Aisha Curtis-Mitchell
KASF
KASF recently sat down to talk to Coolzey; an Iowa based rapper, to talk about everything from his music to getting the word out about his music.
KASF: Please tell us about your music, it sounds really eclectic
COOLZEY: Sure! I actually make all kinds of music. Coolzey is just a project that I’ve been working on forever. Since I was a kid, I’ve just been writing rhymes and making beats. Hip hop has always been a very huge part of my life, and that is pretty much what Coolzey is, you know? I used to make tapes and CDRS and I just passed them around to people. But I definitely love making all kinds of music. I play Bass, I play guitar in a different band, I’ve played drums in punk rock bands, and I love playing music in general. I also love producing music and recording, all that kind of stuff.
KASF: What got you started in hip hop? I just have to wonder, because Iowa doesn’t scream hip hop to me, how did you get started doing this?
COOLZEY: That’s a question people ask me all the time, and it’s hard to answer. I never really calculate why I do things that way, I don’t understand it. It isn’t like one day I decided “oh, I’m going to get into hip hop.” I was a kid, and started hearing it, and seen Public enemy on TV when I was in fourth grade. It had just clicked with me so much I started listening to it and writing rhymes. The only thing that I can think about is, well sometimes I believe in past lives because I don’t know how else there would be any way for me to have so many relationships, and to relate so much [to hip hop]…especially to people from the east coast, because I grew up listening to east coast hip hop. I grew up listening to rough neck east coast hip hop in the 80s and 90s
KASF: What bands are you working with right now? Are they your friends, or are they bands that come to you for your help?
Coolzey: There are a lot of people who want to get on the label and want me to put their stuff up. Basically what it consists of right now is a handful of bands that I am working with, and some older music that I am re-mixing and archiving. The people I work with right now is a group of people from Columbus that used to be called Spitball. Our friend DJ Prism that passed away a couple years back was the mastermind behind the whole thing [Public School Records]. He was a beat maker and a producer, and I am really trying to get his music out there. One of his prodigies was Brue Lee, and if you look he is actually one of the Emcees. He’s actually in the car with us right now, going with us on tour. Brue and I have gone on a lot of tours together and we’ve become really good friends. Prism really brought us together. I’m really trying to make people aware of DJ Prism’s music. A lot of people outside of America know about it. There is also a couple of Iowa City pop punk bands in there called Lipstick Homicide that I am really into. As far as the main artists go, its Lipstick Homicide, Coolzey, and the Rhombus, that my friend Cody who lives in San Francisco and plays sweet indie rock for. The other bands are more like recording projects, with different combinations of people. It’s all just music I listen to all the time.
6. KASF: You were talking about getting the word out about your music. How has college radio helped your career, and other careers you have contributed to?
Coolzey: Radio? I don’t really know. I definitely would like to see more people listening to the music. Actually, to tell you the truth I don’t know! I kind of just make music, put it out there and see where it goes. It definitely helps spread the awareness; people have been calling me saying they love it, doing interviews and all sorts of things. But, really what it comes down to is, it’s not about fame or anything like that. It’s just about making music. It’s not really my concern what happens to it after that honestly. I don’t really know what college radio does, but I do listen to it!
To hear more Coolzey and to get more information on Public School Records check out myspace.com/coolzey. Check out The Paw Print every week to get your interview fix with KASF 90.9 Adams State College Radio.
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