The Bronx-based Ultramagnetic MC's were hip-hop's original weirdos. Formed in the mid 1980s, the UMC's best-known member remains to this day the infamous MC Kool Keith. The group's 1988 full-length debut, CRITICAL BEATDOWN, is a hip-hop classic, and while it wasn't a commercial success, the album's frenetic, heavily layered, sample-heavy production style and off-beat lyrical sensibilities have been lauded as key influences by the likes of MF Doom, Public Enemy, De La Soul, and British techno act Prodigy. Kool Keith has also had a remarkable run as a solo artist, using various aliases to create music that ranges from utterly brilliant to flat-out deranged.