Kool Keith - Collabs Tape

18/05/2020

So, 2006 and the mixtape of the best of Kool Keith's collaborations was released, and it turned out to be, absolutely incredible, read on...

"Mankind Theme" feat Old Dirty Bastard. Banger of an opener to the mix! A hard, madness inducing non stop sound scape, lets these two legends truly go in. "Return Of The B-Girl" feat T-Love is a funky old school number, T-Love controls the mic with ease as the mixtape starts to really warm up.

There's plenty of interesting collaborations on here including the infamous Chino XL freestyle. Which according to a Kutmasta Kurt interview a few year ago, Chino XL at one time never wanted released.

"Young Ladies" feat absolute LEGEND Guru is a shining moment on this first disc. An excellent track. Cool; easy; funky. And all the emcees Guru, Big Shug and Patra rock the mic like experts.

"Voices" right afterwards is a hard track with a ominous bass line. Keith truly goes in on yet another unlucky female. "You stupid bitch, he's sick, the kids got the sh*ts / You walkin' wack with those problems in you're a*s crack / You chose this nigga, he's a zero girl, doin' nothin' / You was buggin' because the bum had curly hair / You got psyched, the baby came out with some nappy hair" Keith, nothing but charming as always!

"Dope Skiller" feat Victor Vaughn AKA MF Doom, should tell you all you need to know about the quality of this track. Two legends, one track. It would have been criminal if this song never made the final selection for this tape! "Party Baby" with the legendary late Roger Troutman is probably my favourite song on this first disc. Classic Keith verse, classic Keith beat and awesome hook. Absolutely love this track!

"Outtatowniggaz" Feat Born2Wice and Tim Dog, is a banger of a track toward the end of the first disc. Thick drums and wobbling bass line kill it. Keith stealing the show with his usual flair and extreme antics!

So rolling into disc 2...

"Diesel Power" sounds like pure evil! Produced by The Prodigy with monstrous bass and classic jungle rhythm drum patterns in the backdrop. Just a fantastic track. So pleased this was included by the DJ, who deserves a shout out DJ Junkaz Lou.

"Hands on Experience pt 2" from the High and Mighty project is on here. This features a classic drop from Keith, that's always been one of my favourite collab verses of his. "Cruisin around town, naked bumpin James Brown / Underwear light blue, scratchin balls with hands down / You see me comin passin rappers like I'm Mr. Drummond /On your street pee, your colored socks, smell like feet / Timberland boots walk in Bentley's with my space suits"

The "Kick A Dope Verse" Cenobites track is on here too! A dope slice of old school rap to enjoy for those who missed the full project. "Annalog Annihilator" off the Absolutely incredible "Pimp To Eat" album, is also featured in all it's crazy baseline tinged cutting beauty.

Rolling right into "Stank MC's" from the High and Mighty album? How can you go wrong with that? What a great selection and mix picking by the DJ! It's verses like this, that are prime Keith. Just a structure, word and image selection all his own. "No minks displayed, y'all freeze this winter / Girls react to wack status, get tantalized with stunning / Operation black status - move you out like shipment / Your producers work with Mickey Mouse equipment"

Some misses from the Clayborne and White Label series let things down a little if I'm being picky. But to counter balance that, nice surprises like live freestyles from Ice-T and Kool Keith are really welcome additions.

Disappointing that the entire Collab tape ends with arguably one of the weakest songs on the whole mix, which is a little deflating, but...

There's no denying this is an absolute masterful high quality collection of some of Keith's, well probably ALL of Keith's best collaborations. Excellent, brilliant and essential.

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