Kool A.D. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kool A.D.
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Kool A.D. performing at Governors Ball in New York City in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Victor Vazquez |
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| Born | November 16, 1983 San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
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Victor Vazquez (born November 16, 1983), who is better known by his stage name Kool A.D., is an American rapper, producer, writer, and artist. He is from the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
Vazquez is most famous for being a member of the rap group Das Racist. He was also in the bands Boy Crisis and Party Animal. Besides his group work, Vazquez has released many of his own solo mixtapes and albums. One magazine described his work as a smart way to mix up cultural ideas to make people think differently.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Victor Vazquez has an Afro-Cuban and Italian background. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He went to high school in Alameda and later attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut. In 2006, he graduated with a degree in English.
At Wesleyan, Vazquez was very involved in music. He played drums for a band called La Spanka and started his own group, Boy Crisis. It was also at Wesleyan where he met Himanshu Suri, who would later become his partner in Das Racist.
Music Career
Boy Crisis
In 2005, while still in college, Vazquez formed the band Boy Crisis. At first, he played the drums, but he later became the singer. The band signed a deal with a record label in 2008, but their album was never released by the company.
Das Racist
After college, Vazquez and his friend Himanshu Suri moved to New York City and became roommates. They started the rap group Das Racist, with their friend Ashok "Dapwell" Kondabolu as their hype man.
The group became famous online in 2008 with their song "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell". They soon became popular in the underground rap world. Their 2010 mixtapes, Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man, were praised by critics. The group toured across North America, Europe, and Asia.
In 2011, Das Racist released their first official album, Relax. The group signed a deal with a major record label in 2012, but Vazquez left the group before they could release their next album.
Party Animal
Party Animal is a hardcore band where Vazquez plays the drums. The band also includes his high school friends Loren Moter and Malosi. In 2013, they released their first album, Party Animal, and toured the United States. Their second album, Avant Garbage, came out in 2015.
Solo Projects
Kool A.D. has a very active solo career. In 2012, he released his first two mixtapes, The Palm Wine Drinkard and 51. The mixtapes showed his experimental style.
In 2013, he released a double album called 19 and 63. The albums were named after bus lines in the Bay Area. They featured collaborations with many other artists, including Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys. Critics praised the albums for being creative and original.
He has continued to release a large amount of music. In 2015, he released a 100-song mixtape called O.K. to go with his novel. In 2016 alone, he released seven mixtapes, including two more 100-track projects.
Art and Writing
Visual Art
Besides music, Vazquez is also a visual artist. In 2006, he drew the cover for a book by author Dave Eggers. He has also created his own comic book called The Continuing Adventures of Boy With a Fish for a Head.
In 2009, he had a "cartoon-off" with a cartoonist from The New Yorker magazine. They each had to draw three cartoons. Vazquez's funny and clever drawings were seen as the winner of the contest. He often draws pictures with markers and sells them online through social media. His art has been shown in galleries in New York and California.
Writing
Vazquez is also a published author. In 2013, he released a zine (a small, self-published magazine) of his writing called Joke Book. It was so popular that it sold out and had to be printed a second time.
For a while, he wrote a column for Vice magazine about being a parent. In 2016, he published his first novel, called O.K., A Novel.
Personal Life
In 2014, Vazquez married Saba Moeel, a fashion designer and musician. They have one child together. The couple has since separated.
Selected Discography
Solo Mixtapes and Albums
- The Palm Wine Drinkard (2012)
- 51 (2012)
- 63 (2013)
- 19 (2013)
- Not O.K. (2013)
- Word O.K. (2014)
- O.K. (2015)
- Have a Nice Dream (2016)
- Paradiza Inifiniti (2016)
- Aztec Yoga (2017)
- Art (2018)
- The Pacifist Game (2020)
- Y'all Ain't Deserve This Beautiful Art (2021)
- Man of Letters (2022)
- Pheasant Season (2023)
- Love & Hip Hop (2024)
With Party Animal
- Party Animal (2013)
- Avant Garbage (2015)
With Boy Crisis
- Tulipomania (2009)
With Kassa Overall (as Kool & Kass)
- Peaceful Solutions (2013)
