COO COO CAL HOOK UP....
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Rapper's a long way from 'My Projects'
Coo Coo Cal shoots 'glossier' video downtown
By JAMES H. BURNETT III
[email protected]
Rapper Calvin Bellamy, a.k.a. Coo Coo Cal, caught fame in 2001 with the success of his hit single "My Projects," a song on his sophomore album about the north side Milwaukee neighborhood in which he was raised.
But on Friday, in downtown Milwaukee, Cal was a long way from the projects as he and New Orleans rapper Juvenile shot the music video for "We Got That," the first single off Cal's upcoming album, "What's Your Hood Like?"
In front of video cameras on the dance floor of the nightclub Eve, 718 N. Milwaukee St., Cal, surrounded by scantily clad beauties, rhymed about 27-inch car rims, sipping expensive booze and sporting diamond-covered Ice Tek wristwatches, two of which he wore Friday - one on each wrist.
Several professional athletes, including Milwaukee Bucks forward Joe Smith and newly acquired point guard Mike James, made cameo appearances in scenes in Eve and Tangerine, a champagne and dessert lounge across the street from Eve.
"We just wanted to try some different stuff on this song, and the album," Cal said. "I mean, we experimented with different sounds and the lyrics."
He described "We Got That" as "kind of a comeback" and a celebration "of success, of the good things we've been able to get in this business."
Since 2001, Cal has overcome a run-in with the law, switched record labels - recently starting his own, In Da Trunk Records in Wauwatosa - and landed a new distribution deal with Sony Records.
"Nowadays, I just try to stay focused and keep my prayer tight," he said.
Christian Strickland, who directed the "We Got That" video for California-based Third Eye Filmworks, said the video consisted of a relaxed, upbeat Cal and friends hanging out on a weekend night in some of Milwaukee's "nicer clubs and hot spots."
"It's definitely a glossier look," said Strickland, who has directed videos for Juvenile, Ideal, Kurupt and E-40.
Juvenile, of "Back that (Thang) Up" and "Slow Motion" fame, left the set early Friday and wasn't scheduled to shoot scenes until today.
Also today, Cal is scheduled to shoot a video for "Lapdance," another song on "What's Your Hood Like?"
"Lapdance," he said, is being shot for airing on "UnCut," the late-night adult-themed music video show on Black Entertainment Television.
The video shoots were closed to the public, but the clubs were to be open for business as usual tonight.
Coo Coo Cal shoots 'glossier' video downtown
By JAMES H. BURNETT III
[email protected]
Rapper Calvin Bellamy, a.k.a. Coo Coo Cal, caught fame in 2001 with the success of his hit single "My Projects," a song on his sophomore album about the north side Milwaukee neighborhood in which he was raised.
But on Friday, in downtown Milwaukee, Cal was a long way from the projects as he and New Orleans rapper Juvenile shot the music video for "We Got That," the first single off Cal's upcoming album, "What's Your Hood Like?"
In front of video cameras on the dance floor of the nightclub Eve, 718 N. Milwaukee St., Cal, surrounded by scantily clad beauties, rhymed about 27-inch car rims, sipping expensive booze and sporting diamond-covered Ice Tek wristwatches, two of which he wore Friday - one on each wrist.
Several professional athletes, including Milwaukee Bucks forward Joe Smith and newly acquired point guard Mike James, made cameo appearances in scenes in Eve and Tangerine, a champagne and dessert lounge across the street from Eve.
"We just wanted to try some different stuff on this song, and the album," Cal said. "I mean, we experimented with different sounds and the lyrics."
He described "We Got That" as "kind of a comeback" and a celebration "of success, of the good things we've been able to get in this business."
Since 2001, Cal has overcome a run-in with the law, switched record labels - recently starting his own, In Da Trunk Records in Wauwatosa - and landed a new distribution deal with Sony Records.
"Nowadays, I just try to stay focused and keep my prayer tight," he said.
Christian Strickland, who directed the "We Got That" video for California-based Third Eye Filmworks, said the video consisted of a relaxed, upbeat Cal and friends hanging out on a weekend night in some of Milwaukee's "nicer clubs and hot spots."
"It's definitely a glossier look," said Strickland, who has directed videos for Juvenile, Ideal, Kurupt and E-40.
Juvenile, of "Back that (Thang) Up" and "Slow Motion" fame, left the set early Friday and wasn't scheduled to shoot scenes until today.
Also today, Cal is scheduled to shoot a video for "Lapdance," another song on "What's Your Hood Like?"
"Lapdance," he said, is being shot for airing on "UnCut," the late-night adult-themed music video show on Black Entertainment Television.
The video shoots were closed to the public, but the clubs were to be open for business as usual tonight.