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Critic's Review
John Hinrichsen, All Music Guide
Underground rapper and former frontman of the Ultramagnetic MC's, Kool Keith teamed up with KutMasta Kurt to form Dr. Dooom, the successor project to Dr. Octagon. However, one should not expect First Come, First Served to be a mere extension of Dr. Octagonecologyst. Keith himself makes this clear by having Dr. Dooom remove Dr. Octagon with a shotgun during the intro track, "Who Killed Dr. Octagon?." The most noticeable difference between Dr. Octagonecologyst and First Come, First Served is the replacement of turntable wizard DJ Q-Bert by KutMasta Kurt. KutMasta Kurt's heavy, dark beats serve as decent background music for Kool Keith's hardcore raps, but they are nowhere near those produced by DJ Q-Bert, whose groundbreaking scratching was so unique and mesmerizing that it was later released as a instrumental album titled Instrumentalyst: Octagon Beats. The album also lacks the hospital theme that was found in both the skits and songs of Dr. Octagonecologyst. In fact, First Come, First Served appears to have no unifying theme; each track contains a new and twisted thought. First Come, First Served does, however, contain stronger and more original lyrics than Dr. Octagonecologyst. The already tight raps are aided by guest appearances by Jacky Jasper and Motion Man. Hence, First Come, First Served is a must-have for any shock-core music fan who is primarily concerned with the lyrics, and for those who enjoyed Kool Keith's solo album, Sex Style. However, if you are looking for the unique beats and original flavor of Dr. Octagon, you will not find them here. [Two remixes of "Leave Me Alone" are added here as bonus tracks.]
