An original member of New York's new-school pioneers the Ultramagnetic MC's… Read Full Bio ↴An original member of New York's new-school pioneers the Ultramagnetic MC's, "Kool" Keith Thornton is best known as a solo rapper. His signature style is stream-of-consciousness lyrical flow and complex vocals, two skills that earn him a perennial nod from the underground hip-hop community. The average Kool Keith album is peppered with bizarre, disjointed, even delusional or disassociated themes, concepts, and references. Nearly all of his albums incorporate a satirical dislike for more commercialized strains of hip-hop, as well as major record labels.

Thornton's early career and lyrics with the Ultramagnetic MC's often referenced his time as a patient of Bellevue, a psychiatric hospital, where he was treated for depression. With Ultramagnetic MC's, his abstract style developed, maturing in songs like Poppa Large. He was probably the first rapper to create an alter ego, and then create an alter ego for that alter ego (Kool Keith v. Moe Luv). After the Ultramagnetic MC's broke up, he expanded his resume, experimenting with new styles, including his self-described pornocore, known for pornographic imagery and brutal, abstract lyrics. Sex Style released in 1997, was the showcase for this genre.

Teaming up with Dan the Automator Nakamura under the name Dr. Octagon, Thornton again reinvented his image, recording the self-titled Dr. Octagon album (later reissued under the title Dr. Octagonecologyst) which was released by the English trip hop label Mo Wax. The album received critical acclaim, though mainly from sources outside the mainstream hip-hop community. The critical success of the album helped to open the accessibility of the underground hip hop scene to an appreciative audience. For Dan the Automator, this album laid the foundation for a burgeoning career and accolades as a producer; for Thornton, the success of Dr. Octagonecologyst seemed to put him in danger of being typecast as a "space and Mars" rapper, or an industry tool, which he throughout his career has looked down upon.

His style as a whole is characterized by non sequiturs and bizarre commentary, particularly anal, fecal and genital references. For example, "Chief administrator suck my oil," "Dr. Ludicrous I turn into an octopus," "All this jealousy shit is mayonnaise and celery shit," "Two drinks minimum, don't worry, we're maximum," etc. An instrumental version of the album, Instrumentalyst, showcased the production, became a rising success with most of the credit given to Dan the Automator and other collaborators, even though Thornton is credited on the LP with some production duties.

List of projects, groups and alter-egos:

- Ultramagnetic MC's
- Dr. Octagon
- Dr. Dooom
- Sinister 6000 (Dan the Automator)
- Black Elvis
- Masters of Illusion
- Analog Brothers
- Mr. Nogatco
- Project Polaroid
- Tashan Dorset
- Sex Style
- Ultra
- The Cenobites
- Sergei Khmelev

(this list is incomplete)

NBA SuperStar
Kool Keith Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

"And the Rockets in the penalty, and that's one of the things we talked about
Earlier. For a guy who you can see now is one of the greatest stars of the
League, he is such a team first player, and such an unselfish player."

"When you say that this guy is averaging right at 27 points a game. And then you
Say that he's doing it in rebounding, and then also in assists. He's shooting
48% from the field, but in shot attempts he's under 18 a game. So he maximizes
So that all of the rest of the guys who are playing with him are happy. Because

He's not shooting a low percentage, he's not hogging the ball, he's not
Breaking the patterns, he's staying within everything that we're doing."

[Kool Keith:]
I'm that busy Globetrotter, watch you turds skitty-scatter
Do one titty matter? Your girl's an overweight mammal
I work up court, y'all can D up on my handle
I pee on your spot, take your startin slot
Slam my cock in your jaw 'til your bracelets and arms rot
I will jerk off if her booty stink, cause my palm is hot
The crowd watch me jump up and touch the 24 second clock
You ain't no threat, youse a lucky come-up
With a histerectomy from the second block
Your wife smokin lookin for a second rock
Nuts filled up to the top, you remember choc'
Across the street from Donut King, maneuver with donut swing

[Keith: voice lowered]
Man you better leave basketball alone and take your panties home
Man you better leave basketball alone and take your panties home
Ask Paul Silas, the coach of Anthony and Jerome
My pee stick to the floor I will block your baseline
Your inbound lay-up no matter how much coke you put up your ass
Even with a bunch of kids around you behind you you still can't stay up
Come on faggot, take out your Tampax and crush your heart bra
And set a new play up; man to man defense
You move in a female sequence
The type that's comin out of your jeans to make cameltoes
Or throw up prints, I'm too dominatin
Down low I kick the dirtiest things on hot rinse
Make sure your buttcrack deal with the nail and hammer penetration
I leave you backed up with rap constipation
Everybody SCARED to move they bowels
Get Haterade and I do suggest you use your towels
Man you better leave basketball alone, and take your panties home
Man you better leave basketball alone
And go home and take your panties home

[Kool Keith:]
I'll be at the All-Star practice with turds on top of your chick's mattress
Full speed, doo-doo mode~!
Y'all ain't the big dogs, full stretched out
You right and curly walkin around in poodle mode
Tractor trailer back up y'all pick up a giant, DOO-DOO LOAD
Truck stop Flying J-er
Season tickets man you can't sit next to me the Mayor
You gas abuser, you need a PT Cruiser
Dance around the keyboards like the great Bob Moog-ah

[voice lowered:]
Man, you better leave basketball alone and take your panties home
Man, you better leave, basketball alone, and take yo' panties home

"And the Rockets in the penalty, and that's one of the things we talked about
Earlier. For a guy who you can see now is one of the greatest stars of the
League, he is such a team first player, and such an unselfish player."

"When you say that this guy is averaging right at 27 points a game. And then you
Say that he's doing it in rebounding, and then also in assists. He's shooting
48% from the field, but in shot attempts he's under 18 a game. So he maximizes
So that all of the rest of the guys who are playing with him are happy. Because

He's not shooting a low percentage, he's not hogging the ball, he's not
Breaking the patterns, he's staying within everything that we're doing."

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Kool Keith's song "NBA SuperStar" are an interesting pairing with the commentary on a basketball game. The first set of lyrics focuses on praising a specific player on the Rockets team for being a team-first player who maximizes his opportunities to score without hogging the ball or breaking patterns. This highlights the value of teamwork and unselfishness in basketball. However, the rest of the song takes a more vulgar and aggressive direction towards insulting opponents and their partners. Kool Keith seems to be boasting about his skills on the court and his sexual prowess, but also seems to be insulting and demeaning towards others.

Line by Line Meaning

And the Rockets in the penalty, and that's one of the things we talked about Earlier. For a guy who you can see now is one of the greatest stars of the League, he is such a team first player, and such an unselfish player.
The Rockets are now in a difficult position in the game, which we discussed earlier. Despite being one of the greatest stars in the league, this player prioritizes the team above himself and is not selfish.

When you say that this guy is averaging right at 27 points a game. And then you Say that he's doing it in rebounding, and then also in assists. He's shooting 48% from the field, but in shot attempts he's under 18 a game. So he maximizes So that all of the rest of the guys who are playing with him are happy. Because He's not shooting a low percentage, he's not hogging the ball, he's not Breaking the patterns, he's staying within everything that we're doing.
This player is averaging 27 points per game and performing well in rebounding and assists. He has a good shooting percentage and takes fewer shots per game, ensuring that his teammates are happy and he is not disrupting the team's strategy.

Contributed by Isaac S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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