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The year 2000 couldn't have
been so bad. After all, we got three albums from mad hip-hop genius
Kool Keith: his keyboard-heavy Analog Brothers project, with a crew
of folks including Ice-T; his own Matthew; and the Masters of
Illusion project, a romp with producer/DJ Kut Master Kurt and
occasional rhyming partner Motion Man that went from funky ("The Bay
Bronx Bridge," "Let Me Talk to You") to haunted hardcore ("Masters of
Illusion," "Step Up"). This album's repetitious choruses and
off-the-wall rhymes about wack rappers and sex are familiar territory
for Kool Keith fans, but it was definitely an inspired choice to make
an entire album with Motion Man — perhaps the only other rapper
(aside from Keith himself) who makes a basic dis rhyme like "My head
is hollow point tip/ Straight penetrate deep in your skull/ My
marksmen skills/ Be on some Bronson Eastwood/ Rambo Segal Norris tip/
What ya' heard — I'm a nerd?" sound like he's correct and
there's no way anyone can claim to be a better rapper. Except Keith,
whose increasingly bizarre lyrics ("Chicken salad/ Don't fuck with
grandma laying on the pallet") stand out at every juncture. Together,
inspiring each other to shine, they're an unbeatable combo. Also in
fine form here is Kut Master Kurt, ripping up the 1s and 2s pretty
hard when he's not letting DJ Revolution, DJ Rhettmatic or DJ Babu
let loose with some ill scratching. While not a classic on the order
of Sex Style or Dr. Octogynocologist, Kut Master
Kurt Presents Masters of Illusion is a great addition to Keith's
delightfully twisted catalog.
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