A cypher session that shaped Raleigh’s Hip-Hop scene.

We were lucky enough to attend Kooley High: David Thompson 10 year anniversary show at The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop, and experienced first hand what is like to be a part of their shows.

Rhymes, bars, beats, freestyle and beatboxing, are some of the elements that these musicians use in order to form their music. The ingenuity in which the songs are created can be seen once the beat drops, the ease in which the stories are told is one hypnotic way of engaging the crowd, not one head was standing still, the whole room was bumping and grooving with them, letting themselves go with the flow.

Towards the end, they shared how it all began, back in 2006 they started the cypher circle at NC State University, with the help of fellow friends these sessions soon started to travel through the dorms of the university, letting everyone know Hip Hop was alive and well and ready to be transformed into one of Raleigh’s most iconic exponents of the genre. To no surprise, the sold out show was filled with current students and alumni, all raising the wolfpack hand gesture, it goes to show how strong the group’s culture is.

There were many surprises, with guests musicians performing and showing off their skills, it reminded us of how the cypher circles are created, beatboxing, and rappers joining in and out, their roots were made present loud and clear.

If you ever have the opportunity to see them, show up and show out, these storytellers will hypnotize you from beginning to end.