Dave Mathews Band formed at the University of Virginia. Das EFX formed at Virginia State. And somewhere in between (musically, not geographically) Cook Thugless formed at Rutgers University.
If you’ve been out and about near New Jersey’s biggest institution of higher learning in the 2010’s chances are you’ve heard about Cook Thugless. The seven member ensemble formed in 2013 and has been mixing MC’ing, live instrumentation, a variety of musical influences, striking visuals and a killer live show beyond RU’s borders ever since.
NJ Next’s Angelo Gingerelli recently caught up with the group as they prep for a big 2018…
Who is Cook Thugless and what role does everybody play?
Cook Thugless is a collective of seven musicians with radically different musical backgrounds who came together while studying at Rutgers University in 2013. Keith and Jim produce the music for the albums. Jean Louis and Jerry are the two front-men and rappers for the band as a whole. Jahmar also raps sometimes, but he’s always holding it down as our drummer. For our live shows, we’ve got Riley on bass, Jim on guitar, Brian on sax, and Keith on trombone.
How did the members meet and what made everybody decide to join forces and work together?
We all met at Rutgers. Jim, Keith, Brian lived together on Cook/Douglass campus with our old guitarist Jeff (now of Cold Weather Company). Jim and Keith were always making beats in the apartment, and everyone who was hanging out there would jam on whatever instruments during sessions. Jean Louis was sleeping on their couch for like six months while he looked for a place to live, so he probably was around the most when the boys were writing music.
He didn’t play any instruments, but he did freestyle rap a lot at Rutgers parties. So, he started writing raps to the beats during his rehearsals at acting school. His best friend was Jerry Sanchez, who started coming over more, and the two recorded a bunch of the raps over the beats. Eventually we realized we had enough for an album, and that was Space. Since the album was a lot of electronic beats, we had to arrange the songs to the instruments we had.
It was cool since the live experience was wildly different from the album. Riley was with us off the bat, he recorded bass on Space. We played shows with a couple different drummers before we found Riley’s friend Jahmar, who was able to consistently rock with us. They had been playing together in bands for years so he fit right in. That’s the lineup we’ve been rocking ever since we graduated.
Who were your early influences? Who do you listen to now?
Since so many people have been involved in the Thugless process, our musical origins cover a pretty wide spectrum. 50 Cent, Foo Fighters, Charlie Parker, The Dear Hunter… JL had a Now That’s What I Call Music 17 CD that he played on repeat for three years straight. While we were making Space, we were listening to a lot of Alt-J, Odd Future, and BBNG. Nowadays we’re all pretty into Anderson Paak, Brockhampton and that “It G Ma” remix with Waka Flocka.
The group has several videos that are popular online and have very striking visuals, who’s responsible for the direction of the videos and what’s that creative process like?
The visual component comes from a collaboration between Jean-Louis and Anthony King. Jean-Louis has a long history of drawing crazy visuals and editing video. Anthony runs MoonCulture films. He’s a skilled DP and content creator who I think started out making AMV’s. They met at Rutgers in 2015 while Anthony was getting his degree in Engineering. The first video they made together was Sweet Coffee, which sparked a long-lasting friendship and collaboration.
The process has varied wildly between videos, but it’s always been guerrilla-style, run-and-gun type stuff. Jean Louis usually comes up with some radical narrative based on the song in question. Sometimes it’s one tiny lyric that sets off a whole story in his head. Then, we look at our resources and try to make it happen. We’ve hit up every single one of our friends and contacts with even a shred of creative talent, and stuffed all that talent into our music videos.
We’ve scoured junkyards for a giant wall of TV’s. We’ve commissioned giant paper mâché heads. We’ve filmed in the rain, the snow, and the desert. We do whatever it takes to get the story into the camera… You can check out the Behind the Scenes video for our song “House Cat” to get a good idea.
What does the rest of 2018 hold for you guys?
We have a new record in the works, set to release this spring We’re deep in the creation of the next project, which will be a visual album. Big things coming soon.
Rapid Fire Questions
Who are your Top 5 Rappers of all time?
1. Tupac 2. Eminem 3. Tech N9ne 4. R.A the Rugged Man 5. Earl Sweatshirt
Where are the 4 best places to perform live?
- New Brunswick basements 2. Webster Hall 3. Piano’s Bar 4. Sofar Sounds shows.
What 3 artists would you want to have featured on your next project (money is no object)?
- Anderson Paak 2. Post Malone 3. Stitches
What 2 albums do you currently have in heavy rotation?
- Saturation by Brockhampton 2. Malibu by Anderson Paak
Give us 1 reason everybody should check out Cook Thugless…
Our music and visuals are completely unique. We’re truly in our own lane, for better or worse, but you won’t find anything else quite like us. We’re also starting a cult, who doesn’t wanna be a part of that?
Cook Thugless performs at the 2nd Annual Makin’ Waves Jam & Groove Festival at Roxy & Duke’s in May. For more dates, check their Facebook page.
Just Dropped
Lex Rex & The Dragons – “Tides”
After a memorable verse on Chris Rockwell’s 2016 “Cause Baby It’s You” (“Baby boy, baby boy, better act like you know…”) and last year’s incredibly inventive “Rexilla” single/video, Lex Rex is back with a five song EP featuring moody production, personal lyrics and emotional vocals that serves as a perfect late winter/early spring soundtrack.
Podcasts Worth Checking Out
The Simmons & Moore Podcast – Hosted by Bobby Moore and Adam Simmons, this weekly show just celebrated its’ 100th episode and regularly features the hosts debating music ranging from indie and hardcore to trap and battle rap with a variety of guests from NJ’s arts & entertainment scene. More info at www.simmonsandmoore.com
You In The Office – Hosts Skippy & Q have seemingly nothing in common, but their shared appreciation for new music and learning about rising artists creates an interesting dynamic on this weekly show that has featured acts like Ren Thomas, Albee Al, Bulletproof Belv, Matty Carlock and Lex Rex. Check the show out wherever you listen to podcasts and live Thursday nights on Facebook Live. More info at www.youintheoffice.com
