producer: kool keith

guests: black silver the navigator, roger troutman, sadat x, kid capri, noggin' nodders from oakland

Step out of his way, Kool Keith is at it again (check his ‘thank youse’). "That's right tomorrow I plan to boo your shows in the Apollo" ("Intro"). And this time he’s the original Black Elvis. This being the twin brother of Dr Dooom, there is a distinctive character to this persona of Keith. Black Elvis is the Big Willie, spaced out player, that lives the Jet Set live, travels in private plains and waters his plants with champagne.

Redefining what ‘space age pimping’ means on "I See Robots", i’s only one of the Big Willie tracks on the album. On "Black Elvis" he reinvents himself as a Rock star and lives the lavish live. Or he’s the big corporate executive guy on "The Girls Don't Like The Job", rhyming "I'm busy with the President of the United States / discussing more rates on a higher level / don't give me feedback, I don't need that / two trips to Costa Rica, I'll be a week back / before you sign a new act, find out if they wack / your budget will be low, and you'll be fired, highly retired / I'm the new boss of this company girl / I want you to fax yourself to China, okay? Do this now". Finally he brings to live a "Keith Turbo", who is the man that "can throw a hundred thousand pound walrus right through the walls" and is "mad like five gorillas in the vocal booth" and ends careers on the nice "All The Time" with "you think you're hardcore? You're opposite, rappin softcore / kickin metaphor with zeroes, I give you a score / monster amateur, I move up kid, then I damage ya".

Being sparse with guest appearances, only the Noggin’ Nodders from Oakland, Roger Troutman (R.I.P.), Kid Capri, Black Silver and Sadat X, who spits "Hey Keith I just met this chick, why am I arguing with this girl?" and "I want the whole world and my old girl back / she left me for the postman, now she send me letters", make it onto to album.

Kool Keith makes sure you know that he does not want to sound any other way than this. He’s rhyming "burn up Billboard charts, deactivating 1975 music, old soul / will never go gold, while records warp / insulting your duplicating of a sample / you will become an example, uncreative peasants / by the lessons of the untalented ones / signed by your most stupidest A&R" ("Rockets On The Battlefield"). And he declares: "disco music, jazz loops, I ain't tryin to be you" ("I Don’t Play").

But that’s to some extend what’s missing here. Even though his spaced out beats, trying to do unusual stuff is all cool, but they still needs to be dope and get your head bobbin’. These beats oftentimes don’t. And they oftentimes sound too similar, with most of the tracks being in the same ‘spirit’, oftentimes concentrating too hard on synthesizer effects. And so it’s no surprise that when Keith switches things, like on "Supergalactic Lover" or "All The Time" (the two tracks with a sample), these tracks seem to work the best. And even the R’n’B crooning of a female, happens to be a welcomed change. Same with the westcoast sounding "Master Of The Game" that sets a different mood due to Roger Troutman lending his magic to the track. Nevertheless, Keith’s spacedoutness works on tracks like "Lost In Space" or on "Clifton", that comes closest to space age jazz, are both nicely crafted and show an opposite to the other easy listening, not mocking up beats that can easily played in the background.

With confusing rhymes and unheard beats, Kool Keith stays true to what made him notorious, while at the same time never standing still. That’s why so many hip hop fans, especially from the backpacker circle love him, cherish him and support him. That’s why Keith trying hard to diss ‘em on "I Don’t Play" is hard to understand, but then again, it’s not Keith, it’s Black Elvis that does it.