CANCELLED – Refunds coming – Kool Keith with Stay Tuned and Episodic Memory

A unique figure in hip-hop, Kool Keith started out a member of the influential Bronx group Ultramagnetic MCs in the 1980s. The man born Keith Thornton subsequently appeared under the names Dr. Dooom and Dr. Octagon before reverting to Kool Keith. Like Sun Ra, he’s cultivated a willfully bizarre persona, often claiming to be from another planet, and his recordings bear some otherworldly touches as well. Black Elvis/Lost in Space from 1999 put Keith on the map as a solo artist. Dozens of releases have followed, from solo efforts to collaborative ventures like the Analog Brothers (with Ice-T) and the Diesel Truckers (with KutMasta Kurt). His latter-day output includes 2015’s Time? Astonishing! (with L’Orange) and 2019’s Keith (produced by Psycho Les of the Beatnuts), as well as fashion-themed efforts like 2021’s Keith’s Salon.