Kool Keith Pulls All His Personas Out Of The Bag

A bona fide legend and a superstar on the rise helmed a dream double-bill at an unlikely but burgeoning hip-hop venue in Hamilton on Thursday night. Still reeling from KRS-One's appearance earlier in the week, the Pepper Jack Cafe ended up being the perfect venue to watch Edmonton's Cadence Weapon warm up an expectant crowd, who shifted nervously while awaiting the notoriously erratic Kool Keith.

"It's hammer time," Cadence Weapon screamed, as he and DJ Weasel took the stage with every intention of rocking the Steel City, Champion City-style. The odd duo displayed great energy, but it was barely reciprocated by the politely appreciative crowd. Maybe they were nervous that the notorious headliner wouldn't show up. Cadence Weapon even jokingly reassured us that he saw Kool Keith earlier and was kind of disappointed because he was expecting a Kool Keith hologram instead.

Cadence Weapon brought the Polaris-nominated Breaking Kayfabe to life with startling renditions of "Sharks," in which he quoted from Jaws, and "Black Hand." The mostly genial MC sent a "Fuck y'all" to an "Oilers suck" heckle.

"Oilers are good," the rapper intoned. "Just not this year."

He wore Edmonton pride on "Oliver Square," hyping Whyte Avenue hot spots like the Funky Pickle, and Weasel bobbed enthusiastically throughout all the old jams.

Mr. Weapon also stormed through a slew of new songs from his forthcoming record, Afterparty Babies, his theme album about hipsters. He ripped into scenesters on "The New Face Of Fashion" and dissected the shit out of celebrity-gawker culture on the TomKat-name-checking "Limited Edition OJ Slammers." Somewhere in there, he good-naturedly threatened Polaris winner, Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy. "I'm gonna find that guy and get my money," he said while grinning.

He shouted out "dumb motherfuckers" on the aptly titled and scathing "Getting Dumb," and went old school on the hip-shaking "House Music." Aside from his diehard fans, Cadence Weapon didn't exactly get a whole lotta love from the Hammer, but he put on another amazing show.

With Weasel still spinning records, Kut Masta Kurt appeared on stage and joined him before donning a fake beard to become the Funky Redneck. With his backwards cap and dark flowing facial hair, Kurt resembled Osama Bin Laden more than a hick farmer. The Funky Redneck set was cool, with Kut Masta providing a before-and-after lesson of how he flipped songs into some of his best-known, idiosyncratic breaks, including cuts for Dilated Peoples and Beastie Boys, among many others.

A roar of excitement and relief from the crowd filled the Pepper Jack as the man of many monikers, Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon/Dr. Dooom/Rhythm X/Poppa Large/Black Elvis, etc. nonchalantly walked on stage to blaring beats from Kut Masta Kurt with hype-man Dennis by his side. If seeing Kool Keith on a Hamilton stage in the flesh and rocking a shirt with a giant Mario Brother clutching cash under the banner "Jackin' Da Pot" seemed somewhat surreal, it all came home with the first blasts of Ultramagnetic MCs classics "Ease Back," "Two Brother With Checks (San Francisco, Harvey)" and "One Two, One Two."

Like a consummate pro, Kool Keith spat three successive freestyles, all of which were uniquely entertaining. A raucous "Blue Flowers" got the remix treatment, with Kurt flipping the beat over and over again. Soon after, Dennis helped King Keith don his Black Elvis cape and the sex jams began. A crowd of young women were invited up on stage to gyrate to "Girl Let Me Touch You." Many of these "hos" ended up leaving with parting gifts: thongs from Keith's personal stash. The butt floss spun around the air during a blazing "Sex Style" and the room got hyped up by the Ultras' "Poppa Large."

Dr. Dooom was represented by solid versions of "You Live At Home With Your Mom" and "Leave Me Alone," and Matthew's "I Don't Believe You" was priceless. After Black Elvis/Lost In Space numbers "Livin' Astro" and "Rockets On The Battlefield," Kool Keith and company performed a weird medley of catchy choruses from the MC's repertoire. Surely the king of bizarre and endearingly awkward choruses, Keith suggested the chorus line was a way of asking people if they actually bought all of his albums, or simply downloaded them.

After this bizarre display, the show was suddenly over, and then fans were encouraged to rush the stage for cheap merchandise (CDs, including a special limited edition Sex Style reissue, went for $10) and autographs. It was an odd ending to a ridiculously enjoyable hip-hop show that saw Kool Keith spit in the face of his infamous reputation as an unreliable showman.