Tell me if you’ve heard this one: an alien gynecologist travels through time, botching operations and having sex with his patients and nurses. Oh, and he also happens to rap. This is the premise of Kool Keith’s album, Dr. Octagonecologyst (1996).
Kool Keith began his career with the Ultramagnetic MCs, a group known for its progressive sound. Keith rapped about his treatment in a psychiatric hospital for depression before going solo with the 1994 breakup of Ultramagnetic. He became infamous for his absurd lyrics and created dozens of alter egos, his most famous being Dr. Octagon. Working with producer Dan “the Automator” Nakamura and scratch-maestro DJ QBert, Kool Keith created Dr. Octagonecologyst.
In much of the album, Keith expresses his contempt of commercial rap. He released Dr. Octagonecologyst as a reaction against mainstream acceptance of rap, drawing attention to hip hop’s underground roots.
Yet even this anti-mainstream premise oversimplifies the album. The album’s diverse samples testify to Dr. Octagon’s eclectic style—sources range from Malcolm McLaren’s “Buffalo Girls” to Bela Bartok’s “Violin Concerto No. 2.” DJ QBert’s skills with the turntable are apparent on every track, and his scratch work and sampling alone are one reason to listen to the album.
The lyrics are frantic, dirty, disturbing and amusing all at once. Consider this gem from the track, “Dr. Octagon”: “Wax in your inner ear, doodoo in your outer ear/Two cows a zebra will jump through your atmosphere.”
Many other tracks run the same vein. “Girl Let Me Touch You There” is a hilarious attempt by the doctor to seduce his patient, each verse full of sexual innuendo. “Halfsharkalligatorhalfman” chronicles the rampages of Dr. Octagon’s uncle, an ancient mutant facing discrimination by Los Angeles residents because of his appearance.
“Dr. Octagon,” “Earth People,” “Wild and Crazy” and “Waiting List” provide detailed accounts of medical malpractice, while “No Awareness” is a string of scientific mumbo jumbo bringing back memories of freshman physics. Other songs, such as “Real Raw,” “I’m Destructive” and “Technical Difficulties” flesh out Dr. Octagon’s rap persona, featuring the posturing and braggadocio common in hip hop.
No song, however, shows off Dr. Octagon’s multiple personalities better than “Blue Flowers.” The psychedelic lyrics and eerie violin sample give a more somber, disturbing face to the jovial doctor. The song ends with scratching that sounds like a dying patient’s wheezing.
At times, Keith as Dr. Octagon spits out rhymes so absurd and free they have been dubbed, “diarrhea of the mind.” The refrains in such songs as “3000” and “Halfsharkalligatorhalfman” sometimes come across as repetitive and slightly ridiculous. But somehow, these eccentricities and flaws are part of the album’s appeal.
It is dirty, it is funny, it is schizophrenic. It is just what the doctor ordered.
