[from the
Bronx, New York] with the DJ still in place, Kool Keith suddenly materialized
with an average-joe-rapper sidekick in tow (fast, upbeat, clean-cut) – sidekick
seemed to be there to keep the show moving, keep Kool Keith in touch with the
crowd, and monitor Kool Keith in general – perhaps I was biased by reports that
Kool Keith has schizophrenia but he definitely didn’t dissuade me of his
insanity – his head and most of his face was shrouded in a silver be-glittered
wrap and he had on a plush velour-like jacket – the show wasn’t what I expected
– I was only familiar with the Black Elvis incarnation of Kool Keith and it was
too spacey and freaky for me – the nerdy rapper notion I had of him was
entirely off – he’s from the Bronx and the huge range of his sound always had a
menacing undertone – the beats ranged from gangsta rap to party/dance rap to
intelligent hip-hop to quirky nerd rap to nasty freak rap – his voice was good,
smooth and calm and low – the lyrics were complicated but then full of silly
rhymes – roller-derby-looking girl had warned me that Kool Keith typically
plays 30 seconds of each song before switching which she found upsetting but
was all right by me – seemed like the only songs they finished were the
explicitly sexual ones – they did invite girls up from the crowd and one drunk
one is embarrassed today at the spectacle she made of herself – the sidekick
did the “hoo hoo” that the Wu-Tang does and I want to know what it means – the
sidekick handled most of the crowd pumping and interaction but Kool Keith went
off on a monologue at one point that was so nonsensical it was hilarious (Who
likes sandwiches? Who likes Super 8s? Who likes the roach that crawls across
your hotel window?...) – in then end, the music was really good and the two
rappers were endearing – Kool Keith seemed an insane genius, still a child
though, and his sidekick is the supportive vehicle through which he can
communicate with the world (Photo courtesy of http://www.plugonemag.com/2009/01/27/kool-keith-tours-as-dr-octagon-dr-dooom)
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