Review Summary: Kool Keith proves he is unmatched in his freakishness, and makes one of his greatest albums in the process. With enough one liners and random and perverted non sequiturs to satisfy even the most skeptical listeners...
"Larger than hip-hop, you watch me like the president"
Those of us who have listened to Kool Keith have come to find out that Kool Keith likes themes. If he's not a Doctor, or Black Elvis, he's himself. And this album will tell you a lot about Kool Keith. No matter what alias he's rhyming under, there are three constants in his music: 1. He really likes sex, a lot. 2. He really hates most other rappers, the more famous they are, the more he hates them. and 3. He gets distracted pretty easily, and when he's not doing 1 or 2, he's probably talking about his favorite things: Watersports, Ampex Reels, Saying "Rectum", Slapping people and taking their pistols, etc. "Sex Style", like most Kool Keith records, gets better with each listen, however this seems to be his best album under "Kool Keith". The Production fits Keith's style perfectly. It's half trippy 70's Porno Film, and half Blaxploitation Film, with Kool Keith's incredibly original and abstract lyrics.
The album wastes no time establishing the album's tone, the title track
"Sex Style" is the possibly the dirtiest song on the album lyrically. Funky Synths and heavy Bass are a part of just about every song. And Keith gives us too much information as usual: "
I enter New York, no problem with my dick out/California porno star, my ass you can lick out/Saying what? with sperm dripping down your partner’s butt/I see mcs in my face with their ass up/Let me put my cape on, my rubber and my mask up/Not no horror-core shit, this is porno-core". The beat is as groovy and sleazy as Keith is. And every other sentence seems to have a gold one liner, e.g. "
Drinking vodka, absolut, sipping tanqueray/Mcs jump off, I stung your rectum like a stingray". I said "Possibly the dirtiest" because there are a few songs on the album that are just as nasty if not more nasty. "
Keep it real... Represent" comes to mind. The beat is dark and quiet, and the entire song is about another rapper being outed as a Trans gender Prostitute ("
You on some new stuff, I heard about that sex change/You got a vagina, your grandmother thinks it's strange"). And what is Kool Keith representing? Not New York, not Ultramagnetic, or KutMasta Kurt, he's representing his nuts.... the scrotum.... All the hairs under the testicles. Another example of the album's sleaziness would be "
Make Up Your Mind" also has deep bass and a great beat to support What is probably the best chorus is rap history "Make up your mind, who you want to pump the butt?" The whole song has a lot of energy and displays Keith's ability to "
Throw urine on your mind".
The album's not all filthy, though. "
Plastic World" is one of Kool Keith's best songs. He decides to not mention sex for a song and instead blast weak and unoriginal rappers, the beat has a relentless Snare/Piano combo, the weird synths are a nice touch, especially considering how great all the verses are ("
I left New York, the city itself was stress depression/High boots and urban beats, that wasn’t my direction/Producers filtering join in with R&B/A million rappers, some clones trying to sound like me/Biting my space styles, biting my horror-core/All I saw was Kool Keith's on my tour"), Another more tame, (by Kool Keith's Standards) but great song is "
The Mack Is Back", which has a very funky synth and infectious drumbeat. Kool Keith invites a couple of stars on his tour: "
Yeah! we here tonight, live on stage!/Quincy Jones... James Brown... Prince... Madonna... And of course... Kool Keith!/Take it away, at the grand auditorium!", the song is mainly about sex, but it's not nearly as graphic as some of his other songs. But most likely, you'll like Kool Keith at his nastiest, and "
Don't Crush It" is another X-Rated song. With some some low synths, a few Waah Waahs, and
slay bells?, yes, the entire song has a slay bell sound to it, but it works a lot better than it sounds.
Another big part of "
Sex Style" as an album are the skits. Now I know the general consensus is that skits are annoying, but when done right, they can be funny and a nice addition to the other songs. Skits are important for Kool Keith albums, it gives Keith a chance to further convey his abstract ideas without taking up more time on the album. The skits on the album cover all topics. From sticking lollipops in assholes, making girls crawl and get spit on, and grabbing his cape amid rough sex. They aren't exactly vital to the album, but they seem to fit well with the other songs. "
Still The Best" further shows off Producer Kutmasta Kurt's ability to match his beats with Kool Keith's offbeat style almost as well as Dan The Automator, the song doesn't have the usual amount of one liners, but is still awesome lyrically. "
Sly We Fly", and piano loop with another great beat features Motion Man, who is the only guest other than Sir Menelik, appears in just about every Kool Keith album (He was on Black Elvis, First Come First Served, Project Polaroid, and many other Kool Keith projects.) Keith doesn't have many guests because he doesn't need them, he has enough personalities to last an entire career without another guest appearance.
"
Little Girls" is the angriest song on the album features features more 70's style funkiness mixed with hardcore rap. The first few bars say it all, really "
You got nine cars, tons of champagne, by the cases/Two thousand people killed, fake murder cases/Videos exaggerate things you never make/Your style is all tissue, chocolate fudge cream cake" Only Kool Keith can get away with rhyming "Cases" with "Cases". And the song ends with Keith imitating pop rappers ("I gotta keep this up, this is all a front/This is just gimmicks to sell my records/The people don’t have to know/I mean really, that’s just me, even though we’re soft, Me and my friends all of us/We just make money... that’s all... it’s a gimmick") "
In Your Face" is a song that will take time to grow on you, the beat is a little minimal, but they still go well with what Keith is saying.
Regular Girls is an extremely funky ode to Kool Keith's least favorite type of woman, the normal, regular, run of the mill girl. Girls who don't like tossing salad and golden showers really seem to annoy Keith ("
Regular girl, is so boring (get out my face)/Regular girl, you never turn me on (work the latex)"). On "
Lovely Lady", Keith knows what the ladies want, even if they don't. And he finds an eloquent way to put it: "
Rock your boots, and leave my style written on your cooch". The song features another cheap perverted beat, and more than a few more Non Sequiturs ("
I want that purple cadillac with the lime green rag top, yeah!"/"
She lookin' good comin' home from work!/I hope she buy me a pair of expensive Mauri Alligators")
As great as all of Kool Keith's songs are on this album, they are nothing compared to the final song, "
Get Off My Elevator" Which wasn't even on the first pressing of the album. It's technically considered a bonus song, but it is easily the best song Keith Matthew Thornton has ever done, at least to me. Kutmasta Kurt samples an old Average White Band song to create the funkiest rap beat I've ever hear. With a nonstop Waah Wahh Porno Bass line, and an excellent beat, Kool Keith threatens to have security escort you out of his building just for being "
Nosey, and un-highclassed". The song sums up the entire album perfectly, Keith boasts as usual asking rappers to "
Get off (His) two sacks, light your pipes, load your crack." And Just when you think you've heard the entire album, Keith surprises you with one more classic song. The song is apparently a remix based on the hook of an old Ultramagnetic MCs Song called "Yo Black" The beat is near perfect and more sexually charged boasting from Keith. But the best part of the song has to be his absurd amount of one-liners ("Shooting my love drops that come from the weapon"/ "I grow like a Chia Pet"/ "Like Sam Cassell, Poppin Balls like a Houston Rocket"/"I cruise and Ooze in your midsection"/"I be smokin', tappin' butt for a long time".) I could honestly go on much further, but your best bet is to buy listen to the album. If you are an honest fan of anything Kool Keith has done, I can almost guarantee you'll love this album. The album gets better and funkier with each spin, so if you thought you played Dr. Octagon a lot, just wait until you hear this.
One of the main knocks on Kool Keith is his alleged inconsistency. I can honestly say that "
Sex Style" is not only Kool Keith's most consistent effort, it may also be his most cohesive. Everything about this album seems to fit perfectly. It's not perfect, but you will never forget the album once you've heard it, it may be your cup of tea, and it may not. But chances are you'll have a hard time forgetting about Kool Keith "
shooting (his) love drops that come from the weapon" If you're a fan of Kool Keith, or just nasty, weird S
hit in general, this might be your new favorite album.
Pros
Nearly perfect production
very original
Kool Keith is in his prime
Cons
May be too nasty, or too weird to be enjoyed
the skits may get on some people's nerves
One of the best songs on the album is hidden after the last song
Recommended Tracks
Make Up Your Mind
Keep It Real... Represent
Get Off My Elevator
4.5/5
