Kool Keith

Kool Keith of the Ultramagnetic MCs is perhaps one of the most unorthodox and creative artists in the game. A quick listen to any Ultramagnetic track will reveal an MC who doesn't seek to follow the path of his contemporaries. While other MCs were bragging and boasting about how many rhymes, cars and women they had, Keith was declaring he was headed to Bellevue (a New York mental hospital). Not since Bronx MC Funkmaster Wizard Wiz's 1986 Bellevue Patient had an MC convincingly declared himself insane. By the early 90s, Keith had assumed the "Rhythm X" and "Poppa Large" alter egos, and by the end of the decade, the seemingly schizophrenic wordsmith was known by several monikers.

Dr. Octagon

Under the alias Dr. Octagon, Kool Keith dropped the groundbreaking solo project Dr. Octagon on May, 7 1996, on Bulk Recordings. The album was reissued the next year with an alternate track listing on Dreamworks, and was renamed Dr. Octagonecologyst.

Produced by Dan The Automator, Dr. Octagon was a mash up of Hip-Hop beats complete with cuts and scratches (by Q Bert and KutMasta Kurt), porno movie clips, odd samples and some of the most bizarre concepts and lyrics Keith's demented mind could conjure up. Dr. Octagon's home is Jupiter, and he is described as an extraterrestrial gynecologist.

Dr. Octagon produced the singles "Earth People," "3000," and "Blue Flowers." The song "Bear Witness" is an impressive instrumental show of turntable skills by Q Bert and "Halfsharkalligatorhalfman" was a hidden track on the original pressing, which featured Keith flexing over the "You're A Customer" drums from EPMD's debut single.

Kool Keith would later assume the alter egos "Black Elvis," "Dr. Dooom" and "Mr. Nogatco," and he released The Return of Dr. Octagon in 2003. His alter egos would sometimes overlap with Dr. Octagon being murdered by Dr. Dooom on First Come, First Served and Dr. Dooom 2.

Dr. Octagon stands as one of the most creative pieces of Hip-Hop from the 90's.