Dr. Octagonecologyst

Decent beats. Incredibly juvenile lyrics. I probably would have ate this up in high achool.

There was a point in my life when I'd eat this oddball style of nerdy rap up, this album and Kool Keith included. But I wasn't sure how well this would go over now that I'm much older. I mean, when compared to Del and DOOM, I've always resonated with Keith's records less - he felt more edgy just for the sake of it. That said, this album certainly played a significant part in forming the blueprint for that style of hip-hop - super gimmicky, nerdy, off-kilter flows, with really opaque references, strange samples and odd genre fusions. You can trace that all back to here. It really all comes down to how much you enjoy Dr. Octagon as a character. And honestly, for all its immaturity, crassness, and downright stupidity (just listen to 'A Visit to the Gynecologist', unsettling, gross, and really creepy), I'm okay with it. The character was stupid, and Keith doesn't do a very good job of sticking to one theme, concept, or story, but on the surface level, the aesthetic is there, and the record does well enough to put you into this twisted spoofed sci-fi world. It helps that the production draws as much from the world of contemporary electronic as it does from hip-hop, just really glitchy, synth-heavy beats here with some songs, and more traditional jazz hip-hop on others. It's a fusion that goes over surprisingly well. My favourite beats were 'Earth People' with its deep, acidy bass and synth, and the really ominous strings of 'Blue Flowers' paired against this unsettling, squelchy, filter-sweeping noise. And Keith has a sort of amateurish delivery here, like I could picture a dude in his basement recording this into a cheap mic, not bothering with second takes even if needed. Especially when he pushes his flow on a lot of these songs, like with the scientific ramblings of 'No Awareness'. But I love it; it grounds this otherwise really otherworldly record and gives the rapping a lot more character. The guy can flow when he really wants to, though. I don't really remember how I felt about this album years and years ago when I first heard it. But if anything, even though I've sort of grown out of this style of rap, I found a lot more to enjoy this time around, mostly on the production end. Such an interesting-sounding album that set the groundwork for producers like DOOM and El-P to really take hip-hop production to completely new levels. Lyrically, though, I can take it or leave it; it's too long, extreme, and verbose for my liking, and it doesn't give you enough one-liners to chew on when all is said and done. And again, the concept could've been executed better.

That was enjoyable lyrical flow and interesting Beats

This was fun!!

Not too bad.

A smoother kind of hip-hop which I found a pleasant change but that’s about it. Not enough there to hold interest and although I appreciate the concept, not for me.

Venía en una buena racha con todos discos que me gustaron. Este no fue el caso. No me gustó. No es mi estilo.

Where is Spiderman when you need him? Wait, wrong Dr. Oct? Doesn't matter!

fedora rap. bars sucked. beats were good and kept this from being a 1.

Töff rapp, en ekki alveg nógu.

Looks like this doctor specializes in abortions because that's what this is

Like it, more than I expected

Well, I'll admit to reading the comments, then I listened to the first song and agreed that it's not worth spending time on this one

Wat ontzettend saaie muziek. Het is niet vals of zo, maar praten en een breakbeat is niet erg spannend.

NSFW. Kool Keith got more graphic on later releases which I like better, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing.

Wild album, so much better than I was expecting. Dude is out there but the production and rhythms are so good. If it was trimmed down a bit 5 stars, but I’ll give it 4

not my usual cup of tea, but i actually really enjoyed it.

What idiot decided recording this was a good idea? 0.00

Pretty underrated imo.

The beats and backing tracks here are peak 90's hip hop, but that's where my appreciation of this album ends. Most of the lyrics fall on a spectrum from juvenile to problematic, the word play is not half as clever as it thinks it is, and the interludes sampling what I assume is old pornography feel disingenuously edgy.

Like MF Doom but worse

Yea, this wasn't very good. Doc Oc needs some better delivery skills. The lyrics are what they are, I just wouldn't usually choose to listen.

Of course this isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea. But if you aren't turned off by the absurd premise and the juvenile humor (come on, who doesn't think "1-800-PP-5-1-DOO-DOO" is funny?), you'll find an essential hip hop album with some top notch production. Dan the Automator is in absolute top form here, as is Kool Keith. Haters are missing out

Beats here are cool sometimes, this guy can't really flow that well but it's neatly produced

Just quite o.k. hip-hop. favourite: "I'm Destructive"

I have no idea what this even is or why it's worth listening to. So there's that. It's a pretty good hip hop album, but it's very gimmicky and has weird lyrics. I'm not a huge fan of the corny lyrics, but they're less off-putting than most rap of the period. The flow is good, and so are the beats, but they're not the best I've ever heard. However, the album never wears on me despite its length, making it one of the better rap albums of the period. This album is ranked #23 of 28 albums for 1996. Other 1996 albums rated by me: The Score(1/28)-4 Endtroducing...(4/28)-4 Tigermilk(8/28)-3 Everything Must Go(11/28)-3 Murder Ballads(12/28)-4 Emperor Tomato Ketchup(13/28)-4 1977(14/28)-2 Better Living Through Chemistry(15/28)-2 Oedipus Schmoedipus(23/28)-3 Now I Got Worry(27/28)-4 Antichrist Superstar(28/28)-2

It’s the predecessor to a lot of albums I love. It wasn’t fully my thing but I appreciate it

This is a rap album with sexual, science, and space lyrical themes. Though it is vulgar (as expected), the concept is pretty cohesive, more so than I've ever heard in another rap album. The music itself is pretty good, especially the beats and bass guitar. The songs are dark and eerie, perfectly on theme. Otherwise, I'm not a huge fan of this genre, though I acknowledge the creativity here.

A couple of decent tracks on here but mostly nothing to write home about. Felt like it went on for an eternity. Top Track - I’m Destructive

A pretty landmark album that would probably get you cancelled in 2026. Still, a lot of silly fun and some sick beats. High 3s.

a concept album by kool keith in which he takes on the character of "Dr. Octagon, a homicidal, extraterrestrial, time-traveling gynecologist and surgeon," delightful. if you like dj shadow, jurassic 5, and/or black star, you will have a good time. i do and i did. i added this album - minus the skits, i hate skits on albums - to my music library and will rate this a 4/5 because of that.

I liked the science, but the rest was gross.

MORE PUSHEAD COVERS ON THIS LIST. I don't think this man is really a doctor. Good thing he can make music.

This is great. Vocals are solid throughout. Production is unique and innovative in its approach, creating an atmosphere without detracting from the vocals. Pushead art is a bonus too. I'm learning there is SOOOO much great hip-hop from the '90s that I missed out on.

Sort of the forerunner to mf doom but without any of the beats or great samples or top notch rapping. It passes the time well enough but its by no means a great album

wtf is this and why is it on this list

Smooth hip hop. 3/5

music is love

So much gimmicky hip-hop waste on this list -- and the worst part is, it's never actually doing anything new or interesting. Truly a dead end of a genre.

The music on this album is quite barebones. But the lyrics are extremely immature at best and downright disturbing at the very worst. 1/5

This is interesting. Good old fashioned bronx rap. Lyrically clever, hard beats. Good stuff.

7/10

I got stuck in an awkward week where I kept listening to half the album of the day, getting distracted, then next day starting the next album of the day and listening to only half. But I have only one real listening rule for these: albums need a full listen in one sitting. It’s the only rule I’ve been militant about. Unfortunately one of the reasons I wasn’t closing the loop is I just wasn’t in the mood to relisten to the half albums from the day before all that much. Typically that just means I need a break and then a follow up blitz down the road. Well that down the road blitz is happening now. And to kick things off… oh yeah… now I remember why I didn’t want to relisten to this. Purely for 14 yr olds.

Rather juvenile, but I’m not above such things. Neither are you.

Ah, this was really disappointing. Everything pointed to me enjoying this - Kool Keith, Q-Bert, Dan The Automator…, but the end result is just underwhelming. Lacklustre throughout, it has ideas above its station. There are some good moments, but overall it was a big misfire for me, sadly.

Not as good as the other 90s rap imo

A huge, big no

That feeling when Mickey Mouse is your gynecologist

This is a hard no from me, dawg. Ick. Plain old rap. Nope.

The more I listened, the less I liked it. There wasn’t a lot of great flow, and when it did it just seemed to be random rhyme-ish sounds with no coherence. The rest was mostly juvenile humor. Although “cirrhosis of the eye” is kinda funny.

I have never heard of this or Kool Keith before. The flows and cadences are quite good and the production by Nakamura is great. I'm not squeamish or easily offended but lyrically a lot of this album is too gross to actually enjoy listening to. Blue Flowers is the only real stand out for me.

I had high hopes for this one but it's basically just poor man's MF Doom. The stuff about being a gynecologist in so corny. I can't take this guy seriously. Favorite track: 3000

Pretty unique! I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop, it's one of the genres I'm excited to listen more of thanks to this, and I enjoyed this one. Admittedly I didn't pay that much attention to the lyrics, so I'll get back and give it a few more fair listens, even though what I did hear don't seem that relevant or coherent. Maybe I just didn't get it, I genuinely don't know. After going through it again, I felt compelled enough to knock out one star. Gave me an odd vibe, even if I did enjoy the sound a ton. Maybe it's because I just got news I need surgery and I wouldn't want this psychopath as my surgeon, I'm not sure; Not that I wouldn't want my surgeon to be a psychopath, I mean, are there even surgeons who aren't? but this one seems especially dangerous, I don't know, seems like he's taking advantage of his position of power. I think I'm just in a bad mood. In fact I'll give that star back- this is like my 4th or 5th edit already. 3 stars it is... No, I'm taking it back again. 2 is my final answer

This was more fun than if had any business being. Weird juvenile humor, the number of times I heard the words "poopy" and "rectum" was frankly astonishing. Fun!

Nope. Not only is this not essential, but this is on the list from 1996, instead of any of these 1996 albums: Tori Amos - Boys For Pele The Golden Palomino's - Dead Inside TOOL - Ænima Tricky - Pre-Millenial Tension Rush - Test for Echo Prong - Rude Awakening WTF

Hip hop album that's a new listen for me, and I liked it for the most part. Really good beats (easily the best part of the album), and his flow was even and very chill, to the point where he never really got out of 2nd gear energy-wise, but it suited his style. Another record I'd listen to again, although I'd skip the skits and make the listen about 50 minutes instead of 63. Low 4/5

What?

didn’t finish it, am not gonna finish it. this was weird af yall

So I have heard Kool Keith, albeit sampled for the refrain of The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up". He started as a founding member of the Bronx-based hip-hop group Ultramagnetic MC's before pivoting to a solo career. While Keith has released albums under his own name, he often performs under several aliases with distinct stage personalities. One of his well-known personas is Dr. Octagon, an extraterrestrial, time-traveling, unhinged surgeon and gynecologist. That character is introduced on Kool Keith's solo debut, Dr. Octagonecologyst. Let me make this clear: this is an underground hip-hop sci-fi horror comedy concept album, filled to the brim with Keith's abstract, surrealist lyricism, largely presented through the lens of Dr. Octagon. It is very niche; I will readily admit that. But as someone who has grown to appreciate underground hip-hop through the likes of Mike Ladd, Aesop Rock, Deltron 3030, Jedi Mind Tricks, Mos Def & Talib Kweli, billy woods, Open Mike Eagle, and many others, I can adjust well to this record. I recognize that Kool Keith has a masterful flow, as he showed how crazed and incompetent Dr. Octagon is, slipping in some cool science-fiction elements and even shots taken toward the rise of G-funk. It certainly helped that Dan the Automator handled the production wonderfully, blending organic instrumentation and samples scratched around the mix by turntablist DJ Qbert. Tracks like "Earth People", "Real Raw", and "Blue Flowers" have such a twisted bounce to them amidst the eerie strings, whirring synths, and hard-hitting percussion. I didn't even mind the interlude skits on this record. They were layered and mixed well, adding to the album's humor by showing how irresponsible and reckless Dr. Octagon is toward his patients. Even the instrumental break with "Bear Witness" was such an intriguing deviation. All that said, I didn't like everything on the album. I think I already got a good sense that Dr. Octagon was a pervert from the "A Visit to the Gynceologist" skit; I did not need the doubling down on that notion with "Girl Let Me Touch You". Also, I'm not sure what to make of the ending track "1977", because it seemed like Kool Keith dropped the Dr. Octagon narrative to insert himself into the early hip-hop canon alongside Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation. I'm sure it served as a neat little tribute to the artists that Keith was inspired by, but it was a weirdly abortive ending to the larger concept. Still, I had a relatively good time with Dr. Octagonecologyst. Kool Keith continued to rap under the Dr. Octagon persona over multiple records, even after killing off the character with another of his aliases, Dr. Dooom. Dan the Automator saw further production success with acts like Primal Scream, Gorillaz, and Deltron 3030. Even DJ QBert saw more prominence with the release of his turntablism-based musical Wave Twisters. It's amazing how these guys rose to fame off this incredibly bizarre record.

not as bad as I thought it would be

I have several issues with this album, and being a rap album is the least of them. Apparently, I'm not all that much into hip-hop as I may have thought, but I'm even less into "a homicidal, extraterrestrial, time-traveling gynecologist and surgeon" who's rambling about so many things he may not be qualified to discuss at such lengths. In the song where he repeats "Earth People, I was born on Jupiter" an unnecessary high amount of times, he lists yellow, black and red, and green, and purple as five colors. This was extremely disappointing because a scientist would know black is not a color. Name dropping Microsoft, Hasbro, Richard Gere, Michael Jackson, and various others brands and celebrities also felt unnecessary. Overall, I won't listen to this again.

Really interesting and incisive commentary on society and health care. Fantastic beats. Creative use of sci fi themes. All that’s good about this album is cheapened by building it on a foundation of porn films. And the rest is partially obscured by constant explicit references to violent sex, gory surgery, and excrement. It’s like the artist is embarrassed by his own brilliance. Too bad. A 3.

On the one hand, Dr. Octagonecologyst is an incredibly juvenile album. It doesn't display the really nasty misogyny of something like Ready to Die or AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, but the lyrics are puerile at times - more like The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. The interludes definitely put me off a little. On the other hand, musically, I really enjoyed this album. This type of hip hop, featuring more off beat rhythms and scratching appeals to me a lot more than the slick soul inspired stuff. I think if lyrically it wasn't so crass in places that I could consider giving it a 5. As it is, I'm hovering around the low 4 region. I'm not going to hammer the score, because it's not truly hateful, but I'd be happier if the sophistication of the music was matched by the lyrical content.

Nice b ur the behinning fried me a lil

Len Houmous & Ken Chutney would have done so much better with this material. They never had a chance. 3.8 3/20 I’ve Got To Tell You

Decent beats and good flow. Immature subject matter.

О! Я це вже слухав. Класний альбом.

I knew of Kool Keith from his appearance on a Prodigy track. I like his style but some of the medical/sexual imagery here left me a bit queasy.

My kind of hip hop (seemingly I prefer NY hip hop to LA). Not completely sure what he was on about half the time but I enjoyed it musically.

A really interesting listen even if I didn’t like it all. Turntabalism is something of a lost art in today’s day and age so nice to hear something a bit different. Some off kilter lyrics and madcap concept only served to make this more interesting. I’m not convinced the execution was quite there though, the songs often muddied and the skits in between some songs losing some of the momentum. Although the delivery of the lines were fine, some of them had such an odd cadence to be a little bit jarring.

MF DOOM meets prodigy, more fun than I thought 3/5

Kind of goofy and juvenile but I feel like that's the idea. Not the best album but it's fun in the same way a silly comedy or mindless action movie is fun. Apparently there are some influential techniques in the music FWIW if we could give half stars this would be a 2.5

Not my vibe, but technically amazing and cool.

This is what I imagine the color yellow sounds like.

Best to listen to with headphones that can be promptly put aside. This was terrible! Not only did it start with a coitus skit, but then Dr. O had the gall to put another one in the middle. I’ve wondered what it’d take for me to give one of these albums a 1 star. I thought it might be if they personally told me to go fuck myself with a backbeat of fart noises. Turns out this album was basically that experience.

Pretty sure this was supposed to be on the 1001 albums that will make you wish you were dead list.

I accept: there exists an album called Dr. Octagonecologyst. I accept: that album has weird beats and weird flows. I accept: that album is a precursor to avant-rap that I like a lot more. What I don't accept: why in god's name this is an hour and six minutes long! Also surprise, surprise: the "concept" gets old and gross VERY fast.

Maybe 3.5

The beats and concept were cool.

The original Eminem? Not very good.

Favorite songs: 3000, Real Raw How do the words doodoo and rectum appear on so many songs on an album in this list? WTF are we doing here?

Musically, this was pretty great for me, the cool trip-hop tones and beats. Horror movie soundtracks. Kool Keith's flow was what I didn't anticipate: profanity in jabbing staccato verses, giving rhythm to language straight our of medical journals, lively comic book dialogue, he adapts to seemingly any style or rhythm. I really loved all that. I even could appreciate the ridiculous surrealism of Halfsharkalligatorhalfman. EXCEPT, it gets long. All the gynecological malpractice, anal probing and rectal examinations gets tiresome (honestly, pretty early). I'm gonna leave it in the category of "appreciated it, but ain't coming back to it."

It's a strange one, and not because it's strange. It's good, but it's incredibly dated. When it released it already sounded 5-10 years past its sell by date. But it's also pretty funny and the lyrics aren't what you usually hear in the genre. So it's not bad enough for a 2 and not anything better than a 3, and it long outstays its welcome. A 3 seems appropriate.

I wish my doctor had a cool name like this

2/5

Not for me. I appreciated the nostalgia of the thematic rap album and the character and associated rhymes were pretty funny, just not something I would revisit.

I am shocked this was included in this list; maybe the creator knows ball after all. I remembered this album as being pretty tough to get into, but it is way better than my recollection. The concept for the album is pretty cool as well. Dan the Automator is kind of my GOAT; hoping we get Deltron 3030 down the line...

dont love all the lyrics, but appreciate the beats

Not sure what to make of this. Some pretty wild skits

I remembered this being better lyrically

I feel like this album would be a good case for half stars. I liked the beats behind the tracks, but the lyrics weren't really my thing. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.

Interesting hip hop album

The exact type of albums why I decided to join this challenge and webpage. Amazing underground hip hop.

giggling. bopping my head. minus one star for pervness

At first I was annoyed that I’d have to push through another lyric heavy rap album with repetitive sampled beats, but this one was wierd, sexual and ultimately kind of funny and enjoyable that by the end I kind of got it. I’m still not big on rap, but the instrumentals and the sheer wackiness and uniqueness of this album made it worthwhile

Decent, not great, but good

This was some goofy shit for sure but I didn’t hate it. I’d probably rate it much higher if it were half the length.

Regular. Didn't impressed me and I'm not why it's on the list

Dude, this guy is bonkers. Unhinged lyrics, amazing scratching, killer flow. Interesting but I don't really love it. But I could see this as a cult classic.

Ew. The puerile rape culture stuff is awful, and there’s nothing original about this style of rap or the Sci fi elements.