Equally known as a co-founder of renowned and legendary hip-hop act Ultramagnetic MCs and for a lengthy and uncompromising solo career in which he has taken up a number of aliases and personas, while collaborating with an array of emcees and producers, Kool Keith is arguably one of hip-hop’s most unique and strangest artists as he’s spent his prolific recording career continually perfecting and expanding upon his inimitable flow, full of surreal and fantastical tangents, grimly violent and nightmarish imagery and pop cultural references while frequently and effortlessly switching perspectives, moods and points of view within the same song. Kool Keith’s latest effort, 2016’s Future Magnetic features the Bronx-born and-based emcee collaborating with Ras Kass, Atmosphere’s Slug, MF Doom, Dirt Nasty and a lengthy list of others.
Now, if you had been frequenting this site over the course of last year, you may recall that I wrote about album “World Wide Lamper,” a single consisting of a menacingly sparse and hypotonic production featuring twinkling synths, and subtly propulsive drum programming paired with Kool Keith, B.A.R.S. Murre and Dirt Nasty trading braggadocio-filled bars full of insane punchlines that make references to pop culture, the profane, the grisly violent and the surreal, and “Super Hero,” a collaboration with the renowned producer Madlib that featured a production consisting of wobbling, undulating synths, stuttering drum programming and looped chimes paired with Kool Keith crafting a warped, comic book world of eccentric and badass anti-heroes.
Future Magnetic‘s latest single “Tired,” pairs an atmospheric and moody production featuring ethereal synths, wobbling low end and bursts bluesy guitar with Kool Keith and Edo. G rhyming about being world weary, under-appreciated, dealing with hateful, jealous people, of fucked up socioeconomic circumstances and industry bullshit, but while somehow still not losing the knowledge of what they’re worth and why they got into music in the first place — to express themselves and their irrepressible need to be creative at all costs. And in typical Kool Keith fashion, he does so with his imitable sense of wit and humor with Edo G. bringing in the
Directed by Wayne Campbell, the recently released, cinematically shot music video for “Tired” features some gorgeous footage of various parts of New York — in particular the F.D.R. near the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges, Kool Keith vamping and hanging out in a hotel room, Edo. G in a lonely, late night club and Keith and Edo on the streets. And while being a view of decadent lifestyle of the artists in question, there’s an underlying sadness to it all, as there’s a sense of lonely and weary people doing things to distract from their own loneliness and despair.
