The master recordings of Kool Keith's vocals for the upcoming Analog Brothers album, "Pimp To Eat," were stolen during the melee in Los Angeles after the Lakers' NBA championship-clinching game on June 19.

The thievery will force the Analog Brothers, a loose-knit collective of rappers including Keith, Ice-T, and others, to push back the release of "Pimp To Eat" from its original release date of July 4 to August 15.

The label handling the project, Ground Control/Nu Gruv Alliance, released a statement saying that it was unclear whether this was a "deliberate act of piracy," and mused over whether or not "the person(s) involved realize what they now have in their possession."

Despite the delay, Kool Keith (and his varied schizoid rap identities) still plans to issue his next solo album, titled "Matthew" after Keith's middle name, on July 25.

• Dr. Octagon
• Ice-T
• Kool Keith

Ol' Dirty Bastard may have a hard time making it to court, but the troubled rapper managed to score a one-day pass from the California rehab facility he currently resides in to record what promises to be one of the strangest collaborations in recent memory.

-- John Gill, with additional reporting by Robert Mancini

• Dr. Octagon
• Ghostface Killah
• Inspectah Deck
• Killah Priest
• Kool Keith

As Beck looks to finish work on his new LP within the next few weeks, erroneous reports have surfaced indicating that the avant garde musician has settled his pending lawsuits with Geffen and Bong Load Records.

• Beck
• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith
• Beth Orton

Kool Keith and the many characters who haunt his work will hit the road next week for a U.S. tour that runs through late September.

The hip-hop astronaut kicks off his "Black Elvis/Lost In Space" tour on August 19 in Mesa, Arizona, and he'll be bringing his DJ and collaborator Kutmaster Kurt along for the ride as his opening act.

The tour comes in support of his latest album, "Black Elvis/Lost In Space," and it gives fans a chance to catch up with this what is only his latest incarnation.

"Me, I reinvent myself," Keith recently told MTV News. "Next year, I don't know who I'll be. I mean, I may be Sam Cooke, I may be the new Metallica. I may create five of myself. Whatever. you know… I may be Sammy Davis Jr., Jr." [RealVideo]

"Black Elvis," which is who Keith is now, hits stores this week, and if you want to catch him on the road, here's where to look:

• 8/19 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater
• 8/21 - Austin, TX @ Steamboat
• 8/22 - Houston, TX @ Wax
• 8/23 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
• 8/25 - Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL @ Masquerade
• 8/26 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
• 8/27 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
• 8/28 - Carborro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
• 8/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre For Living Arts
• 8/31 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 9/1 - New York, NY @ Wetlands Preserve
• 9/2 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
• 9/3 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
• 9/5 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's Down Under
• 9/8 - Chicago, IL @ Club Metro
• 9/9 - Cincinnati, OH @ Annie's
• 9/10 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
• 9/11 - Milwaukee, WI @ Modjeska Theatre
• 9/12 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
• 9/13 - Lawrence, KA @ Granada Theater
• 9/14 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre & Cafe
• 9/15 - Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
• 9/17 - Portland, OR @ Station 315
• 9/18 - Seattle, WA @ RKCNDY
• 9/21 - Eugene, OR @ Wild Duck Brewery
• 9/22 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall
• 9/23 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall
• 9/23 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Palookaville
• 9/24 - Chico-Redding, CA @ The Brickworks
• 9/26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club

• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith

Some of Roger Troutman's last recorded work will turn up on Kool Keith's forthcoming album, "Black Elvis/Lost in Space," as the slain Zapp frontman appears on the track "Master of the Game."

• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith

In what could be one of the more daunting tour experiences of the year, Coal Chamber, the Insane Clown Posse, and Kool Keith will be hitting the road together this summer.

• Coal Chamber
• Dr. Octagon
• Insane Clown Posse
• Kool Keith

Rapper Kool Keith of the Ultramagnetic MCs and, more recently, Dr. Octagon, has teamed up with the master of the vocoder, Roger Troutman, for two tracks on Keith's new album.

Troutman, the former leader of the '70s jazz funk outfit Zapp, was last seen in the video for Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre's "California Love.

As we previously reported (see "Keith Starts Work On New Record ..."), Keith is currently holed up in a studio on the outskirts of Philadelphia working on his first solo album, due out this fall.

• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith

Kool Keith, who's currently in the process of re-forming his influential rap group the Ultramagnetic MCs, began work on his second solo album this weekend at a studio in a Philadelphia suburb.

Keith, who last year gained notice as the lead rapper of the sci-fi-porno-hip-hop outfit Dr. Octagon, also recently collaborated with his fellow San Franciscans of the underground dance group Hardkiss on "Abandon Ship."

The track will be included on a second installment of the "Amp" CD, and the album will also showcase other electronica, drum-n-bass and jungle acts.

• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith

Kool Keith, the influential rapper, is back. Last summer he vanished for several weeks, costing the critically acclaimed Dr. Octagon project a spot on the Lollapalooza tour.

Now comes word that Keith is reuniting his former group, the Ultramagnetic MC's, to record a new album due this fall.

Their 1988 album "Critical Beatdown" is considered a Hip Hop classic. The Prodigy is expected, though not yet confirmed, to guest on the Ultramagnetic MC's album. That would be fitting since Kool Keith raps on The Prodigy track "Diesel Power" on the "Fat Of The Land" album, which also samples the Ultramagnetic MC's on "Smack My Bitch Up." Also expected to guest on the Ultramagnetic MC's album is rapper Rakim.

• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith
• The Prodigy

June 24 [16:00 EDT] -- This year's version of Lollapalooza launches on Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Florida, but Dr. Octagon won't be on-hand.

Publicists for Dr. Octagon, which was scheduled to play the second stage during the first leg of the tour, said that the act has been dropped from the tour because Kool Keith, whose wacked-out raps help define Dr. Octagon's techno-raunch sound, has not been heard from since agreeing to be part of the tour.

Instead, fans at the first Lolla date on Wednesday will have to make due with a second stage set from festival organizer Perry Farrell's Porno For Pyros. On Friday, when the tour rolls into Atlanta, Interscope Records' Artificial Joy Club will assume a spot on the second stage.

Meanwhile, Dr. Octagon fans may just have to content themselves with the two new albums, "Dr. Octegonecologist," and "Instrumentalist."

• Dr. Octagon
• Kool Keith