tracks to check for include: The sinister sounding, hype "No Chorus," a long, run-on verse where Dooom asks MCs. "What the fuck was in your mind when you rapped on that track / Who possessed you to do that / Who programmed that shit sound wack / Unplug your mic / You motherfuckers rap under a bunch of fucking hype / Programmed by the company / making something G / Vocals sound like a nigga with no dough and a promo / Making asses of yourselves trying to rap solo."

Also check for "I Run Rap," where Dooom finally makes his (legitimate) claim to be among the best MCs ever to bless a mic, "You Live At Home With Your Mom," where he points out the inconsistencies in many rappers' steez. "Extreme dream with no apartment space/ You frontin' in a fly ride in an empty place/ With your rent due on the first of the month/ Your second month, you exit." "Dr. Dooom's In The Room," an all out lyrical onslaught and "Leave Me Alone," a fairly self-explanatory title.

Production duties are handled by a disguised Keith and Kut Masta Kurt, collectively known as the Diesel Truckers. Their style is perfect for this kind of hip-hop, sinister, menacing, angry and contantly moving. Lyrically, Keith enlists only two guests, both relative unknowns. Jacky Jasper on "Neighbors Next Door," and "Call The Cops," and Motion Man on "Housing Authority." Seriously though, as gifted a lyricist as Keith is, he needs no help. How do you battle someone who tells you, "I hope your bitch is in the audience, your wife too / That's your fan base / Plus your DJ's in the place / I'm about to boo you, let it be fair / When you come off stage 90% of the people that came on your guest list ain't go be there." He also says, "All you motherfuckers around the world sitting in studios with your boys. Hyping your shit up. Mothefuckers don't want to tell you that your shit is wack because they're all yes-men. Sitting around carrying your roadie cases, being your fucking cheerleaders. I'ma tell you straight. Look in the fucking mirror, you're wack. That shit don't sound right." And this is all on the first track of the album.

The final verdict: If you want to claim to be into hip-hop go pick up this album. NOW!!! For all the hardcore heads, this album is everything you've been waiting for - raw, talented lyricism over dirty beats. For the commercial heads, this is a much needed breath of fresh air, a change of pace from the Ma$e's, Puffy's and Jay-Z's of the hip-hop world and an indication of what hip-hop can be at its best.

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