Walking into the Casbah for the Kool Keith concert, was like walking into a whole new Casbah world. There were party promoters standing outside the door, and circulating the crowd inside as well, handing out cards for “real hip hop” parties in San Diego and L.A. The place was packed with a crowd that one would not typically see at the Casbah one any other given night. It was definitely a party in full affect. The bass was pounding the walls, and Kool Keith was on stage with a sparkling silver long haired wig, inviting the ladies in the crowd on stage to dance for such songs as “I want to feel inside you.” He was also surrounded by other MCs and DJs on stage to complete his entourage. Kool Keith has been around since the mid 90’s and has stayed true to the authentic rap sound in which the genre originated. While people complain that there is no more good hip hop (NAS to name one), Kool Keith has “kept it real” in 2009. I often wondered how hip hop music would translate live, as so much of it is samples and studio tricks, however watching the concert could have been like I was listening to his album, save for ad-libbing and not being able to move much in the crowd. Kool Keith reminded me mostly of Too Short, with some early Dr. Dre. It was more rap than hip hop, with humor and themes of drugs and sex; comparing women to “robots” as far as their superficiality. Kool Keith often performs under alias such as Dr. Doom, Dr. Octagon, and released his most recent album Tashan Dorrsett this year.