Easily the world's most outspoken pornography addict, "Kool" Keith Thornton bankrolls his obsession with prodigious skills on the mic. He first made a name in the late '80s with the highly influential NYC collective the Ultramagnetic MCs, who, along with Eric B. and Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest, form a crucial (and currently very fashionable) link between the old and new schools.

After laying low for a spell in the mid-'90s, he nearly hit the mainstream with Dr. Octagon, a project masterminded by uber- producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura. Keith eventually pulled the plug on Dr. Octagon's appearance at Lollapalooza and disappeared for several months, allegedly holing up in a motel on Sunset Boulevard, blowing his Dreamworks advance on hookers and smut. Finally, a split with the Automator led to the creation of his own Funky Ass Records. Sex Style is his first release on the label.

While Dr. Octagonecologyst explored raw carnality in the context of a space- obsessed, millennial futurism, here Keith keeps things comparatively grounded. Producer/ DJ Kut Masta Kurt crafts a minimal, marginally interesting Octagon- lite sound (organ, mid- tempo drums, assorted odd samples) that always keeps Keith's vocals front and center. Yes, the man's rapping is an acquired taste, (what do say about an MC that doesn't always rhyme and sometimes seems to ignore the rhythm?) but if you listen closely, patterns emerge and the talent is evident.

Thematically, things are pretty simple: Kool Keith loves sex, porn, and... uh, sex. Song titles include "Lick My Ass" and "Stuck on Pussy Drive." The album begins "Sex style/ niggahs want it free/ their dogs drink my piss," and let me tell you, things get a lot more bizarre after that. But if you dug the raunchier side of Dr. Octagon and want to hear what else is on this pervert's mind, it just might appeal to you. Keith is funny, strange and adept at tapping into things that some of us might think about (but not me, of course, I'm completely normal) but don't say in public. He's weird, yes. Possibly insane. Probably misogynistic. Flaky. But to paraphrase Thoreau, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drum machine."

-Mark Richard-San