Cool

by Chief Yuya

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about

That signifying check of being official, “He’s cool” or ” She’s cool” is the statement of being still culturally functioning despite the attempts to take one far away from their best mastery and prerogative.
Cool is a statement of success when everything around you was purposely designed to make you less than. This is why so many rappers in years gone by had a moniker that included cool or ice. It was an expression of resilient masculinity in the face of suppression.

This song, “Cool” is an ode to the ever present requirement to keep our cool and stay open-minded. The line, “Don’t apologize for being ourselves” is the core basis of what it means to be a cool person. We are what we are and need no one to validate our personality, propensities, or affections. Cool is comfortable in its own skin and can put others at ease regardless of their quirks or uniqueness.

This song was difficult to birth because my guitar didn’t want to express much in it. My congas didn’t have much to give. I even pulled out my flute to get a vibe. I realized that I was doing too much. I was trespassing against the very concept the song was sharing with me.
Cool is like truth. It is the agent of change and needs nothing but, its own unfreezing-changing-refreezing change theory to move us from one place to another. So, I kept it all loose, simple, and free styled. Whatever is, is more than enough because cool don’t try to impress and cool is always authentic.

lyrics

Cool

What's cool

Our cool is something we don't lose

Cool is our mask

Cool is our badge

Cool is our revenge

The libation at the war council for the think tank of

A people who refuse to be kept down

Cool is how we create no matter the war waging around us

Cool is how we keep the road of our destiny from warping under the intensity of that hard life

I’s cool

Regardless of the things they do to break us

I’s cool

No matter how much heat they heap upon us.

I’s cool

When squares attack

Cool is our shield

We walk through flame

But, still

Covered with ash and soot

We make it by Hook or crook

Because

We’s cool

Walking down the street to our own rhythm

Listening to my uncles kick some ism

We’s cool

Like jazz in June

A Jasmine bloom

Our attitude

When we sing this tune

We’s cool

Like Fela Kuti

Miles Davis

Jimi Hendrix

And Ossie Davis

We’s Cool

Like Betty Davis

Zora Neale Hurston

Lena Horne

Abbey Lincoln

We’s cool

Don’t apologize for being ourselves

We icy like the frozen food on grandmas freezer shelf

We’s cool

Like deep conversations

With herb libations

In formation

Like the constellation’s

Dr. Clarke when he’s contemplating

My baby girl when she’s meditating

800+ on a credit rating

Shahrazad when she’s Educating

We’s cool

When my father's band

Did Grandma’s hands

I's Cool

When Yusef Lateef when he gave me my name

I's Cool

credits

released March 3, 2023
All instruments performed by Chief Yuya
All lyrics and composition by Chief Yuya

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about

Chief Yuya New York, New York

What happens when live instruments, a deep baritone voice, and lyrics that radiate from spiritual to the profane create a sonic force that takes your soul and animal nature on a melodic safari? The return of healthy masculinity through music.
Chief Yuya communicates decades of a journey as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, spiritualist, and thought leader into a provocative musical escapade. ... more