It’s been 14 long years since Ultramagnetic MC’s last studio album, 1993’s mediocre The Four Horseman, so it’s safe to say that the title of their latest effort isn’t a complete misnomer. After all, in the here-today-gone-tomorrow world of hip-hop, where trends come and go quicker than a premature ejaculator visiting a $20 crack whore, a decade-plus absence makes Kool Keith and company seem like the genre’s Rip Van Winkles. But for those hardcore heads whose historical knowledge extends beyond the average ADHD-addled attention span, Ultramag’s influential legacy is no secret at all.

Emerging from the Boogie Down Bronx in the mid-‘80s, the group (originally a trio featuring Keith, Ced Gee and DJ Moe Love, but eventually expanded into a quartet) never quite achieved the international acclaim of peers such as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy and EPMD. But the one-time house party favorites are widely recognized for several hip-hop firsts: They were the first group to employ a sampler as an instrument, the first to feature extensive use of live instrumentation and the first to prominently feature a former psychiatric patient (Keith). Known for their unique combination of funky, Jeep-thumping beats and often obscure lyrical references, the group released one undeniable hip-hop classic, 1988’s infinitely influential Critical Beatdown, and a couple of poorly received follow-ups before disbanding in the mid-‘90s to pursue various solo projects.

In truth, the group would probably remain largely forgotten were it not for the fact that Kool Keith is one seriously fucked-up dude, rapping about everything from twisted gynecologists and porn-obsessed perverts to alien invasion conspiracy theories on projects like Dr. Octagon and Mr. Nogatco. An eccentric icon on the underground scene, it’s quite likely Keith’s clout that scored the group a new record deal, as it’s difficult to imagine thousands of Ultramag fans clamoring to hear The Best Kept Secret.

As for those that are? Well, suffice it to say that the group’s 2007 version is slightly more likely to receive a critical beatdown than they are to match the singular vision of their groundbreaking debut. In truth, the album almost sounds more like Keith’s uneven solo work of recent years, with production that could easily be mistaken for that of Kutmaster Kurt. The Plaques opens the album on a promising note, with a simple boom-bap beat backing Keith and Ced Gee’s sharp lyrical attacks on the current state of the game: “You cats are scared to write/I can tell by the way you nibble/dash and doggie bite/You sweat the boo/Spit negative truth/With all your might/Look at you scratching for rank/I’m sorry, Mr. Strongarm/I can see the way you fight/Over hamster food/That’s not right/Now I’m-a have to urinate in your left hand/Teach you how to be polite.”

But too many tracks here, from Late Nite Rumble and Porno Star (Part 2) to Ain’t It Good To U and Party Started, sound more like the kind of underdeveloped, oversexed shit Keith could do in his sleep. Which only makes tracks like Mechanism Nice (Born Twice), Nottz, War and Vibrato– which recall the bizarre brilliance of the band’s glory days– all the more frustrating. These tracks prove that Ultramagnetic MC’s still have greatness in them, but the reality is that The Best Kept Secret is not a great album.