If It's Too Loud...

In case you haven't gotten fully excited about Kool Keith's return to his Black Elvis persona, the latest single also features appearances from Marc Live and Ice-T. Last month we heard "Space Mountain" which also featured Marc Live, and back in March we brought you a collaborative single from Real Bad Man and Kool Keith that featured Ice-T, but there's just something about hearing all three on a Black Elvis song that hits different. "The Formula" has that space age sound that we need from Black Elvis, and I'm never going to say no to a verse from Ice-T. I'm less familiar with Marc Live, but he steps right up and nails his verse alongside the legends. More often than not when a hip hop artist goes back to a persona or character after decades away, the result ends up sounding like a quick cash grab going after our nostalgia. Kool Keith is clearly not doing that with Black Elvis 2. You can listen to "The Formula" below. Black Elvis 2 is du...

"Space Mountain," the latest single from Kool Keith's return to his Black Elvis persona, is pure vintage Kool Keith. This is the type of song that sounds like it could have been an outtake from the original 1999 Black Elvis/Lost in Space  album. It has that minimalistic but future sounding hip hop sound that is what we all came to love about Kool Keith in the 90's, and what we still love about him now. When a legend like Kool Keith goes back to a previous persona for the first time in over two decades, fans can be both excited and apprehensive. A song like "Space Mountain" shows that we should be ecstatic for this new album. You can listen to "Space Mountain" below. Black Elvis 2 is due out June 16 on Mello Music Group, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Kool Keith, check out the artist on Facebook and Twitter .

Way back in 1999, Kool Keith released one his most iconic albums Black Elvis/Lost in Space. Now, twenty-four years later, he's revisiting that persona with a new album. In true Kool Keith fashion, the first single is the minute long intro track for the album, "Black Elvis 2 (Intro)." Of course, Kool Keith is the rare artist that can make an intro song good enough to be a single. While most intro songs are throwaways, "Black Elvis 2 (Intro)" is great, just short. It certainly doesn't hurt that the song is produced by If It's Too Loud... favorite L'Orange who adds his trademark throwback to classic hip hop while still looking forward sound to the track. As with any of his releases, Black Elvis 2 is going to be high on everyone's must listen list this year. You can listen to "Black Elvis 2 (Intro)" below. Black Elvis 2 is due out June 16 on Mello Music Group, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Kool Keith, check out the artis...

For his latest collaborative album, Real Bad Man has teamed up with the legendary Kool Keith. Just in case new music from Kool Keith wasn't enough to get excited about, the duo have brought in Slug of Atmosphere and hip hop icon Ice-T. Even if you're unfamiliar with Real Bad Man, any fan of hip hop is going to be blown away by Kool Keith, Ice-T, and Slug on any song. With that pedigree of rap royalty, expectations are going to be unbelievably high for "Fire & Ice." Not surprisingly, they are met, and this is a killer hip hop song. Once you hear this new song, you're going to have a hard time waiting on the full album. Kool Keith says of the new song: “ Real Bad Man sent the beat and I heard sound dynamic crystals in the mix, they were ice cold, but hot like fire at the same time. You ever love something dark and evil? This right here is it.” You can listen to "Fire & Ice" below. Serpent is due out March 24. For more on Real Bad Man, check him out...

Kool Keith and Cypress Hill are artists I will always check out their new output. Some of it is hit or miss, but it's always worth a shot. So when I see that Kool Keith has a new song out featuring B-Real? Obviously a must listen. "Zero Fux" is a great song. It sounds very familiar. It might share a sample with a previous song from Deltron 3030, but maybe I'm just hearing things. Both are complete legends, so even if it is a shared sample, we can cut them a bit of slack. "Zero Fux" is pure old school hip hop, and exactly what you want to hear from a Kool Keith/B-Real collaboration. You can listen to "Zero Fux" below. KEITH , the new album from Kool Keith, will be out July 12 on Mello Music Group. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Kool Keith, check out his Facebook and Twitter . KEITH by Kool Keith

Way back in 1996, Kool Keith, Dan the Automator, and DJ Qbert blew everyone's minds with their project, Dr. Octagon and the album Dr. Octagonecologyst. It was some of the most unique hip hop that had ever been heard, before or since. Dr. Octagon just released that one album. Every so often there would be rumors of a follow up, but nothing ever came of those. Until yesterday. We have a new album, Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation , due out in April, and a new song, "Octagon Octagon." The song is fantastic. It's the type of hip hop I've been missing and craving for 22 years. Somehow Kool Keith works the word "octagon" into virtually every line, a feat literally only he could pull off. We had no idea this album was actually coming, and now we don't think we can wait for this to be released.  You can listen to "Octagon Octagon" over at The Fader . Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation , the new al...

With the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens coming up this week, I had this bizarre urge to listen to some Star Wars music besides just "The Imperial March" over and over again. This birthed the If It's Too Loud "Songs About Star Wars" mix. I tried to avoid songs that simply make one reference to Star Wars and aim for songs actually about Star Wars. Of course there is some nerdcore (MC Chris), forgotten 90s bands (2 Skinnee J's), 90s bands that are still with us (Blink-182, Presidents of the United States of America), bands you would never think of doing Star Wars covers (Queens of the Stone Age, Ash), and "Weird Al," of course. It's perfect to listen to while you're at work waiting for it to end so you can head out to the theater, on your way to the theater, to avoid figuring out name mix up games in the theater, etc. 

A slower release week than what we've been used to. Album of the Week : Artist : Watkins Family Hour Album : Watkins Family Hour Quick Description : Roots-infused staples and originals from the longtime Largo residency led by Sara Watkins. Why You Should Listen : You like the associated acts (Nickel Creek, Fiona Apple); you think Prairie Home Companion would be great if it were only the music. Overall Thoughts : Album of the week because of the stature and music here, this forges no new ground but is a nice, pleasant, enjoyable musical diversion. As someone who hasn't listened to the show, I don't know how it adds up, but it's definitely a good time. Recommendation : In a short week, it's great. In a busier week, it might slip through the cracks, but it's worth your time no matter what. Artist : L'Orange, Kool Keith Album : Time? Astonishing! Quick Description : Project between the classic rapper and the well-regarded hip-hop producer. Why...

I write about hip hop surprisingly rarely considering that I listened to way more rap than anything else in my teen years. Hip hop is the one genre I truly turn into a grumpy old man about. Most new rap I just don't get at all, and most artists from back in my youth either don't make music or it's just dull and uninteresting. This is why I'm so excited about this new track from L'Orange & Kool Keith, featuring Mr. Lif. This is my first exposure to L'Orange (who's based in Nashville, oddly enough), but I've been following both Lif and Kool Keith for years now. They're two of the increasingly rare rappers who've been around for a while but still have an interesting output. Put both on one track, and there's no way it can fail. "Twenty Fifty Three" is a great song. It has a futuristic and western vibe, which leads to immediate comparisons to Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz. But L'Orange & Kool Keith have their own feel to i...