‘One Day’ showcases alumni

What is one day in the life of a rapper? Mainstream ideas of the life of a rapper show it composed of parties, high-price cars and questionable activities. Napoleon Wright’s documentary, One Day seeks to refute that stereotype. The film follows each member of Kooley High, a local group made up of N.C. State alumni.

One Day will be showing at Witherspoon Cinema on Monday, April 20, starting at 7:30 with DJ sets from DJ J. Wall, DJ Nominal and Kooley High’s own DJ Ill Digitz. The event is a collaboration between WKNC and the UAB.  It is free to all students.

“Napoleon filmed the EP release show in March of 2008. After that, he decided that he could turn it into something bigger. He filmed all of our interviews separately a couple months later and had the whole thing done shortly after that. It was actually a fairly quick process,” Kooley High’s Tab One said. “The show was something we wanted to put together to celebrate Kooley’s first release, ‘The Summer Sessions EP.’ All the artists involved make great hip hop, so it was an honor to have them be a part of our big night.”

Napoleon wanted to show the lives of working-class musicians. He followed the three rappers and two producers throughout the day. “I wanted to make a film that was as honest as them as people and their music. It’s a side of hip hop that you don’t really see these days, where people open up to you for who they really are,” Napoleon said.

One Day deals with perseverance, identity and realizing your goals while remaining humble. The film is also Napoleon’s debut and the biggest project from his Becauseus.org collective.

Becauseus.org was founded by Napoleon. The Web site serves as an outlet for his projects and works.

“It stemmed from me doing work for non-profits on the side and I began to realize not only did it make me feel good as an individual to help organizations out with design, but I was also able to be really creative. They need the help and trust me as a designer,” Napoleon said.

Meanwhile, Kooley High has remained busy. They released their “Kooley is High” mix earlier this year. More albums are on the way, including an unnamed prelude to their debut album, “The High Life.”

“We just want to put one more project out there to help build the Kooley High name before we drop the album,” Tab One said. “We’re getting more recognition, but we still have a long way to go if we want to do music for a living.

“Let’s take it back to the music! Let’s have fun again and stop worrying about how much money a rapper has and focus more on their skills as a musician and artist. The film was pretty raw as far as how we were introduced to the world. We wanted viewers to see us as people first. There’s no need to hide behind some ridiculous image. Be yourself, that’s what hip hop is to me,” Tab One said.

Kooley High will open for Wale at the Cat’s Cradle April 16.