Kool Keith: Kool Keith.

Additional personnel: DJ Dexter (scratches); April McClellan, Princess Superstar.

Bronx-born rapper Kool Keith has celebrated a more tumultuous career than perhaps any other rapper as prolific as he is, riding career ups and downs that have included stints on major labels and incarceration in mental facilities. But there's no mistaking the former Ultramagnetic MCs frontman in terms of his influence on underground hip-hop. Returning to the personality he co-created in 1996 (with original collaborator Dan "The Automator" Nakamura nowhere to be found), Keith presents the long-awaited second Dr. Octagon album, largely with long-time producer and DJ Kut Masta Kurt.

And with the barrage of different albums he's released in the interim, THE RETURN OF DR. OCTAGON delivers, as promised, a wholly new chapter in the saga of Keith's career. Relying on largely digital production, jumpy backing tracks, and a futuristic vibe that runs common through most of his work, Keith torches other MCs on tracks like "Al Green," "Eat It" (featuring Princess Superstar), and "Ants" (with guest scratching by the Avalanches' DJ Dexter). With seemingly no effort at all, Keith reminds us all that the doctor is, once again, in the house.

Rolling Stone (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[F]uturistic beatscapes with psychedelic soul...[and] rocking electrofunk....When he bears down he can be mesmerizing, channeling his quick-tongued rhymes with streetwise brassiness..."

Spin (p.76) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Over mutating electro beats, courtesy of a Berlin production crew that references country and two-turntable old school, Keith waxes episodic..."

The Wire (p.44) - "[He] taps environmental subjects on 'Trees' and 'Ants'....Inspired..."

CMJ (p.4) - "Doc Oc returns to spit his free-association flow over electro-tinged robo-crunk."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's just enough twisted wit among the non sequiturs to redeem this controversial release."