Andy Cooper Returns with "The Man" & "L.I.S.T.E.N." Music Video from Extremely L.I.S.T.E.N.able New Album (Unique Records)
Andy Cooper is an actual factual skilled (never) ill-willed hyper-fast rhyming emcee originally hailing from North Carolina, who now calls Long Beach, California home. Although, it appears as though Cooper has an extremely dedicated following Overseas, rather than here in The States; known primarily for his work with European artists The Allergies, DJ Format, Baronski, Shawn Lee, DJ Yoda, Marc Hype & DJ Suspect, The Funk League, Djar One, Smoove (Smoove & Turrell,) and more. However, Andy Cooper is, likely, best know amongst Underground Hip-Hop heads for his work with Rap troupe Ugly Duckling formed in 1993 with friends "Dizzy" Dustin McFarland & Rodney Pleasant AKA DJ Young Einstein. Trusty fans of The Witzard may be familiar with Cooper's solo work, more specifically, "The Perfect Definition" from his 2018 album, The Layered Effect, released on Rocafort Records. As you may recall, we ran a remix contest/comp. which yielded phenomenal submissions from the likes of Naturetone (Places&Spaces,) Djar One, broken machine films presents... Dros, Mike East, UncleRussie, and Getro.
Now, Andy Cooper has returned once more with news of his third proper solo album, L.I.S.T.E.N. to be properly released on Unique Records. "L.I.S.T.E.N." stands for Lyrical Innovation Supplying The Ear's Need and the album's announcement was accompanied by the release of its lead-off single, "The Man" co-produced by Andy Cooper & DJ Moneyshot of The Allergies. "The Man" B/W L.I.S.T.E.N. track "Fly Tonite" has, additionally, been released on a super-limited edition 7-inch on Our Label Records/ORIGU. Just this past September 4th, which just so happened to be Bandcamp Friday, Ugly Duckling & Unique Records unleashed a 20-minute mixtape dubbed Listen to L.I.S.T.E.N. featuring Frank Sinatra, Big Daddy Kane, Beastie Boys, Ray Charles, Dave Chappelle, and, of course, our main man Andy Cooper. Plus, as recently as yesterday, Ugly Duckling quietly uploaded a music video for yet another L.I.S.T.E.N. single, title track "L.I.S.T.E.N." to their YouTube channel. "L.I.S.T.E.N." is, according to its YouTube Description, "a wacky, color-infused nod to Children's Workshop broadcasts of the 1970's and 80's," as directed by Daniel Ruzcko.
It boasts cameos throughout from Joe Byrd as DJ Jo Jo Byrd "In The Hand" from KRAP FM Radio & Eskimo Joe, Alina Tran as The Soda Can Geisha & Crouching Tiger Hidden Hot Dog, Mario Miranda as Prince Markie Dee, Liz Taylor as herself, Sarah Milenburg as The Little Tramp & Disgruntled Dodger Fan, Tina Cooper as Sgt. Silly & Sally May Summersbee, Jon Said as Diego "Disco" Santori, Skier with No Equipment & The Count of HB, Tyrone Hardwick as Bobby "Sore Back" Simms, Frankie Miranda as The Fox, Daniel Ruzcko as Danny Van Roosh, Gio Miranda as Lionel Messy, AndyPuppet as The Immortal AP, Nell as Confused Kitten #1, and Juneau as Competing Vocalist. We recently received a press release, which exclaims, "For fans of the classic Hip-Hop approach to sound and lyricism, L.I.S.T.E.N. is a can't-miss for any collection, delivered by a veteran, who possesses every trick in the book." Andy Cooper's L.I.S.T.E.N. is out digitally 9/25 on Unique Records with a physical release dropping 12/11. "The Man" B/W "Fly Tonight" is now available on 7-inch, via Our Label Records/ORIGU.