A Kid born in space. A kid who suffered minimally from prioritising joy over sorry.
In a dense town of 198,488 people on the seaside north of Los Angeles is Oxnard, California; a vivid place known for its agricultural industries and hub for public transportation. Oxnard is home to countless Latine families who built their lives through different working-class industries, but have built an even tighter network of communities.
Where these fields emerged artists like Anderson Paak and Madlib also came Cola Boyy, A.K.A Matthew Joseph Urango, whose music carried a different weight to it. Urango was born handicapped, suffering from spina bifida, kyphosis, and scoliosis, as well as a club foot since birth and while this heavily impacted his social interactions as a child, he later grew to embrace these differences.
Growing up in a working-class household with these living conditions, disability was the first lens for a young Urango to see through, understanding how conditions you have no control over heavily impacted you, the way you are observed, and the way you can be exploited, something Urango struggled with when he started working. He went from an overworked Walmart employee to an occupied punk band member, becoming a strong member of the Southern California punk scene. Urango's sense of appreciation and knack for music came from learning piano at his grandmother's house and his love for groups like Paul McCartney's Wings gave him an ear for layered textures.
Urango built a career on music despite his physical limitations and while those limitations would bother some, they led to a stronger sense of observation for Urango, leading to implore left-leaning, community-focused politics, which bled through his music. Urango always implored his passion for community into his sound, often exploring themes of anti-imperialism and decolonization; themes that would last with him until his final album. Urango passed away last year, but his final project Quit to Play Chess was finished due to his estate, his record label, and his closest colleagues; and despite this album dropping when Urango is no longer on the moral plane, it acts a reminder to never forget what he stood for.
Quit to Play Chess features all the staples that have grown synonymous with Urango's music. Hard-hitting drums, heavy Roland synths, and a funky yet thematic chorus that doesn't play. So many of the elements present throughout the album can only be done by a Cola Boyy, as they are the product of loving older 70s music while embracing those same funk textures through a progressive lens. But something that keeps the album fresh and authentically Cola Boyy is its usage of "love" as a theme, but masquerading for commentary on work-life balances in a predominantly capitalistic society.
There's a three-song run that implores this heavily. The personal favorite of the record, "Busy," plays with a moodier tempo and tells a story of Urango having to sacrifice time within a potential love life to focus on work. "You know I can't hang out when I got bills to pay." The cutesy, Erosika-assisted track really portrays that internal anguish. This is followed by "800MPH," which reads as a song on "crushin' on someone," but really takes the time to complain about needing to work to survive over spending time nourishing relationships. This is topped by the dubb-inspired "Heroes and Villains," which is Urango putting all effort into social commentary on how political figures and their actions have simply understandable effects on people and their living conditions, how easy it is to spot a "villain."
Cola Boyy once commented that working at Walmart out of high school was a detrimental experience because his manager overworked him despite him having physical handicaps and this album lays out how the cost of living being so high prevents folks from creating sustainable relationships while creating opportunities to be exploited by people with "villainous" intentions. Throughout his career, Urango stressed that the need for community is important for sustainable living and his final project is a reminder, to not let yourself be exploited. Don't let your material conditions destroy your joy.
