Akio Kawahito has brought the Kool Out concept into local hip-hop culture, writes Azizzar Mosupi
The last Sunday of the month has been anointed as the sabbath by the local hip-hop community, who celebrate it at Koolin' in the City.
Fans don their Sunday best and gather to worship on the rooftop of the building in Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, where creative agency Kool Out Concepts - a "nightlife brand" - is based.
Rapper Sizwe "Reason" Moeketsi leads the prayers, alongside the rest of the Kool Out crew - Akio "DJ ID" Kawahito, Banesa Tseki, Verdine "P-Kuttah" Petersen and Sithembiso "Instro" Herimbi.
Koolin' in the City is the playground for hip-hop heads who turn up in their numbers each month to enjoy the sounds of artists such as Nasty C, Ginger Trill, BETR Gang, pH, Big Star Johnson, ProVerb and many more.
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Apart from hosting the hip-hop gathering, Kool Out also consults for brands, manages artists such as television presenter Luthando "LootLove" Shosha, runs an online entertainment magazine and hires out its rooftop to other companies to stage their events.
The brainchild of Kawahito, a DJ of Japanese and Dutch descent, Kool Out had humble beginnings eight years ago in The Waiting Room club in Cape Town.
"Cape Town has a rich history in hip hop, but when I got there, it was a down time where all the kids who had really been into '90s hip hop were now getting into dub-step and the electro type vibes and hip hop didn't really have a place," Kawahito says.
"So, I was realising that there was this huge gap in the market because people still wanted to hear some real shit and there was no place to do it."
Kawahito says he saw The Waiting Room as a place to perform and as a venue for hip hop. "At first, they said that they didn't play hip hop there and so I gave them a mix tape of what I wanted to play and after hearing that, they let me play."
Once on the deck and having proven himself, he introduced the idea of an open mic session for anyone who wanted to rap and freestyle - a fundamental of the greater culture. Three months later, Kool Out was the biggest hip-hop party in Cape Town and one of the most popular gigs for the club.
"It was quite visionary the way it happened because nobody saw The Waiting Room as hip hop, and now the place is known for hip hop," says Kawahito.
After getting the Kool Out Lounge running in Cape Town, Kawahito decided to expand. He partnered with clothing label Butan Wear and collaborated with artists such as People Under the Stairs. He decided to make the move to Johannesburg where he saw more opportunities for growth.
block_quotes_start We gave them a name, we gave them a product, but it was them who made it cool to come to Kool Out block_quotes_end
It was here that the relationship with Reason was cemented.
"He helped build the brand," Kawahito says. "As time went by I started to DJ for him and became his official DJ and we continued to grow him and Kool Out as brands.
"I liked that he was on the come up and kept the authenticity of what Kool Out was, and a big part of that was rap and the ability to rap because Kool Out is supposed to be a new school party that adheres to the fundamentals of old school."
While Koolin' in the City is a party, it feels like a gathering of family with almost everyone on first-name terms with the brand big-wigs. Family, unity and loyalty are key elements of the company.
"We are like a family," says Reason, one connected by the culture of hip hop.
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Says P-Kuttah, "What makes Kool Out is being a family - we love each other and sometimes we hate each other and fight but I believe that that's what makes it work."
Tseki, mainly responsible for artist management in the company, says Kool Out "is what you do when you bind together with people with similar interests and try to make a living off of it".
"It's the perfect balance," says Instro, who is one of Reason's music producers and co-owner of the recording studio at Kool Out's offices. "When I got here, it was like 'Ya, now I can be myself AND do what I love AND be exposed to cool people."
At last month's Koolin' in the City, the brand celebrated its eighth anniversary and launched its refurbished website, koolout.co.za.
P-Kuttah, apart from being resident DJ and stage manager for events, is the website's head of content.
He says what makes Kool Out are the loyal followers who keep turning up and embracing a product created from a common love for hip hop. "We gave them a name, we gave them a product, but it was them who made it cool to come to Kool Out."