Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
For those of you who’ve known me for a while on Asian Junkie, you know that I have a deep love for all types of crazy hip-hop. So it shouldn’t come to a surprise that I follow The Cohort and all their various antics across the Korean hip-hop music scene. Of course, the moment I heard Okasian would be performing live in Los Angeles with Matia (The Cohort’s newest member), I had to be there.
Okasian and Matia have actually just dropped a new track called “Orca Shawty“. Yes, really. They’re determined to stick to that killer whale theme. I was actually surprised that they were promoting it, because The Cohort as a whole don’t really put out a whole lot of effort into promotions past sharing Instagram posts and what not.
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I arrived at Club Bound L.A. ready for anything. I got there to find DJ Papito spinning a frenzied crowd through an eclectic mix. As I walked through the club I spotted a bunch of familiar faces, including Oscar, manager of The Cohort, just chillin at a booth next to the dance floor. Okasian sat there sippin on a drink, Keith Ape sat next to him, Matia sat on the other side, and finally … there was Bryan Chase. If you don’t know who he is, look him up immediately!
Anyway, so they sat there, unbeknownst to a party-hard crowd dancing their asses off. I watched out the corner of my lens as they wandered around, drank, hung out, and partied before hitting the stage. Finally, they stepped up. Matia started the party off, spittin rhymes and lighting the crowd up! Okasian then came out and they did “Orca Shawty”.
The thing about seeing The Cohort live is that you gotta be ready for battle. Every damned time I go see them live, I get battered by the crowd. Whether it’s a sea of people carrying me into a random direction, or a mosh pit like experience of raging partiers screaming the lyrics to “It G Ma” with insane levels of aggressiveness, some kind of mess is going down.
So I should have known better. The moment I saw Keith Ape was there … I should have known. He stepped up on stage, mic in his hand, and slammed through “It G Ma” with Matia screaming the lyrics at the crowd, who didn’t hesitate to rush the stage and scream it right back at them. It was too lit! I, with Empanada held above my head, got splashed with water from their water bottles before we were shoved forward. My camera was practically up Okasian’s nose for the final song as the crowd churned and I shot in any direction I could just hoping anything would come out clear.
By 1 AM, I was practically crawling out the club for air. This is what a hip-hop show should be like. It should be intense and frenzied. You should be caught up in the moment, dancing, and screaming along with the songs you know. You should be a foot from the artist, close enough to touch them but smart enough to know you better not.
Every time I see The Cohort live, I am in awe at how rambunctious their fans are. I also wake up the next day sore as hell. So if you see the Cohort live, be sure to wear protective gear and goggles. Most importantly, anticipate a fun night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmXLxBSkXvA
