Black Elvis: Lost In Space

08/10/1999 3:00 AM, LAUNCH
Frank Meyer

Kool Keith's latest magnum opus Black Elvis: Lost In Space, his first solo album on a major label, is his most ambitious effort to date, every bit as scattered and insane as his previous releases, yet tighter and more focused. While Keith is clearly going for a more commercial sound here, the result is closer to when Frank Zappa made a commercial song like "Valley Girl." Compared to the rest of his work, it was tame, but compared to anyone else's music, it was still way out of left field and completely subversive.

Black Elvis: Lost In Space contains large doses of Keith's patented space-aged, ego trippin', hydro-pimp shit like "Rockets On The Battlefield," "I'm Seein' Robots" and "Lost In Space." It also includes B-Boy anthems "I Don't Play" and "Livin' Astro," as well as plenty of twisted pseudo-love songs like "Supergalactic Lover," "Keith Turbo," and "Fine Girls."

Surprisingly, it takes several stabs at radio play, like the Sadat X-duet "Static" and "Master Of The Game" featuring the late Roger Troutman. "Master Of The Game" is probably Keith's most radio friendly song to date, with its Troutman vocoder hook and No Limit-style staccato beat, yet Keith's maniacal lyrical swordplay and bizarre rhymes will probably keep it from crossing over.

Keith is far too creative to be denied his rightful crown of rap superstar, but far too dangerous and subversive to actually get it. Black Elvis: Lost In Space is a masterwork of left-of-center subliminal seduction. It's a mindf--k, but one you will most certainly come back to, time and time again.