Kool Keith as Tashan Dorrset

Due to his penchant for embodying different characters, one really has to ask, what about Kool Keith has made him seek out shelter in these disparate personas? Supposedly, after the lack of success tied to Keith’s first group, Ultramagnetic MCs, he was institutionalized. But, Keith claims that the story involving his admission to a mental hospital was misconstrued based upon some comments made during a trying and unsettling interview. But regardless of whether or not this occurrence transpired, it has played into the musical persona and narrative that Keith has cultivated.

After the third Ultramag album, Keith departed to focus upon his solo career which has taken the form and shape of a great variety of personalities. In the last fifteen years, Keith has roughly put out a new disc every other year. Most frequently, but not limited to just this one producer, Keith has collaborated on a number of projects and tours with Kutmasta Kurt. And while that relationship has yielded some pretty strong work, Keith’s latest disc has been produced by a French deejay who he’s worked with previously.

Tashan Dorrset, musically created by DJ Junkaz Lou, is a bit different from the rest of the Kool Keith catalog. Here, while still assuming the personality of another character, masks, villains and the battles that ensue are all absent. It probably won’t mark the end of all of those things from Keith’s future work, but it is a welcome change. For the most part, gone too are the often gruesome lyrics that serve to elucidate the stories that this emcee tells.

There are still some futuristic sounding elements referencing Keith’s past at work here though. “Booty Clap” features some keyboard work that sounds as if it was recorded in 1978, but meant to reflect 2025. And lyrically, this track comes closest to the misogynistic Sex Styles – not nearly as drastic though. Elsewhere, Keith eschews any sort of gimmick and just goes hard over Junkaz Lou’s beats.

“Magnetic Junkadelic” sports some simple production work with a bizarre, shimmering keyboard loop, but it allows Keith to do as he pleases lyrically. The track also has a snippet of the Scooby Doo theme song – and really, apart from DOOM, I can’t readily recount another producer that’s borrowed from that source.

There are scant guest emcees present on Tashan Dorrset and even when they crop up it doesn’t really affect the proceedings too much. The closing number, which features Kutmasta Kurt sounds a bit separate from other offerings throughout. Characteristically, Kurt included a classic vocal cut from Rakim at the head before the track dives into its simple, but more than affective guitar melody. It would seem that Keith is as comfortable with Kurt’s beats as with DJ Junkaz Lou’s work. But Keith’s ability to sound off in concert with both dee jay’s styles only points to the emcees inherent talent.

This disc doesn’t really posses anything that previous efforts did and it won’t blow away any new comers. But it does more than aptly continue the ever unfolding narrative that Kool Keith has created.