coolography

jay electronica @ the jazz cafe

Posted on: 27 February 2010


Jay Electronica has been around for a while. Blessed with a penchant for intelligently referenced rap, charismatic delivery, and a remarkably good ear for beats, he has nonetheless remained a relatively obscure figure outside of only the most hardcore hip-hop nerds. Similar to other professed futures of Hip-Hop, Drake and J. Cole, Jay Electronica has also yet to release a full studio album, instead having mixtapes, guest features, and an always welcome predilection to rhyme over J Dilla beats escalate his hype. In recent weeks he has truly blown – backed by the neverending crescendos of Just Blaze’s production on ‘Exhibit C’, Jay Electronica has now been pushed firmly in the spotlight. With further backing from the well respected Gilles Peterson and DJ Semtex, Jay is slowly garnering more exposure to a wider UK audience. So, when Jay touched down in London for his first ever UK show at the legendary Jazz Cafe, we were sure to be in attendance to see if his live act could stand head to head with the internet hype… continue reading »

nyle – let the beat build

Posted on: 29 December 2009

Flicking through Vimeo’s Top 25 videos of 2009 – we can’t believe we slept on this. Flipping Lil Wayne’s ‘Let the beat build‘ – Philadelpha born rapper Nyle and a talented musical cast create one of the most visually and acoustically impressive things we’ve seen in a while. Add to this the fact that both audio and video were shot simultaneously in one take with the formidable Red One camera, and you have further reason for coolography approval.

only built for cuban linx 2 (p)review

Posted on: 3 August 2009

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As the sequel to one of the most celebrated hip-hop albums of all time, Only Built for Cuban Linx 2 is perhaps rivaled only by Dr. Dre’s ‘Detox’ in terms longstanding fan anticipation. Rumours and half truths abounded for both releases over the years, but recently, Raekwon’s LP has stoked fan fires by showing signs of actually existing. Being fed an agonisingly slow diet of tracks such as Criminology ‘09 and the glorious banger that is ‘New Wu’, fan expectations for the new album are now reaching stratospheric levels. Considering that the original OBFCL hits coolography’s speakers with a near religious regularity, to say that the self-confessed Wu-heads at coolography accepted invites to an album playback hosted by the chef himself gladly is a ridiculous understatement… continue reading »

work it vs livin proof

Posted on: 28 May 2009

flyerAs we approach a new decade, the current wave of retro cool begins to slowly flow from the current hipster fascination with the 80s to the much harder to define period of the 90s. No complaints from coolography, though; as 80’s babies we grew up predominantly in the nineties.

Musically, two London nights spearheading the revival of the pre-millenial decade are the Dalston based Work It, and Hip-Hop specialists Livin Proof. So when word hit coolography inboxes that these two nights were holding a joint event, at Shoreditch’s Cargo, on a bank holiday Sunday, and for the entry price of ‘absolutely free’… continue reading »

drake ’so far gone’

Posted on: 4 March 2009

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Aubrey Drake Graham, or to go by his rapper alias, Drake, has been on the Hip-Hop radar for a while, with his first self published mixtape, aptly titled ‘Room for improvement’ debuting way back in 2006. With a triple threat of talents, the Canadian could be mistaken for just another actor/singer/rapper, lacking substantial quality in any category.

Which is perhaps where coolography went wrong, with Drake’s latest mixtape, ‘So Far Gone’, being heavily slept on since its release on February 13th. Attracted initially by the beautiful typography on the cover, we hesitantly delved into an album that has been described, maybe unfairly, as a “diet” version of Kanye West’s 808s and Heartbreak. It’s hard to avoid the comparison; Drake both raps and sings over nu-Kanye-esque beats, and with more than a handful of Lil’ Wayne guest verses peppering his tracks. Often described as a cross between Kanye and Weezy, Drake combines the introspective, playful verses of a young(er) Kanye with punchlines that can run with the best of Weezy’s… continue reading »