Inbetween the resurrection of
Dr. Octagon and the return of
Dr. Dooom, Keith Thornton turned up under yet another alias, Mr. Nogatco. The story goes along these lines: Nogatco is a government agent working for a secret government operations involving extraterrestrials. Thus, there are a lot of '50s B-movie sci-fi themes going out throughout the album. Behind Keith's production is Iz-Real, who also contributed to further Insomniac releases with other alternative rappers like
MF Doom.
Lyrically, Keith remains as abstract and unpredictable as ever, delivering some of the most bizarre lyrics on record, to the point where Thornton may be accused of overdoing it. Still, there are many strong points on this album, both lyrically and musically. Perhaps the best moment on the album comes when
Sage Francis and
Sole join Keith for an appropriately spacey freestyle.
Many of the tracks contain sparse beats and popping synths. "Alpha Omega" incorporates Oriental instruments. Most of the lyrics are thinly-veiled references to his career ("Many aliases") , while electric guitar riffs are brought in for "Big Adventure" and "Black 37". "Different" begins with trippy, Beat jazz-style saxophone riffs and jumps into break-beatesque chaos before ending with a ominous chorus implying the depths of Hell.
I don't think that
Nogatco did as much for me as other Keith albums, with
Dr. Octagonecologyst featuring stronger explorations of the kinds of themes and lyrical ideas explored here. Still, while
Nogatco Rd. may not be one of Kool Keith's best, but Keith delivers what many listeners have come to expect from him: a bizarre and atmospheric album with some truly unique concepts. There are enough strong tracks on here to satisfy fans of rap's weirdest performer.
