Coolin’ Cal

When a Bamboo seed is planted, it can take over five years for that plant to grow underground before it breaks through the surface. But once it does, a Bamboo tree can grow up to 30 feet in just three months. This is the story of Coolin Cal.

After Coolin Cal planted the seeds of his career with his breakthrough hit “Tired Boy”, amassing over 3 Million plays on streaming platforms, Cal’s fans have been waiting eagerly for his debut project. Now that Cal has put in the work and began to approach the surface of stardom, many expect his career to shoot up like a bamboo tree with the arrival of his latest mixtape “Bamboo Boy”.  

Recruiting DC native XanMan, who’s following skyrocketed to over 300k fans on Instagram without dropping any official releases in over a year, Coolin Cal’s “Bamboo Boy” is poised to be one of the anticipated mixtapes of Summer 2021. 

In a game crowded with up and coming artists dropping mixtape after mixtape, Coolin Cal’s debut stands apart as the only mixtape at this level of anticipation to be pressed exclusively as a limited edition cassette. Sneakerheads, musical connoisseurs, and collectors alike are turning their attention to this classic analog form of music consumption. We’re even starting to see cassettes traded and sold on platforms like StockX, so don’t be surprised to see lines outside record stores on the day “Bamboo Boy” drops.

Sonically, “Bamboo Boy” is the perfect fit for a cassette. Coolin Cal’s eight track debut blends a unique fusion of classic hip hop storytelling and modern trap lofi production. Throughout this record, Cal shares stories of his growth through the trials he’s faced as a bamboo seed – consistently growing in silence while adamantly developing underground before bursting through to the surface. Coolin Cal hopes to educate others on how to not make the same mistakes he did and candidly addresses the lessons he had to learn “The Hard Way” with feature support from XanMan and fellow Concept Collective member Tre Savels.  

But education is not something that Coolin Cal takes lightly. His mother, an immigrant from Senegal, instilled in him a respect for the power an education can provide. After coming to the US, Coolin Cal’s mother has since been on a mission to empower Senegalese youth through education and founded College Adja Penda Ba: a K-12 school for the children of her hometown Nioro, Senegal. Throughout the years of its development, Coolin Cal has been an integral part of the school’s operations, traveling to Senegal several times over the years to help maintain the school, as well as serve on its board of directors. Since its inception, the school has grown from one classroom and a small library to a well-respected local academic program that supports hundreds of students in Nioro. 

“Bamboo Boy” is a story of this growth. The unruly trials and tribulations of life. The vibrant success that can be found on the other side. An unapologetic depiction of the joyous struggle that we call life.  


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