In 2004, Pixelated ideas was asked to create a DVD for legendary hip hop artist Kool Keith. We asked Keith his thoughts about Seltzer Water, and the result is an underground viral video known as 98 Year Old Fridgerator. The video has been ripped and posted on YouTube many times. But rest assured, you can always find it here. We produced a number of short segments for the DVD, and we were honored when Rolling Stone gave us 3 stars! (Bill Murray’s Stripes and Diary of a Mad Black Woman only got 2… Just sayin.)
“From his highly illuminating comments on seltzer water as a metaphor for otherness (really, that is some funny ass shit) to his elaborations on pumpernickel bread as a deterrent to food-pilfering houseguests, the segment sums up the light-hearted and independent beauty of Kool Keith. Simple yet understandable filmmaking assists greatly as static shots keep the focus on him, while editing of his speech, and only his speech, gives the piece the feel of a Coffee and Cigarettes-style digression. What is just an extended riff of nonsense becomes a refreshing look at the inner workings of Keith.” -Dan Nishimoto
“You know what’s funny?” asks MC/producer Kool Keith while sitting in an unnamed diner, alternately taking sips from a glass of ice water. “I like seltzer water. Because I really learnt that people like to steal your sodas — they like your Yoo-hoos, they like to steal your Hawaiian Punch, they like to steal your Doctor Brown — I really learned that, seltzer water, people don’t like it… And the more I have… the more I saved… I really learned seltzer water keeps people away. It’s like a twist, like, wow, ‘I really don’t like it myself, but I like it because people don’t like it.’ You have to do it that way… But then I started liking it, after I forced myself.”
And that’s the world of Kool Keith, summed up in the first couple minutes of Global Enlightenment, Part 1. The DVD is a collection of interview segments with the pioneering member of the Ultramagnetic MCs and subsequently one of the strangest and estranged characters in hip-hop; the clips include the aforementioned discourse, a meandering day in the life segment, and a collection of public access television and promo clips.