So Carlitta Durand & Vaughn Garcia‘s Doug & Patty EP came out last year.  And Carlitta could sing me the Yellow Pages if she wanted to.  One of the prettier songs on the EP is “Lost Love” featuring emcee Jabee.  And the good homie Napoleon Wright II (a triple threat in training – vocalist / producer / video director) got all creative with it via a video camera and some fancy schmancy effects.  This thing is a wet dream if you’re a sucker for romantic stuff like sunshine, trees, grass, streams and cheesy smiles.

A while back, the homie Napoleon Wright II sent me a beat.  He’s slowly getting his producer feet wet (getting better by the day) and the beat was BEGGING for some vocals.   Lo and behold, this cream rose to the top.  Tab-One, one-fifth of the heralded North Carolina hip-hop group Kooley High, will be dropping his solo album Tabloids any day now.  And this is the first single off of it, “Vc Insd My Hd” (Voice Inside My Head).  Tab took a hot Q-Tip line and made it a hot song.  If you don’t know the original source that inspired the hook, you have some history homework to do ASAP. 

DOWNLOAD | Tab-One – “Vc Insd My Hd”

I’m so glad that one of my favorite joints off of the Kooley Is High mixtape, the title track actually, got a video treatment. And none other than my good homie Napoleon Wright II was put in charge of the vision and art direction.  There’s alot of different stuff going on in the video.  You might have to watch it a couple times to catch it all.  This song captures the entire vibe and direction of Kooley High effortlessly in a little under five minutes.  Oh and I can’t forget to shout dela for the incredible production.

I posted the trailer for One Day (Introducing Kooley High) a few weeks back right before Napoleon Wright II  & BecauseUs were set to premiere  it in North Carolina for a 300-capacity theatre.  Well according to this great article on IndyWeek.com, it was a success and then some.  A capacity crowd sat down to witness the everyday life of an up-and-coming hip-hop group.  And now, the whole documentary is available to view for FREE on the Internet.  Isn’t technology fantastic? 

It’s about 37-minutes long.  I hope to see this get entered into some film festivals because it’s just a great organic and homegrown documentary that should be seen by the masses.  Rough and rugged but shining like a gold nugget.  Props to everyone involved and everyone grinding to make a mark.

This  is a must-see, fam.  Filmed entirely by a very close and multi-talented friend, Napoleon Wright II (whom I’ve blogged about before), this 45-minute documentary chronicles the NC-based hip-hop group Kooley High and their quest to have their music heard.  I spent some time down in NC  in 2008 during Independence Day Weekend and got to meet a couple of the Kooley High cats (shouts to Foolery) and I respect their commitment and hustle.  There is ALOT brewing down South that nobody is privy to.  It’s time to change that. 

If you live or plan to be in the Raleigh / Durham area, the premiere of this film is happening at Galaxy Cinemas on Saturday, January 24th, 2009.  I am told that the film will then be released in full to the Internet afterwards.

Time to give some shine to one of my really good friends, Mr. Napoleon Wright II.  The song is called “And So It Is.”  And it’s just one of those simple-yet-strong soul joints that is getting across a message that we should all find some truth in. 

Nap wrote, produced, recorded and directed this video all on his own.  How he got an empty bus to drive him around while he filmed this is still a mystery to me.  But it came out fresh.  I even like the shakiness and sometimes out-of-focus frames.  It gives the video an organic feel and illustrates the confusion surrounding the subject. 

If you like it, please spread it around like the flu.  Post it on your blogs, send it to a friend online, play it on your podcasts, etc.  I’m including the MP3 below.

DOWNLOAD | Napoleon Wright II – “And So It Is”
(re-upped Jan 10, 2009)