Kool Keith Interview - February 27, 2003
By Adam Makeyenko

Adam: Do you feel that a lot of people are trying to capitalize on your name?

Kool Keith: Yeah, of course. I think a lot of people are trying to capitalize on my name. They trying to get their record deals, their tours, their shit. Everything is affiliated with Keith and I had nothing to do with a lot of that shit. Everybody is trying to bank on production and all the way around the board. Definitely, that is one thing that is going on right now. Everybody is trying to get me into anything.

Are you still working on Ultramagnetic?

I ain't working on Ultramagnetic anymore. I pulled out of that project. I think, they really can't find themselves. They are trying to be killers overnight. A lot of motherfuckers are trying to adapt and change with different shit, but they don't really know how to adapt. They haven't had a record out in so long. Nobody wants to listen to me, ya know. When I went in the studio, I wasn't impressed. So, I pulled out that whole shit and I just can't fuck with it.

We talked about Marc Davis last time. Is he still affiliated with you?

Marc Davis has nothing to do with me. I don't know why he is even calling people around the business and putting my name in his mouth. He doesn't have shit to do with me. I have nothing to do with Marc Davis. I haven't seen him in about 15 years now. People just want to come out the graveyard and start doing shit. I don't fuck with Marc Davis.

What about Jeremy Larner? Is he still associated with you?

Jeremy Larner is probably one of the biggest suckas in the music industry. I used to talk to this guy named David Suckle, he was a scam lawyer with no bar exam. He just read a lot of law books. They murdered him in Philadelphia cause he had joint accounts with NBA players, like Polynice and them. His pops owed some money. I remember, I was in Philadelphia one time and some hitman called his house, some mafiatype mutherfuckers, and they said, “Tell Dave, he's a dead man in the morning.” This is some true shit. When I got that phone call I was staying at his house, Dave Suckle's house. A couple months later, I went back to Phili, and Dave was dead. Jeremy might be in that type of similar situation; because of the shit he is doing around the business. I am surprised nobody has done type of thing yet. Jermey Larner is the equivalent to David Suckle.

If you go to the JL Entertainment website, he has a whole bunch of artists listed that he represents. You are on their.

Well, he hasn't booked a show since Thomas Jefferson died, for me. It's fucked up because he represents a lot of people in the wrong way. A lot of those dumb ass artists out there…I'm talking big names like Busta Rhymes, Fabulous, motherfuckers all the way down the list that you can imagine, he tells them a certain price for a show, god knows, if they only knew what the show was really about. So, his karma is going to catch up to him anyway. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if you hear about him leant over on a steering wheel.

Are you still working with Kurt on the Diesel Truckers album?

Me and him did a good album together. After Kurt, I got my solo album coming out. As far as the Octagon shit, I did the album a while ago with Fanatik. Then, later me and my publisher went over there to get the demos, they was scared to give me the demos. I think the music was so wack, they was scared to let me hear what they did. They went over in Switzerland , probably, and did some remixes. I haven't heard the remixes yet. This is the first label in history that ever took some vocals and went over and did remixes and shit.

OK. Is that the last time you will be working with Kurt?

No. Me and Kurt have different things we do. Our projects are more, like, annual. We do different things together. I think, sometimes, when I work with Kurt, it gives me space between my albums sometimes. It gives the people a different sound, ya know. I alternate. Every album don't sound alike. Dr. Dooom don't sound like Black Elvis, Black Elvis don't sound like Spankmaster. It's good. I change different time zones. When I did Spankmaster I was in Detroit , I had a good atmosphere when I was up there with Scott and Esham. I had a different vibe going. When I did Black Elvis, I was in Philadelphia . When I am with Kurt, I do a different thing. Its good sometimes. Then when I go back to myself, it keeps the variation going.

When is you solo album scheduled to drop?

Right after the Diesel Truckers. I'll be right on deck. I got about 50 albums on deck, ready to roll. I'm working all the time and I am just going to do an album that's different. Then I am going to start my serious albums after that, the volumes of serious ones, and that's it. As far as the Ultra shit, I felt that that's just not an innovative project, basically.

Alright, are their any tours scheduled for the future?

I was hearing promoters out there were booking some shows, which I'm not even in, you know. The only tour I am going on is a Kool Keith tour. I'm doing shows myself. I hear so many things, like promoters are confused cause there are so many motherfuckers out there booking shows behind my back, trying to handle business and they don't know what the fuck they're doing. The only thing I am affiliated with is Keith, Keith, Keith. That's all I'm affiliated with. All that other shit is myths. Everybody is running around dropping names behind my back and using my name to get to different channels. If promoter want to know who to call, they should call me or Darrick. Its irrelevant to start calling all these left field mutherfuckers, ya know.

What did you think of the White Label shit you did with Nancy?

I think Nancy 's stuff sounds better than a lot of shit out their, basically. Its just me getting her warmed up in the public, just doing her thing in general. Tracks don't mean nothing to me to do. Everybody else works for a budget. Like, with the Ultra thing, they work for a budget. They need budget to make records. You don't make good records if you're making records for budgets. I make records all year round. Some of these kids gotta wait for a budget and it becomes a big project. When I do certain things, it's more relaxing, its not about the budget. It's just me making songs naturally, cause I want to make them. And those are the best songs. I don't go making songs over night and try to sound like somebody cause that's the sound right now. I am just naturally making records.

What did you think of Thee Undatakerz album?

It was good for what it was. That was Money's thing. He had his whole hand in that shit. I rapped on it for him. It's just something he did. I try to tell motherfuckers in the long run how to listen to me, but they don't. That's what he did and that's his shit. My shit is my shit, and these motherfuckers don't want to listen, ya know.

Who are your favorite people to work with?

Me, myself and I. Ha ha. I don't like collaborating too much. When you collaborate, you are doing a lot of the work. Some people want you to do a verse, but they want a chorus, adlibs. I had that problem my whole career. They want you to come in and do a 16 and before you leave the mutherfucker, you did the whole record for the motherfucker.

Yeah, you said that in the last interview.

That's the gimmick when motherfuckers get you in the studio. I bet a lot of artists go through that shit. If you pay Method Man to do a 16, you paid him to do a 16. Don't get in the huddle and try to get him to do a chorus, hook, background, say something in the beginning of the record, the ending of the song. That's been going on in the music industry for years. [mimicking] If you can get them in the studio, we can finagle our way into the whole record, we can get him to say something on another song [end mimicking]. I've been in sessions where motherfuckers pull out other records, and be like, can you say something on this song too. That shit turns you off from working with people. I see now, It make you just be like, yo fax me your song through the motherfucking computer and I'll rap on it from my home, and that's what you get. You can't try to force somebody on some of your shit.

What is your favorite album of yours?

I like all my albums. I don't have a particular album I like. That's why fans are really fucked up. They have a favorite album. All my albums are my favorite. I like every album I did, because it was a different book. Like, when you read books. People write different types of books. Movies too. Superfly is different from Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings was different from fucking Lion King, the Lion King was different from The Relic. All my albums are different. I see them as different titles. Every album is different. Individually different from each other. I can't go around saying, this was my best and this was my worst. They are all different albums. They are not even judged on category. Some people have that fault. Their first album was this, their second was that…I don't have that. I just make different albums. Some of them came out 2 or 3 months apart from each other. They are more like different comic books. Captain America , Liberty Legion, fucking Morpheus, Spiderman, Daredevil. My albums are in that type of category. Them albums don't even compare to each other. They are just different albums. That's why the public is all fucked up. They like to go se a movie, part one, part two, part three, part four. I'm not going to do no parts. That's for somebody who's weak. They do that shit in the movies. I remember when they used to make one movie and that was it. I don't need to see Friday the 13 th part 18, Nightmare on Elm St. part 17. Why should I run with something? It's cool, but after a while that shit gets played. Your creativity is no longer in affect. You cant do nothing new. It ain't about part one and two and three and four.

How do you feel about your fans?

Well, you got different types of fans. You have fans that are able to adapt. You have fans that are stuck. You gotta figure out which one is which. You got people that sit around on computers all day and people that are stuck. You got people that are motivated and ready to adapt to different things. People that are stuck are in a time warp. They just sit home and downloaded all fucking week and talk. I think the new kids are adaptable and if you're stuck, you're stuck. I think a lot them, if it's a male they need a girl, if it's a girl they need a boyfriend. After a while, you can't hold a mouse in you hand all day. You gotta go out and see things and explore different things. Get you some ass. Feel what its like to get in the world, instead of sitting all day judging songs, worrying about the snare and the kick on different albums and scientifically breaking shit down like you're really spending a lot of money. I'm just looking at the economical standpoint of the time that they spent criticizing. It don't make sense. You got to live a life. Go to the mall and buy some nice things. Enjoy life and shit. Don't get stuck on something. You start typing back and forth like a homo or something. That shit get very feminine. Go out and buy a Black Tail or a Hustler magazine. Loosen up. Just listen to the records. Be happy somebody is around to make those records, cause when that person ain't their no more they going to end up listening to some regular shit anyway. You can't be stuck. You know what's funny? People want to say that commercial is not good, but they want to say that being underground is different. What's so different about underground? Underground do the same shit too. Everybody got candles in their house with incense burning. There is no big difference. You might as well go to Virgin Megastore to buy a CD. What is underground? To wear some plaid shirts, have your hair in dreads, wear a backpack? 8000 motherfuckers do that. So, that's commercial too. You want to be different, paint your face green and color you eyeballs white around the edges. Their is no difference. I am at the point where anything I do, goes. If I rap with Barbara Streisand, it goes. Fuck it, it goes. It just goes because that's the style.