Coolzey

Contemplate a move to Iowa, and the unsolicited advice commences. Go to the state fair — there's a life-size cow sculpted in butter! Don't drink the tap water; it tastes like pesticide and pig poop. The butter cow is indeed awesome, and the water truly will make your tongue try to abandon your mouth. But here's some new advice: Check out the nascent hip-hop scene. One of the freshest, funniest MCs out of the Hawkeye State right now is Coolzey, an Iowa City-born kid with a knack for silly-smart lyrics and an ear for excellent samples. His new EP, Soixante-Neuf, lives up to its title; the horny-dude platitudes mesh surprisingly well with classy, sultry jazz notes. Coolzey's flow is reminiscent of Slug's, but without the Atmosphere MC's outsized bravado. This is one backpack rapper who doesn't take himself too seriously, and there's something sweetly hilarious the exclamation "It's the I-O-W-A, get it in your noggin!"