The Koolest

There’s a glut of hip-hop hopefuls in the Triangle, and though few find a way to break through the local noise, Durham’s The Koolest may be on to something.

In its newest LP, Nerds at the Kool Table, rappers Dan the Don and Dinero P have found a way to spin pop culture references, synth-pop samples and clever rhymes into an innovatively entertaining release.

Opening with a sample from CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory,” The Koolest breaks out Nerds at the Kool Table’s jovial tone, following with a groovy clarinet reminiscent of an early ‘90s sitcom.

The television theme runs prominently throughout, popping up notably in “Trip Hop” when Dan and Dinero sample an old Dave Chappelle stand-up sketch about an experience with psychedelic mushrooms.

“Dressed to Kill” samples a Jennifer Love Hewitt flick with heavy fuzzed-out synths and pieces of a Toro Y Moi track.

As Dinero’s passion for the synthesizer and Dan’s propensity for smoothly sweet raps bleeds in and out, Nerds at the Kool Table leaves you feeling like you just took a glorious spin in a pop culture blender.

Aside, Nerds at the Kool Table delivers more than self-congratulatory rap references and pop culture plugs. The vulnerability shown lyrically in the title track acknowledges a disconnect from the developing stereotype of a rapper.

Their talent is clear, and with Nerds at the Kool Table, Dan and Dinero bring your pre-summer pop-rap jam tape. - The Daily Tar Heel

NERDS AT THE KOOL TABLE
By: Buddy Ruski

“I just wanted to say that I’m a nerd, and I’m here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds. I mean, uh, all our lives we’ve been laughed at and made to feel inferior…”

And now, they are at the Kool Table.

Daniel Watkins (Dan the Don) and Daniel Pressley (Dinero P) decided that the dorks and dweebs of Durham needed a champion in the Hip-Hop community. Natives of Brooklyn and the Bull City, respectively, Watkins and Pressley connected while hiking the halls of Hillside High. “We met back in 2007,” says Watkins. “I was great friends with his sister who I worked with. I told her I wanted to rap and she informed me that her brother made music too. We didn’t hang out much until after I graduated in 2008. That’s when we got serious about the music.”

The KoolestBy serious about music, they mean totally goofing off. “Our songwriting process actually looks more like play and less like work but it’s really productive,” says Watkins, who insists that watching sports and playing video games enables their creative thinking space to expand. “I think it makes great records because we’re not forcing anything. The songs just come together.” Following in the footsteps of wild style Hip-Hop duos like OutKast lead them to the name of their group. The two pay homage to Andre 3000 & Big Boi with the K in the spelling. “We came up with the name ‘The Koolest‘ because we wanted something to match our style of music. We thought that we made songs that sound and even make you feel cool listening to them.” That revelation has allowed the duo to follow their dreams of making music that turns Fogells into McLovins with every rhyme.

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As the North Carolina music scene continues to blossom in the Hip-Hop world, The Koolest look to put themselves on the map with other successful artists in the area. “I think Durham is a great place that unfortunately doesn’t get enough credit. We have a large amount of musical talent here…I just wish people supported local artists more,” said Watkins. On April 1st, the duo released “Nerds At The Kool Table,” a project that took a year to complete. For features on the album, The Koolest reached out to local acts that influence their own music. “It was so exciting because it was our first time working with industry artists such as Rapper Big Pooh, Mibbs and Like from Pac Div, and Thee Tom Hardy…Still one of the greatest experiences ever,” says Watkins, who is inspired by recent releases from NC heavy hitters like Rapsody and King Mez.

This summer, the duo will set out on their first tour with local emcees and collaborators Thornbro and SMINK as they continue to push their new album and jive with fans across the state and beyond. You can download Nerds At The Kool Table on their website for free, as well as check out dates for this summer’s tour. - The Clarion Content

“NERDS AT THE KOOL TABLE” FROM THE KOOLEST
by: Tim Mapp

We at the Clarion Content know’em and have seen them perform numerous times around the cityscape. From The Pinhook in Durham to The Underground in Chapel Hill, we have witnessed what these guys can do live. Now it’s time to see what they can do in the recording studio and review their highly anticipated album “Nerds at The Kool Table.”

A response from their previous 2012 release “Liquor and Noodles,” this current project features less tracks and no skits or interludes just straight music. It is a reinterpretation of what’s “Kool” within this genre of Hip-Hop bangers with lyrical content. Branding yourself the coolest sets the bar extremely high. The duo meet this challenge, their path to success proving just how “Kool” they can get.

The Koolest

Nerds At The Kool Table feat. Big Pooh and B-suppa

“NATKT” opens with a snippet from a sitcom where a collection of associates talk about why one person sits by themselves instead of at the cool table. Then the golden era of 90′s hip-hop boom-bap filled beat drops, and Dan The Don welcomes everyone to the cool table. “From cheerleaders to the thugs everybody shows me love n*gga welcome to the club we at the cool table.” An otherworldly DJ Ezasscul produced beat is shredded by the likes of Big Pooh and B-suppa. An epic introduction to an independent label look tut’s reminiscent in stature to A Tribe Called Quest jazz-fusioned “Check the rhyme”

Dressed to Kill

This one started off real cool and the concept flow was fire. I’d like to hear more songs like the one different beats. Perhaps the most straightforward song on the album, “Koolest be them n*ggas in yo city and we dressed to kill.” Dinero’s triumphant vocals gives this song one of NATKT (Nerds At The Kool Table) most strapping hooks. The lead synth leaves you with that futuristic feeling reminiscent of Arab Muziks “Dipset Salute.” Dinero P staggers in midway through: “I will be better than you, you and you’re fake ass/ now watch a n*gga stunt blow up and make cash.”

Trip Hop

Replay worthy, I skipped to listen to this song first. It features an intro from Dave Chapelle about his attempts to become sober. The beat starts from the principal and most anterior part of the brain, then drops you into the endless abyss of groove. You now how music fanatics often argue that singles don’t truly represent an album? For The Koolest, “Trip Hop” is the exact opposite of this. On what’s arguably the albums most immediate track, Dinero P explores the party scene with his friends. Judging by his testimony in the chorus (“You hear them tweeters tweeting speakers bleeding jams/ yeah they down for the crew, yeah they down for that Trip Hop.”) The party is jumping.

Floatin’ feat. Pac Div

Replay worthy, No wonder The Koolest took two years to finalize this album. “Floatin” is a well put together track that’s overflowing with southern flavor. Not the biggest fan of Pac Div. So I have to be honest I wasn’t looking forward to this track. As I proceeded to listen I was blown away by the fire production from Cardo. Three tracks into their second album and,”Floatin” is the best collaborative feature track on the entire album. Dan the Don raps about his gold chain and flat top hair style. Just as you’re ears get used to the hard drums and melodic soul sample; Cardo drops the pitch and tempo of the track giving it a 1997 Chopped and Screwed vibe.

Doesn’t Matter

What does it take to completely satisfy a woman (especially the fine ones) inner being? Nice smooth and groovy feel with cool nodes. Dan the Don comes in after the hook with a funky flow. Dinero P was showing out on from the production perspective. The soul hip-hop feel continues to pour over this swoon positioned tempo, which establishes a comfortable Tuesday morning groove even during Dan The Don’s closing relationship advice.

Who Can Say No feat. Thee Tom Hardy

As we proceed to give you what you need; crank up you’re car and let this liquefy your speakers. Dan the Don navigates through the deep kick and snare sounds. Dinero P cuts to the chase on this one: “Who can say no to some gold links? Who can say no to some diamond rings?” The Green Faced Tom Hardy has his own way of starting his verses. Peep him here: “Who can say no sir? I can say no to drugs, but burn bush for fun/ we turn push and run.” This is the subversive side of him coming out, a much more lyrical rapper than he has shown previously at Kourvioisier’s album release party at the Pinhook (Read about that joint here.)



Keep it Kool

Replay worthy. This should be played in some elevator as you ascend to the executive suite. The “Kool” songs and titles continue, with one that suggest the rap duo received proper mack daddy wisdom from Bishop Don Juan himself. Here you’ll find more delicious subtleties in Dinero P’s production with gradual moans of ecstasy fading in and out bringing a great sense of cool symmetry to the song. “What you doing ’round 10?/ Bring you’re girlfriends/ We can all have a night that will never end.” Dinero pronounces with ease and sway over the live boom napping drums. The recording’s systematic oscillations falls in line with the sounds of the Isley Brothers “Between The Sheets.” Like so many of the tracks, there is a looping sample that creates a nostalgic feel. In this case, the song fades out from Dinero’s last verse as he boast “No one can do it better.”

Kick Back feat. Kourvioisier and Kid Infamous

Stupid fun to the fullest! The elevated and so beyond MC still fires out a particularly engaging hook and one of the most shrewd verses in recent memory. Turn this up, forget what you were doing, and just kick back. In an era of hip-hop where a new victory is very difficult to achieve, “The Koolest” present a socially successful congregation of Durham’s rising stars. All four rap acts were on point. The strongest run on the album from Dinero P starts with “You you you and you’re best friend can come and get it/ Yeah and if they acting bourgeois tell them quit it/ B*tch don’t kill my vibe go talk to Kendrick.”

Kourvioisier
Kourvioisier
Spacey

A tickling bit of boom-bap that would sound at home on a Stuart Little edition Bose Home Theater system, “Spacey” allows Dinero to wail his melodies together without abandonment. “Got me feeling so spacey baby.”

Like its 1995 feat Napoleon Da Legend

The Koolest duo can once again demonstrate their chemistry in another gloriously retro concept. Napoleon Da Legend’s unbounded up-north energy seems to bring out the best of the old school, East-Coast styled track. Dan the Don submits another conceptually coherent verse, although Dinero’s awkward sluggish singing makes it seem like a bad dream.

Caught My Heart feat Kid Infamous

The duo call upon Kid Infamous to once again conquer another what’s best described as 9th Wonder type of beat. Putting a more hip-hop inflected spin on things the Kid Infamous teases auditory senses that mesh well with the harmonic singing within the chorus. This is one of many turn-the-lights-off and chill ballads within NATKT. Dan the Don swags out as “She was so sexy/ gave me the celly and I called her the next day/ she the finest thing I seen all summer/ WTF she gave me the wrong number?” A similar verse sung from the perspective of Dinero P, a man fighting the lure of his own love, “I’m telling my mind to shut the f*ck up/ but my heart beating steady saying, so what.”

Between The Two

Let the cool grooves begin! A follow-up to “Caught My Heart,” “Between The Two” is a similar song from the perspective of a young guy talking to a young lady. “Cuz know I got myself in some sh*t/ where I love you booth and don’t know which to pick/ She say I want you, but you don’t know who to choose boy be through, go be with you’re b*tch.” A sure end to a love sprung gentleman’s desire. The kind of catchy, Mint Condition-channeling mid-tempo track that Dinero P effortlessly delivers.

Woke Up

Replay worthy, this song establishes “The Koolest” as one of the best hook writers the Durham area has bred. The kind of track that makes you want to get up in the morning and have a great day. “Woke Up” croons along a mellow incredibly catchy chorus sung by Dinero P. “Im feeling like we made it (Yeah)/ I said Im feeling like the greatest (Yeah).”

Stay Awake

Dinero P introduces himself and tells the story of his Kingdom. “It’s your hero Dinero from the Cakalack/ Let me see your hands from the front to the back.” He rhymes on the first verse following a techno-Euro sounding chorus. A complete sense of consciousness can be heard in the softened tonality of the sampled concept. The harsh drums add the cadences needed for Dan the Don to rhyme like “Sh*t I had a dream I thought about it every day/ so tell them baby we gon celebrate”.

Thank You

The concluding track for the album, three seconds intro sampled from the grammy awards. Followed by Dan The Dons “Run DMC” styles rhyming patterns about his struggles within not only the music business but his own personal life as well. He quickly transitions rapping from the perspective from a Grammy winner. “This is for the situation that Im currently in/ Two jobs days be 14 hours long/ I don’t want my mom to worry for sh*t/ So I do whatever just to keep the power on.” - The Clarion Content

What You Know About “The Koolest”
Posted on May 16, 2013 by AlwayzTherro
(Rapper/Singer/Producer Dinero P and Rapper Dan The Don)

Tell us what was your motivation behind your mixtape name?
Liquor & Noodles is our sophomore mixtape. The title refers to the common food and drink of choice for many people in our generation. It also refers to the “rags to riches” lifestyle many of us desire. A lot of us eat Ramen Noodles when you don’t have a lot of money because they are cheap and accessible on a tight budget. That represent the struggle. Liquor, which can be very expensive, represents celebration or achievement once you have gotten over those hard times.

Describe a typical studio session with your camp.
- We’ll usually start off with the extremely long process of finding or creating a beat. Once this has been done we start writing. This can also be a very lengthy process because we have two very different writing styles. Dinero P can usually sit down and write a verse completely within a half hour. As for myself, I write best when I think about it over the course of a few hours or a couple days, gathering the lines as I go along until its done.

How long have you been making music?
- We have been making music since early 2008 when we met in high school. We have both been writing since we were about 14 but didn’t start recording seriously until later.

Tell us how you overcome obstacles to strive hard no matter what’s going on around you?
- We both just try to stay focused and work hard and not pay attention to any negativity going on around us. We know that everyone isn’t going to like us and what we do, and everyone doesn’t want to see you do well. You just have to appreciate the people who do support and not worry about the ones that don’t.

This article appears in our May 2013 issue. - Alwayz Therro Magazine

Many young adults continue to struggle with what they want to do with their lives. But what about those who have known what they wanted to do at an early age?

Brittany Hendricks sits down with the front man of the up-and-coming rap sensation group, The Koolest, to get more insight.

Daniel Watkins is a born star.

“Well, solo I go by Dan Thee Don. I’m one-half of a group called The Koolest based here in Durham, North Carolina. We got started actually in a very dysfunctional group with three other people. After a while we just decided to drop the other three, the extra baggage and we just, you know, just the two of us,” said Watkins.

Better known by his stage name, Dan Thee Don, Watkins has already accomplished so much, and he is only 22 years old.

“Music wise, we’ve released a total of three projects. Our first came out in 2010 called Same Difference the mixtape.”

“After that, we put out a 5-song EP called The Love EP. And just this year, July 4th, we put out our latest mixtape called Liquor & Noodle. I’d estimate close to 20 shows this year alone.

“We started out performing at Night Life every other Monday in Durham and just kind of moved up from there. We started going to Jack Sprats in Chapel Hill. Just got booked to perform, open up for Ace Hood in December. That’s a big one,” said Watkins.

Watkins and his band mate co-wrote every single song on “Liquor & Noodles,” but Watkins struggled the most with one particular song.

“The hardest one to write as in the most challenging was probably ‘Get Right.’

“Because, I don’t know. Even though I love the record, I felt like – I almost felt like I didn’t belong on that song if that makes sense. Even though we’re a group, we’re a partnership, me and Dan kind of have two different sounds sometimes. We have two different, a record per say, I really felt like that was a Dinero P song with me on it,” said Watkins.

Watkins hopes that one day his hard work will eventually pay off, not so much for the money and the fame, but for a greater purpose.

“Yeah, as a person, I just want to do something for other people. Even now, I feel like I’ve been blessed so much I just want to help other people, especially in ten years,” Watkins.

Watkins’ path to the music industry will definitely be a long and hard one, but one thing is for certain. With his passion and motivation, he is surely on his way to something great. - Erin Gold's Music Corner

Hailing from Durham, North Carolina – we get a submission from a collective known as The Koolest, who have recently released their mixtape Liquor and Noodles. We instantly gravitated towards their track, “I Met You” – which is the bonus track from the album. Listen to the track, and make sure you cop the full mixtape HERE if you like what you hear. - ThisGoesIn.com

Gaining prominence on the hip-hop scene is difficult no matter the city. Yet the two members of The Koolest, a youthful rap and R&B duo, are making recognizable headway and parting the sea of obstacles that lay before them in Durham — a city laden with up-and-coming rappers recording from momma’s basement.

Together, Dinero P and Dan The Don are The Koolest — an appropriately chosen name describing their melody-rich hip-hop and R&B, and also an accurate account of their character. They’re cool in the “most-popular-guy-in-school” kind of way.

Remember? He was the life of the party, smooth, good looking and somehow good at everything he did. He was the coolest. They’re him.

James Gray, a club promoter for Wonderland Promotions contracted by the Casbah in Durham, attests to the duo’s charisma.

“I think they’re going to be the next big thing in the next few years, with a little more polishing,” Gray said. He’s booked them for several events since the day a friend approached him raving about the group.

Having performed in renowned venues and showcases, namely the recent Def Jam Recordings showcase in Chapel Hill, The Koolest is poking huge holes through the tough boundaries to success in the music industry.

The Koolest’s sound can best be described as freshly tuneful and laced with bounce — not exactly the typical description of a hip-hop record. Yet, it’s just that.

Dinero P manages to transform his spoken raspy voice into funky and rhythmic hip-hop hymns, while Dan The Don converts his fun-loving personality into hard-hitting, bass-accessorizing rhymes. Their urban sound evokes the grit and attitude that are standard for good rap music.
“We know how to make everything,” Dinero P said. “We can be introspective and still make music for people to enjoy and dance to. You have to have a balance.”

The first single, “Well Ok,” which is off their newest mixtape Liquor & Noodles, showcases that balance. It’s also one of the band’s favorites.

“It’s the song that represents our story,” Dan The Don said. “People are always telling us we won’t be successful — even my own dad. Well, OK, look where we are now. It’s not a lot, but it’s way further than we were a year ago.”

Back then, he said, the duo was at a standstill.

“We had no projects, no shows, and no fans,” he said. But Dan The Don stuck to words he’d received from famous North Carolina artist, 9th Wonder: hard work and prayer pay off.

A lot of hard work and several prayers later, things have taken a turn for the better for The Koolest.

“The best feeling in the world is when someone you’ve never met a single day in your life says, ‘Yo, that CD was hot,’” Dan the Don said.

Dinero P jokingly completed the thought saying, “I turn around saying, ‘Are they really talking about me?’” He chuckled. “(There’s) a sense of accomplishment there.”

The group’s style is attracting new fans, such as Alondra Parra, who recently saw them perform for the first time.

“They came on stage, and they were really hype and energetic. That’s what attracted me to The Koolest.”

In addition to singing and rapping, Dinero P single-handedly produced 12 of the 16 tracks on the tape, including “My Jam.”

“I had fun doing it, though. When I make things, I picture them in my head first. Like a movie,” he said.

Dan The Don shares the sentiment.

“Although I don’t like storytelling because I don’t like to go the Slick Rick route, I like creating a picture — a visual.”

Dinero P said that’s the technique he applied to Liquor & Noodles,

“I painted a picture, and I’m still amazed that the picture came out exactly how I wanted it to be. I told Danny after our first tape, ‘This next one is going to be great.’”

The obstacles the group faces have now changed in caliber. No longer having to worry about creating a distinct sound that audiences enjoy — or being able to book shows — the group is focusing on maximizing its audience and shopping its tape around for a deal.

The Koolest is set to open up for big-name rap artist Smoke DZA at Local 506 on Sunday.

Not too shabby for a group that has yet to be taken under management. Not too shabby at all.

Contact the desk editor at diversions@dailytarheel - The Daily Tarheel