I often like to test the interest in new projects by old rappers in this section. This week, we have a little “old meets new” situation as Kool Keith and producer L’Orange have come together to make an album called “Time? Astonishing!”. It features J-Live, Mr. Lif, Open Mike Eagle, and a few others.
There was a time when Kool Keith was the most prolific rapper not named Lil B I had ever seen. in the late 90’s , he was pumping out albums bi-yearly. Not all of them were great but he never made an all out dud. Since that era of crazy productivity, he’s become more human. He still put out music but it’s nowhere near the rate he used to. I won’t lie, I kinda stopped checking for Keith in the last 5 years. Not cause I think he fell off , more cause I just haven’t been paying attention. Every now and then, a new song would pop up, I’d peep it and think “Yup, he’s still doing it…” then I’d forget about. I think part of that dismissiveness had to do with his production choices. Keith has always been all over the map, with the types of beats he uses. From the heavy breaks and samples of “Dr.Octagon” to the more simplified synth based sounds of “Matthew”. So, when he drops something new, you don’t really know what to expect. Well, in the case of “Time? Astonishing!” , he teams up with producer L’Orange who is a guy that will make the Dr. Octagon fans very happy. He’s a sample based guy (Hooray!) whose sound lands somewhere between Madlib and The Automator.
If you’re a Kool Keith fan, this is possibly the album you’ve been waiting years for. If not, you’re probably not reading this part anyway. But , regardless, check it out

Now, tell me what you think. You can pick more than one answer, btw.