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ULTRA
Big Time: The Legacy Continues
(Threshold/Funky Ass)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry
"With messed up grammar your weak style ain't stoppin' shit."Reissued from 1997, this is a belated new chapter in the continuing saga of one of my all time favorite MCs. Kool Keith (Thornton), who has graced projects with The Ultramagnetic MCs, Doctor Octagon, The Cenobites, Bill Laswell, The Analog Brothers, Masters of Illusion, Doctor Dooom, and Awol One, etcetera, etcetera, is The only rapper to even get close, in my opinion, is Guru (from Gangstarr). Thornton just brought out his "Spankmaster" album, which was an exercise in the lo-fi lyrical brilliance that I've almost taken for granted whenever I've picked up an album by him. Could Puffy, Jay-Z, or anyone else just bust out a great album every four months? I don't think anyone has actually even almost matched Kool Keith since Miles Davis was around.
"Take out your whole back piece, blow your fuckin' spectrum. Wipe off your shirt, your style is baby doo-doo squirt. I don't care, beware. Smell smoke, watch your back. I'm up close like acne pimples in your ass crack."
Tim Dog (of "Fuck Compton" fame) is on board steady with rhymes that'll makes you seek out his Penicillin on Wax or Do or Die albums too. Kut Masta Kurt is at the boards, and once again shows the he understands the dynamics of a Kool Keith song. Get "Masters of Illusion" for further proof. The Automator produced one track ("Fat Lady"), and I'm more than ready for another dose of Thornton & Nakamura. Paging Mr. Gerbik.
As highly recommended as practically everything Keith's done it the past few years that I've been listening to him avidly, and waiting patiently all those minutes for him to drop something else. By the time this gets published he'll probably have something brand new out, and I'll own it cuz it's that good.
© 2001 - Jason Thornberry