Napoleon Wright, II, performs Thursday night at the Pourhouse, 224 S. Blount St. Wright opened for Kooley High, a hip-hop group comprised of N.C. State alumni." />
Will Brooks
Napoleon Wright, II, performs Thursday night at the Pourhouse, 224 S. Blount St. Wright opened for Kooley High, a hip-hop group comprised of N.C. State alumni.
Loud bass thumped like a heartbeat Valentine’s night beneath soul, rhythm & blues and softer rap at the Pourhouse.
Perhaps it was an unconventional way to spend Valentine’s Day, but the toned-down show titled, “Love is Love, Love,” felt right to Alexander Thompson, otherwise known as Charlie Smarts, Kooley High rapper and N.C. State alumnus.
Thompson’s inspiration came from a sentimental rap performance put on by The Foreign Exchange during his time at the University, and although he isn’t with the girl he took to the performance, the experience stuck with him.
“When I was there I was just enjoying it, holding my girl,” Smarts said.
The show was indicative of Thompson’s sentiments.
The show was headlined by Kooley High and opened by Napoleon Wright II, an R&B singer and producer, along with Laura Reed, a Raleigh native who claims she writes and plays “soul music.”
Artist selection was anything but coincidental, and the “sexy” music that dominated the stage led up to a performance by Kooley High that featured love tracks, some of which Thompson said had never previously been performed.
“It gives us an opportunity to play these lovely feeling jams,” Taylor Burgess, an alumnus known as Tab-One in Kooley High, said.
Thomas Kevin, known as Foolery in Kooley High, said the show was geared toward singles looking for a valentine just as much as a romantic setting for couples.
A photo booth was featured upstairs at the Pour House for couples or friends to take pictures of themselves, and the show featured a raffle for show goers to take a chosen guest for a free meal.
Mostly, the low-key performance counters the typical “hype,” performance of Kooley High, Kevin said.
“The idea of doing a Valentine’s show was kind of a natural thing,” Kevin said, “we have some love songs but wouldn’t play them at most shows.”
Burgess said the holiday has two meanings to him, and that the show meant to be an expression of the latter.
“It’s kind of a stupid corporate holiday but it’s a good way to remind yourself of love,” Burgess said.
Reed said she was focused on the Valentine’s performance, not a significant other, and that the show’s theme can be admired every day.
“Love is a verb, not a noun,” Reed said.
The group said the show comes amidst writing a new album, which is expected to come out this year. Whether the songs will reflect the show remains to be seen.