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Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagon

An extraterrestrial time-travelling gynaecologist from Jupiter, voiced by Kool Keith, who redrew the boundaries of 1990s hip hop.

APPLE MUSIC

Blue Flowers

Dr. Octagon

About

MOODS · surreal · eerie · cinematic · otherworldly · abstract · dark · inventive · horrorcore · experimental · free-associative

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Octagon is a persona created by American rapper Keith Matthew Thornton, better known as Kool Keith, first introduced in 1993 on the unreleased Ultramagnetic MC's demo 'Smoking Dust.' The character, an extraterrestrial time-travelling gynaecologist and surgeon from the planet Jupiter, became the centerpiece of Thornton's 1996 concept album Dr. Octagonecologyst, produced by Dan the Automator and Kutmasta Kurt with scratching by DJ Qbert. The album was first released on the small Bulk Recordings label before DreamWorks Records issued it nationally in 1997. Melody Maker called it 'bloody essential,' and The Source awarded it 3.5 out of 5 mics. The character was later killed off by Dr. Dooom on 1999's First Come, First Served, revived, and killed again on 2008's Dr. Dooom 2 after a dispute over The Return of Dr. Octagon, an album made largely without Thornton's involvement. Thornton reunited with Dan the Automator and DJ Qbert for Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation in 2018.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Dr. Octagon fused Kool Keith's free-associative, surreal lyricism with Dan the Automator's eerie, cinematic production and DJ Qbert's inventive scratching to create one of the strangest and most celebrated hip hop records of its era. Dr. Octagonecologyst drew outsized critical attention for a non-mainstream rap release, was praised by outlets like Melody Maker and The Source, and was later included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The character's mythology, including its on-record 'deaths' and the legal dispute over its name, only deepened its cult standing.

ON WOKE-1

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