Album Notes

What happens when a small town white kid from Iowa with an overactive imagination is only able to find solace in his youth and throughout his life in the messages and music of city dwelling black men mostly from the east coast metropolis of New York City? He takes to heart all the teachings of the Biz, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Chuck D, Psycho Les, KRS One, and the Guru, finds his spiritual mantras in the beats of DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, and the RZA, struggles with the legitimacy of his role as a hip hop artist himself, and is constantly confronted with the stigma of being a white rapper. Now imagine that this young man decides to stick fast to his dreams, as if he could do otherwise, build his skills and credit, and forge onward oblivious to the judgments made upon him. Free of bitterness, he does it for the love of the art and to give back the joy that was given to him in his youth, spreading positivity and party rhymes until his final breath. This is the realm of the album known as Akstoopid.

"Extra, extra: Coolzey is a rhyme genius! Dude, we've got a regular Kool Keith (or maybe even a Kanye!) in our midst. Coolzey's Akstoopid is a lispy, speech-impediment fueled adventure into taking life a little less seriously. His rhymes are intelligent and totally down to earth -- you won't find him in the club or in his Escalade sippin' Cristal, only drinkin' a 40 oz and playing basketball in the rain when he's not washing dishes at his day job. (And yes, he is white, and makes no claims otherwise. Feel free to insert an Eminem reference here.) His style bridges the gap between hip hop and Beck in his Mellow Gold, "Soul-Sucking Jerk" days, specifically in his ode to the life of down and out, loogie-spitting shit talkers, "Blue Collar Bandits." An added bonus is the tasty bass lines he has to back it all up, along with some hard hitting samples. Ultimately, this is not pretentious stuff we're dealing with here. Coolzey's talent as an MC stems from the fact that he's willing to play the fool and not take what he does too seriously. Coolzey is droppin' hits like it's his job!" - Alison Feldman - the Little Village - May '06