Customer Reviews

Diesel Truckers

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Keith's legendary status in the rap genre is not open to debate. Whether it's his groundbreaking arrival with the Ultramagetic Mc's to the bizarre revelatory transformation of Dr.Octagon, his ability to endlessly create new styles and personas has influenced a countless number of mc's for generations, both in the underground and mainstream spheres. No other rapper from his era has managed to reinvent the game as often, most experience difficulty just keeping the pace. While the others from his generation were ready to bow out and accept their lifetime achievement awards by the mid 90's, Keith dropped Dr.Octagon, an album that almost single handedly revitalized underground hip-hop and created a whole new world of possibilities for the genre. Since then his work has been criticised for not reaching the same level of genius, but to establish Octagon as the sole comparison of measure would be unfair. Many fans consider Dr.Dooom to be it's equal and most appreciated the warped genius displayed on 'Sex Style' and 'Black Elvis'. However, despite successful collaborative attempts with Analog Brothers and Masters Of Illusion, ever since Dooom Keith has been subjected to great criticism, especially his decision to take a more active role in the production side of things. This naturally yielded mixed results, with the overlooked `Spankmaster' being labelled as the worst of the bunch. It was arguably the closest thing fans have come to witness Keith mentally disintegrate right before their very eyes and for it's bugged out nature alone and sheer novelty factor it's worth the price of admission. Undertakerz and White Label were completely unacceptable and even the most devoted keith fans were tired by this stage.

Thankfully Keith worked in his interests for once and get in contact with this sidekick Kurt Matlin to finally go ahead with the Diesel Truckers project. Kutmasta Kurt is arguably the only beatmaker that fully understands keith's style and provides him with the most suitable framework for his lyrical excursions to the next world and beyond. The opening `Diesel Truckers Theme' sounds like it was designed to explode subwoofers on a global scale, with it's distorted boom kicks and analog sounds pulsating widely throughout. Similarly, `The Orchestrators' marks a return to Keith's acrobatic style of the late 90's, once again demonstrating that nobody can rhyme offbeat with as much dexterity and style. `Takin It Back' is quite possibly the smoothest track the duo have produced thus far into their careers, while `I Love U Nancy' is a dedication that Keith assures us is `straight from the heart'. Both show a different more laid back style for Keith that us fans aren't used to. He appears to be having more fun of this album than usual and isn't as concerned with industry/scene politics. Whether it was keith's decision to take a chill pill or not it has reaped dividends as this is his most enjoyable album in years, lacking the bitter aftertaste of `Spankmaster' and `Matthew's overdone scene polemics. `The Legendary' and `Mane' are more old school throwbacks, the latter coming off as a humorous parody of the West Coast songs that annoyingly force the title of the song into their rhymes constantly.

The real highlights of the album though come in the shape of the more left-field choices. `Mental side effects' shows Keith zig zagging effortlessly to an oddly syncopated electronic beat alongside fellow crazies in Fat Hed and J.Jasper. On 'Serve 'Em A Sentence' the spankmaster is joined by his most complimentary rhyming partner motion man, who turns up the electricity over an intense throbbing bass line. 'Kenworth With Wings' is a triumphant return to the 'space funk' style that keith fans will lap up. It's part black Elvis, part analog brothers, 100% vintage keith, with odd lyrics ranging from intergalatic space travel to weird government conspiracies. All in all this album is a perfect distillation of nearly all keith's styles of the past with enough fresh ideas to sustain the interest of both hardcore and casual fans alike. This is more than a return to form, it's just a great album in its own right that proves that Keith is not just a mere player in the game, he is still a contender for the throne.

This CD is a nice collaborative Kool Keith / Kutmsta Kurt project with more than a few guest appearances and zero skits. The references to 70's sports, 80's funk, and old school hip hop make this very entertaining. Kool Keith is as nutty as ever. Highlights include Break U Off, I love You Nancy, the silly tracks I Drop Money, MANE, and Bamboozled, and the downright funky Kenworths with Wings. I was a bit disappointed by the track with Motion Man, Serve 'Em a Sentance. I was expecting some humor and banter, given how wonderful Masters of Illusion was. But the track has a head-pounding beat and the most serious, humorless message on the album. At least they worked against my expectations. I can't wait to see what they crank-out next. They have been on a roll since Masters of Illusion. Put this on in your car and give alternative hip-hop a try.

Honestly the first time I heard this album, I was not to sure. Though now it is completely obvious to me that this one of the best albums in the Kool Keith collection. The production is tight !!!!!!! some crazy tracks - Serve em a sentence - I drop money - bamboozled - and Kenworths with wings, just to name a few.

Don't let anyone fool you this album is ill !!

Keith does it again. This album is raw, once again proving that he's a vet when it comes to the rap game. My favorite track is #2, but they're all great. The reason I only gave it 4 stars though because it wasn't anything that new. He's sounded like this before but it's that style that I love, so I gave it a 4. If you're a KK fan then go get this album. If you've never heard him before I wouldn't recommend that you start with this album though, go get Black Elvis or Dr. Dooom. Keith, you're one hell of a rap artist.

I kinda got a little tired Of Kool Keith after Sex Style. The albums were just O.k. This new album brings him back to the top. Easily the best release since Dr.Octagon. If you were like me, which I know a lot of you are, give this a spin. I do not think you will be disappointed.

If you only new what mc'n was about. "My funky type of rhyme and my style is psycho" lets cee Eminem is crazy. Tupac is Thug political style. Paris Political. KRS1 Philospher. Dead Prez. Rev.Gangs.Pol. and so on... kool kieth is my fav. artist of all time...then tupac then face... I am hiphop and ive been listenin to ultra since i was a kid... i didnt have to catch up lyke some of ya newcombers I had older bros in hiphop.. ok sorry im babblin Im sorry...ok this album is too dope...if you understand lyricism and true art u will treasure this joint... some of you will have too listen to it over and over too pick up on some of tha main points my home kieth says...its crazy he is tha best... better than Eminem... nah but pik this joint up headz... 4 real... also get that deltron 3030... oh and Tra "Undaground Sunshine" thats commin out this spring www.madnoize.com

To no one's surprise, Keith remains different on this most recent outing. As a long time fan of Kool Keith and Ultramagnetic, I was a little disappointed in this CD only because it lacked some of the shock value that I associate with his releases.

However there are some bangers on here that I play over and over, beginning with the title track. Kutmasta Kurt turns the bass up extra loud for this one, and the hook is a combo of old school (see Davey D & Ice-T for the originals). A few others to check out are tracks 4, 7, 8 & 14. Track 8 uses a beat that Ultramagnetic made famous in the D.J. Red Alert days.

To me, the best track is #14, Kenworth with wings. The beat is futuristic, with a flow to match. It's reminiscence of the Dr. Octagon style, with Keith refering to "Aliens trading machines for Deisal engines"!!

The downside of this album is that it feels like it's release was delayed. Also, the guest appearances seemed overdone, with guest M.C.s not being in Sync. Even Motion Man could have come harder. He and Keith showed no mercy in their 2001 release, "Masters of Illusion", which is a MUST HAVE. But this CD is still worth listening too, even if you are not a Keith fan.

This is the only Kool Keith album that I have right now except for Critical Beatdown with the Ultramagnetic MC's. I picked this up to see where Keith's state of mind is nowadays. Keith's voice still sounds the same as his days with MC Ultra, and you get glimpses of those earlier days on this new release.

This one doesn't quite have the feel of a coherent album (except the two Diesel Truckers joints), just sounds like a collection of tracks that's he's done recently. Upon the first listen through, I wasn't too impressed, but the more I listened the better it got. The first track that really stood out was #7, Diesel Truckin'. The last two (excluding the bonus) tracks, "Serve Em A Sentence" and "Kenworths For Wings," are quite impressive and they cover social commentary and abstract rhyming, respectively. The later seems to be one of Keith's specialties, ground he has probably covered before in some of his earlier solo work, which I am not yet familiar with.

Listening more in depth to this album, I could listen to tracks 4-8 all day over and over again. Track 4 ("Takin' It Back") reminisces of his school days and early rappin'. The two Diesel Truckers tracks (#1 and #7) are both standouts, as well as the tracks mentioned in the previous paragraph. "The Orchestrators" is a memorable one too. Also, "MANE" and "GAME" are different variations of the same track, with some lyrics interchanged, and both are decent. Kutmasta Kurt adds some really zany and some bumping beats to back up Keith, helping to keep your attention. Most of the tracks are short, especially the verses.

Kool Keith is just an enigma. You never hear about him from mainstream fans, and he is not mentioned that often among the underground heads. He just does his own thing, and even songs like "Break U Off" and "I Drop Money" which sound similar to commercial stuff, aren't wack. You can tolerate songs like these because it's Keith. You know he ain't doing them to gain attention and sell records, it's just who he is. He has his own agenda and he can rap about anything (track 14 is a prime example). He doesn't waste a lot of time saying he's better than the hip-pop fake rappers, although he does drop a couple lines criticizing them, and says that rap needs to "get better, more clever." There has been quite a few strong releases lately from real hiphop artists like the Roots, Brand Nubian, KRS-One, Gift of Gab, Masta Ace, and of course Kool Keith, and hopefully more will take notice. If not, oh well, that's not their aim. Check out Keith's latest release (if you can find it in stores) because he contributes his part, helping to advance this art.

Who could look into the eyes of this disk and think nothing other then genius. The master of foreign relations drags you along the outskirts of his brain wave, fueling up for frequent flyer miles. You need to do more then homework for this to dissolve systematically. The first track is a real eye opener and "can I buy you a drink" is more than solid form. He wrote another rocket for the battlefield with "kenworth's with wings"

I'm glad to see that he is taking all the work away from me. Too much can be said about this one.

Maybe that's why he did an album

OK,here we go again. KOOL KEITH and KUTMASTA KURT. A duo since 'SEX STYLE',KURT missing on 'SPANKMASTER' but sounding close to his production. From DR. DOOOM to THE LOST TAPES,nothing has made me say 'that's a badass KOOL KEITH album'. Until now.

The 'DIESEL TRUCKERS' finally record an album instead of producing (they produced DR. DOOOM's "FIRST COME,FIRST SERVED"). This time around,the lyrics are enjoyable and the production is tighter than ever before (with scratching). The totally different "Mental Side Effects",the old schooling "The Legendary" and "Takin' It Back",the MIXMASTER ICE scratch copy ("Roxanne,Roxanne" and "Leader Of The Pack" by U.T.F.O.) on "Can I Buy U A Drink",the funny as hell "Serve 'Em A Sentence" and the 'SEX STYLE' reminence "Break U Off" makes this a winner. "The Orchestrators" sounds like the old KUTMASTA KURT,"Game" is better than "Mane" because it's clean and "I Drop Money" wasn't really needed,was it? You can feel the love of KOOL KEITH doing an LL COOL J move on "I Love You Nancy". This is not your average dissing KOOL KEITH album. It's refreshing!

KOOL KEITH has got 5 or more releases this year (WOW). Make this one at the top of your list. It may just be the best one you buy in 2004.