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Kikuo Nishi, aka Key-Kool, co-owner of Up Above Records and founding of member of the Visionaries, is a third generation Japanese American who is highly inspired by the pioneering ways of his grandparents. Key began his involvement in hip-hop as a b-boy in 1982, and began DJing shortly after. Living behind the Roadium Swap Meet in the South Bay of LA, every weekend Key-Kool would hang out at the record store owned by Steve Yano (who introduced Dr. Dre to Eazy E), and witnessed the birth and eventual explosion of N.W.A. In 1989 Key-Kool was introduced to the music industry when he was recruited into a group managed by Ice T's Rhyme, where he also met future fellow Visionaries brother LMNO. They recorded demos and did a few shows, but the group eventually disbanded. In 1992 Key began to pursue solo endeavors and brought on a manager by the name of Doug Kato.
In 1993, Key-Kool linked with DJ Rhettmatic of the Beat Junkies, and began working on their album Kozmonautz. Unhappy with major label suggestions of exploiting their Asian American ethnicities, Key-Kool, Rhettmatic, and Doug Kato decided to release their debut album independently, forming the upstart label, Up Above Records.
Key-Kool, & DJ Rhettmatic were nationally recognized as one of the first Asian-Americans to release a hip-hop album; their 1995 Up Above Records release Kozmonautz received critical acclaim in national publications such as Rap Sheet, Rappages, and URB magazine. The Source Magazine refer to Key-Kool & Rhettmatic as "Asian hip-hop soldiers" and call their b-side posse cut E=MC5 "an underground classic" (Feb. ’96) . In the academic world, "Reconcentrated," Key-Kool's lyrical thesis on the incarceration of Japanese in America during World War II, , has been used in classrooms from coast to coast including: NYU, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Loyola University Chicago, Columbia University, to name a few.
Although the crew loosely began forming through the friendships and working and performing together through the early '90s, the Kozmonautz album had the first official song released by the Visionaries, entitled "Visionaries (Stop Actin' Scary)." With fellow members and friends, LMNO, Lord Zen, Dannu, 2Mex, and Rhettmatic, Visionaries have gained a large following releasing their four albums, touring the U.S., Europe, Japan, and continue picking up momentum with their energetic live show and infectiously uplifting music.
Discography
Key-Kool & Rhettmatic
Kozmonautz (1995)
Visionaries
Galleries (1997-8)
Sophomore Jinx (2000)
Pangaea (2004)
We Are The Ones (We've Been Waiting For) (2006)
Lyrically appears on
"Kozmonautz (album)" (as an MC of the duo KeyKool & Rhettmatic) (1997)
"Galleries (album)" (as an MC in the group Visionaries) (1997)
"Sophomore Jinx (album)" (as an MC in the group Visionaries) (2000)
"Pangaea (album)" (as an MC in the group Visionaries) (2004)
"We Are The Ones (We've Been Waiting For) (album)" (as an MC in the group Visionaries) (2004)
"Ubiquity" (with DJ Rhettmatic, Evidence, Divine Styler) (1998)
"Rob One Tribute" (with Rob One All Stars) (2000)
"Time to Grow Up" (with Mum's The Word) (2000)
"Upside Down" (with Mind Clouders) (2000)
"Associated Somehow" (with Urbanites) (2001)
"Truth Serum" (with Writer's Block) (2001)
"Next Stop" (with Writer's Block) (2001)
"Frail Beats" (with Subtitle) (2001)
"Lifted-Tek-Knowledge-G" (LRG 7" Exclusive with LMNO & DJ Rhettmatic) (2001)
"Loud Telepathy" (with LMNO) (2004)
"Itinuous Blessings" (with LMNO) (2004)
"Hands On" (with DJ Numark) (2004)
"Forgive Us" (with LMNO) (2005)
"Negotiate" (with LMNO) (2005)
"SonGodSuns At Night" (with SonGodSuns aka 2Mex) (2005)
"SonGodSuns At Night" (with SonGodSuns aka 2Mex) (2005)
"Get It Together" (with LD & Ariano) (2006)
Production Credits
"Kik Yo Kan" (from Key-Kool & Rhettmatic album Kozmonautz) (1995)
"Hit The Fence" and "Courage" (from LMNO debut single Hit the Fence) (1996)
"Lady of the Lake" (from OMD album Exitos y mas Exitos) (1996)
"Highsmen" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"The Gallery" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Rejoice and Praise" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Love (Hip-Hop)" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Humanitree" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Pope Mobile" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Here to Stay" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Say Where" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Rob No One" (from Visionaries debut album Galleries) (1997)
"Revision" (vinyl exclusive from Visionaries single Couch Potato) (1998)
"Audio Screen Part 1 and 2" (vinyl exclusive from Visionaries singles Come On & Couch Potato) (1998)
"So Far" (vinyl exclusive from Writer's Block single Basically) (1999)
"1st Things 1st" (from LMNO debut album Leave My Name Out) (2000)
"Natural Beauty" (from LMNO debut album Leave My Name Out) (2000)
"Enhanced" & "James Addiction" (vinyl exclusive from LMNO single Natural Beauty) (2000)
"Quattroduction" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Somersault Suicide" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"L.A. Fresh" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Tipping The Scales" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Self Sufficient" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Come One Come All" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Spiritual Warfare" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Who" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Together or Separate" (from Visionaries album Sophomore Jinx) (2000)
"Lifted-Tek-Knowledge-G" (from Visionaries limited edition 7" vinyl promo LRG Clothing) (2000)
"Truth Serum" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Road to Monte Carlo" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Kiyomitro" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Avenue of Hope" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Basically" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Spin the Wax" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Poetry Explains" (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"Via Satellite" co-produced by DJ Rhettmatic (from Writer's Block album En Route) (2001)
"DoMakeSayThink" (from Visionaries album Pangaea) (2004)
"Believe It" (from Visionaries album Pangaea) (2004)
"Nine Eleven" (from Visionaries album Pangaea) (2004)
"Broken Silence" (from Visionaries album Pangaea) (2004)
"DoMakeSayThink" (from Visionaries album Pangaea) (2004)
"Meeting of the Minds" for Eligh, Murs, 2Mex, KeyKool, and LMNO verses (from Visionaries album Pangaea) (2004)
"Damsel In Distress" (from LMNO album Economic Food Chain Music) (2004)
"We Need You" (from LMNO album Economic Food Chain Music) (2004)
"Microphone Love" (from Writer's Block album Next Stop) (2005)
"Faith" (from Writer's Block album Next Stop) (2005)
"How We Chant" (from Writer's Block album Next Stop) (2005)
"Every Day" (from SonGodSuns album Over the Counter Culture) (2005)
"Everywhere Once" (from SonGodSuns album Over the Counter Culture) (2005)
"P's & Q's" (from LMNO album P's & Q's) (2005)
"When Reality Starts" (from LD & Ariano album A Thin Line) (2006)
"The Moreye/Reprise" (from Visionaries album "We Are The Ones (We've Been Waiting For) (album)") (2006)
"School Daze" (from Visionaries album "We Are The Ones (We've Been Waiting For) (album)") (2006)
"We Are the Ones" (from Visionaries album "We Are The Ones (We've Been Waiting For) (album)") (2006)
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