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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Kool Keith| image = Kool-Keith-2009.jpg| caption = Kool Keith performing at Mezzanine in San Francisco, California during the 2009 Noise Pop Festival.| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Keith Matthew Thornton| alias = Dr. Octagon , Dr. Dooom , Black Elvis| Born = birth date and age|1963|10|19|mf=yes| origin = The Bronx , New York | instrument = Rapping , keyboard instrument|keyboard , bass guitar | genre = Hip hop music|Hip hop | occupation = Rapping|Rapper , Record producer|producer | years_active = 1984–present| label = Junkadelic, Reel Life Productions|Gothom , Funky Ass, DreamWorks Records, Ruffhouse Records|Ruffhouse / Columbia Records|Columbia / Sony Music Entertainment|SME Records | associated_acts = Ultramagnetic MCs Analog Brothers Masters of Illusion Thee Undatakerz The Clayborne Family KutMasta Kurt Dan the Automator The Prodigy 54-71 Diesel Truckers Spazz (band)|Spazz | website = http://www.koolkeith.co.uk/| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Keith Matthew Thornton , better known by his stage name Kool Keith , is an United States|American rapping|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 the self-proclaimed inventor of horrorcore .
History
Kool Keith began his rap career with the group Ultramagnetic MCs . After the release of Critical Beatdown , Thornton was reportedly institutionalized in Bellevue Hospital Center .cite book |last= |first= |editor=Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |chapter=Kool Keith |chapterurl= http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/koolkeith/biography |edition=fourth edition |year=2004 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=0743201698 |pages=466–467 cite book |last=Cooper |first=Sean |editor= |others= |title=All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop |year=2003 |isbn=0879307595 |publisher=Backbeat Books |pages=267–268 |chapter=Kool Keith |chapterurl=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p200714|pure_url=yes 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.cite web|last=Downs |first=David|title=Kool Keith and KutMasta Kurt|publisher= The A.V. Club |date=November 21, 2008|url= http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/kool_keith_and_kutmasta_kurt|accessdate=2008-11-21
Thornton released his first notable solo single, "Earth People," in 1995, under the name Dr. Octagon , 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 , which 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 1998, Thornton collaborated with Tim Dog for the single "The Industry is Wack," performing under the name Ultra. The following year, 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. On August 10, 1999, Thornton released Black Elvis/Lost in Space . It peaked at #10 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Heatseekers Billboard charts|chart , #74 on the Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #180 on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 .cite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r425836|pure_url=yes |title=Charts and awards Black Elvis/Lost in Space |accessdate=2008-09-08 |publisher= Allmusic On July 25, 2000, Thornton released the album Matthew (album)|Matthew . It peaked at #47 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.cite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r490418|pure_url=yes |title=Charts and awards for Matthew |accessdate=2008-09-08 |publisher= Allmusic The same year, Thornton collaborated with Ice-T , Marc Live, Black Silver and Pimp Rex for the album Pimp to Eat , under the group name Analog Brothers , with Keith performing as Keith Korg and Ice-T as Ice Oscillator.
On June 5, 2001, Thornton released the album Spankmaster on Esham 's Reel Life Productions|Gothom Records .cite book |editor= |others= |title=All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop |year=2003 |isbn=0879307595 |publisher=Backbeat Books |pages=160–163 It peaked at #16 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #11 on the Top Independent Albums chart and #48 on the Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.cite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r533100|pure_url=yes |title=Charts and awards for Spankmaster |accessdate=2008-09-08 |publisher= Allmusic
In 2002, Thornton began recording The Resurrection of Dr. Octagon with producer Fanatik J,cite news |first=Abbey |last=Goodman |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=All The Voices In Kool Keith's Head Working On New Albums |curly= |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1453279/20020405/kool_keith.jhtml? headlines=true |format= |agency= |work= |publisher= MTV News |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=April 5, 2002 |accessdate=13 December 2008 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= cite news |first=David |last=Downs |title= Kool Keith CD Scam Exposed |url= http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/PrintFriendly? oid=291467 |publisher= East Bay Express |date=September 27, 2006 |accessdate=25 January 2009 signing a contract with CMH Records to release the album, which was eventually completed without much input from Thornton, due to a falling out over contractual terms. Thornton, Marc Live and Jacky Jasper|H-Bomb formed the group The Clayborne Family|KHM , releasing the album Game (KHM album)|Game on November 19, 2002, changing their name to "The Clayborne Family" by the release of their second album.
On October 12, 2004, Real Talk Entertainment issued the unauthorized release Dr. Octagon Part 2 . The album was discontinued by court order. On April 25, 2006, Thornton released the album Nogatco Rd. under the name Mr. Nogatco. On June 27, The Return of Dr. Octagon was released by OCD International, an imprint of CMH, advertised as the official follow-up to Dr. Octagonecologyst . Some critics felt that it was not as good as its predecessor.cite web |url= http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2006_06_returnof.html |title=Review of The Return of Dr. Octagon |accessdate=2008-09-06 |last=Hernandez |first=Pedro 'DJ Complejo' |date=June 27, 2006 |publisher=Rap Reviewscite web |url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/37108/Dr_Octagon_The_Return_of_Dr_Octagon |title=Review of The Return of Dr. Octagon |accessdate=2008-09-06 |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=June 28, 2006 |publisher= Pitchfork Media Thornton stated that he liked the album, but felt that it hurt his reputation as a musician. In August, Thornton performed under the Dr. Octagon billing, but did not acknowledge the release of the OCD album.cite news |first=Sarah |last=Godfrey |title=''Kool Keith's Bits & Pieces |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501297.html |agency= |work= |publisher= The Washington Post |page=C08 |date=August 26, 2006 |accessdate=19 January 2009
In 2007, Ultramagnetic MCs released the reunion album The Best Kept Secret (Ultramagnetic MCs album)|The Best Kept Secret . In 2009, Kool Keith released the concept album Tashan Dorrsett ; a follow-up, The Legend of Tashan Dorrsett , followed two years later.
Lyrical and performance style
Thornton's lyrics are often Abstract art|abstract ,cite web |url= http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/1996_09_octagon.html |title=Review of Dr. Octagonecologyst |accessdate=2009-01-27 |last=Juon |first=Steve |date = September 1996|publisher=RapReviews surrealism|surreal ,cite book |last=Hess |first=Mickey |title=Is Hip Hop Dead? The Past, Present, and Future of America's Most-Wanted Music |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0275994619 |pages=75–76 |chapter=The Rap Persona and filled with Non sequitur (literary device)|non-sequitur s and juvenile humor.cite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r235693|pure_url=yes |title=Review of Dr. Octagonecologyst |accessdate=2009-01-27 |last=Huey |first=Steve |publisher= Allmusic Thornton is also known for an explicit style focusing on sexual intercourse|sexual themes, which Thornton has referred to as "pornocore".cite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r248878|pure_url=yes |title=Review of Sex Style |accessdate=2009-02-19 |last=Huey |first=Steve |publisher= Allmusic cite web |url= http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/dr-octagon-the-return-of-dr-octagon/ |title=Review of The Return of Dr. Octagon |accessdate=2009-01-27 |last=Frauenhofer |first=Michael |date=June 29, 2006 |publisher= PopMatters In a 2007 interview, Thornton claims to have "invented horrorcore ".cite web |url= http://www.ukhh.com/features/interviews/kool_keith/index.html |title=Kool Keith Interview |accessdate=2008-08-04 |author=Kane |coauthors=QED |date=July 19, 2007 |publisher=Original UK Hip Hop
Kool KeithReel Life Productions Persondata | NAME = Keith, Kool | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = October 19, 1966
| PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Kool Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:African American songwriters Category:American bass guitarists Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Musicians from California Category:Horrorcore artists Category:People from the Bronx Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Underground rappers Category:1966 births Category:DreamWorks Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Reel Life Productions artists
da:Kool Keith de:Kool Keith fr:Kool Keith it:Kool Keith nl:Kool Keith no:Kool Keith
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