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Review Jan 23 2025 Written by

Kool Keith – Sex Style (1997) | Review

Kool Keith - Sex Style (1997) | Review

Kool Keith is a figure who stands out in the world of Hip Hop as much for his eccentricity as for his lyrical dexterity. Born Keith Thornton, the rapper has long cultivated a reputation for his offbeat personas, creative storytelling, and unapologetically bizarre lyrical content. First gaining significant attention as a member of the groundbreaking group Ultramagnetic MCs, Keith quickly made a name for himself as an artist unafraid to challenge conventions. Over the years, he’s created a great number of albums, often shifting between characters like Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, Black Elvis, and more. With Sex Style, his 1997 album, Keith once again dives into uncharted territory, crafting a project that’s equal parts uncomfortable, fascinating, and absolutely unique.

While his earlier works already exhibited a certain wild streak, Sex Style feels like an unabashed exploration of taboo. The album, both sonically and thematically, is unrelenting in its pursuit of the grotesque, the absurd, and the bizarre. Throughout the album, Keith turns his obsessions—sex, degradation, and perverse humor—into a playground of bizarre wordplay and explicit imagery. The artwork alone sets the tone: Kool Keith stands on the cover with a smirk, sporting cowboy boots, a tank top, and no pants, posing alongside a model in a scene that recalls the low-budget, sleazy vibes of early 90s adult films. The album’s title track, with its grinding bassline and spaced-out synths, introduces listeners to the fevered, chaotic mind behind the music.

The first full track on the album, “Sex Style,” immediately throws listeners into the deep end with a beat that’s equal parts funky and ominous. Keith’s voice emerges with its signature weirdness, spitting lines that are graphic and surreal in equal measure. “N***** want it free / Their dogs drink my piss,” he raps, setting the stage for the explicit, often uncomfortable content to follow. It’s in moments like these where Keith seems to fully embrace his self-made genre, “pornocore,” a term that accurately describes his tendency to blend absurd sexual imagery with rap.

At first listen, the album can be jarring. The lines are often crude, and the humor veers into dark, borderline offensive territory. Yet there’s a sharpness to Keith’s writing that ensures it’s never entirely without merit. “Keep It Real… Represent” is a prime example. On the surface, it’s a typical diss track, but the insults are cloaked in sexually charged metaphors, turning the usual bravado of Hip Hop into something much more twisted. Keith’s lyrical inventiveness is on full display here: “I heard you quit rap, your wife went back to porno flicks / You turned drag queen, a call girl doing tricks.” It’s over the top, uncomfortable, and undeniably memorable, all while Keith delivers each line with a sneering, deadpan delivery that’s as engaging as it is unsettling.

Kool Keith - Sex Style (1997) | Review

Despite the overwhelming emphasis on sex and perversion, Keith’s technical abilities as an MC remain impressive throughout the album. He weaves complex, off-kilter rhymes with ease, finding new ways to twist language into darkly comedic shapes. His use of metaphor and absurdity is part of what sets him apart from other rappers. Take, for example, the line from “Don’t Crush It,” where Keith declares, “Drinking vodka, absolut, sipping tanqueray / MCs jump off, I stung your rectum like a stingray.” Even in the midst of grotesque imagery, Keith’s wordplay shines through, as does his ability to remain engrossing despite the absurdity of the subject matter.

The album’s production, handled by KutMasta Kurt, complements Keith’s eccentric flow perfectly. The beats throughout Sex Style are minimalist, deep, and groovy—driving the album with a bass-heavy foundation that echoes the mood of the lyrics. There’s a consistency to the sound, but Kurt’s use of quirky samples (like the Star Trek effects on “Sly We Fly”) adds a level of playfulness to the proceedings. The beats are often sparse, leaving room for Keith’s offbeat delivery to take center stage. While some of the tracks start to blend together as the album progresses, the production manages to avoid being too repetitive. The combination of funk, boom-bap, and oddball samples creates a sound that feels in sync with the chaos Keith is portraying in his lyrics.

One of the album’s highlights is “Plastic World,” where Keith ditches the sexual themes in favor of a dissection of the fake nature of the music industry and society at large. Over a relentless snare/piano combo, Keith rips into the flood of imitators in the rap game: “A million rappers, some clones trying to sound like me.” It’s one of the few moments on the album where Keith steps outside of his usual provocations, and it stands as one of his sharpest critiques of the industry.

Even with these occasional deviations, Sex Style never fully strays from its main obsession: sex. On tracks like “Regular Girl,” Keith rails against women he deems “boring,” women who don’t indulge in the wild sexual fantasies he loves to describe. “Regular girl, is so boring (get out my face),” he spits, dismissing those who don’t meet his extreme standards. It’s a track that serves as a perfect example of how Keith’s raw, unrelenting approach to sexuality colors every aspect of his work. His tendency to isolate and reduce people to their sexual preferences or behaviors can feel alienating, but there’s no denying the precision and originality in his wordplay.

If there’s a moment on the album that sums up its blend of surreal humor and perversion, it’s “Lovely Lady.” Over a cheesy, perverted beat, Keith paints a picture of his ideal woman: “Rock your boots, and leave my style written on your cooch.” It’s playful and strange, a perfect encapsulation of the oddball personality that Keith brings to every track. Though some might find the constant barrage of dirty jokes and bizarre metaphors grating, others will appreciate the dark humor and inventive language that runs through the album.

Sex Style is a polarizing record. It’s not for everyone—its graphic content and uncomfortable humor can easily turn listeners away. The album’s themes of dominance, degradation, and sexual power play out with such intensity that it can be overwhelming to sit through in one go. But for those who can appreciate the extremes Keith takes his art to, the album offers a uniquely thrilling experience. His relentless pursuit of the weird and taboo results in a body of work that feels unlike anything else in Hip Hop at the time. Keith isn’t here to make friends or appeal to the mainstream; his focus is on pushing boundaries, testing limits, and, above all, remaining true to his eccentric vision.

In the end, Sex Style isn’t about crafting a polished, mainstream album. It’s about Kool Keith fully embracing his inner freak and unleashing a torrent of strange, perverse, and often hilarious ideas. From the beats to the bars, everything about the album feels designed to make you uncomfortable, provoke a reaction, and leave you thinking long after the last track fades out.

Kool Keith - Sex Style (1997) | Review

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