ABOUT
"Her versatile vocal abilities shine... Peila delivers challenging wordplay with the dexterity of an experienced battle rapper. She takes the rap industry to task, deconstructing the violent, misogynistic language to which rap fans have all grown accustomed."
"Coco Peila is one of the Hip Hop musicians in the new class that is creating the new Bay Area sound.”
Coco Peila is a Rap god.dess, Songwriter, and Producer dipped in Vocals, deeply engaged in activism, education, and liberation. She has worked with young people in the Bay Area for over 15 years facilitating creative writing workshops (Poetry, Songwriting, & Rap), and developing curriculum and programs. While most recently serving as the Director of Hip Hop & Climate Justice at Youth Vs. Apocalypse, a youth-driven Climate Justice Oakland-based org, she developed a cutting edge “Hip Hop & Climate Justice” department, organizing framework, and accompanying programming. Her innovative Hip Hop & Climate Justice work has been highlighted at The Kennedy Center, in The New Yorker, as well as at Stanford and Yale. In 2020 she branched out of The Bay to work with Variety Magazine & The African American Film Critics Association to develop & launch The Micheaux Project curriculum for African American students at LA’s renowned L.A.C.E.S. academy. This Winter Coco had the honor of training professionals from Billboard and Rolling Stone, along with a new cohort from Variety and The AAFCA to facilitate the second iteration of the project at L.A.C.E.S.
She built a solid foundation in audio engineering and production while studying at Full Sail University in Florida. As a student, she produced The RealNeRds Mixtape Series and flew back and forth to The Bay on breaks to curate release parties for volumes 1 and 2. The project spotlighted up-and-coming indie artists from the Bay Area, across the U.S., the Caribbean, and New Zealand, whose music encouraged exploration of the writing process, literacy, intelligence and critical thinking. She released the complete collection of I Still Love H.I.M. (Hip Hop In spite of Misogyny) EPs in 2017 and in 2018 featured on Deva Mahalʼs womenʼs empowerment anthem Run Deep which was highlighted by Elton John & broke 3 Million plays on Spotify alone. In 2019 she Executive Produced an EP featuring herself and Oakland's rising star ST Spittin entitled Luv N’ Hip Hop Bay Area, a musical conversation about Millennial Black Love & dating.
Coco has performed at national and international venues including The Hollywood Bowl, San Francisco Opera House, The Beehive (Boston), Experience Music Project (Seattle), Teatro Nacional de Guatemala, and Hope Bros (New Zealand), sharing stages with acclaimed artists and leaders Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Zion I, J.Rocc, Ledisi, Slum Village, President Obama, and others. Her music has been featured by KMEL and the Museum of African Diaspora and was recognized in the East Bay Express' "Best Local Hip Hop" and by Hip Hop historian Davey D's "Artists to Watch" lists.
Miss Peila is honored to have featured on and been executive music producer for The Black Woman Is God, God Code, cypher song. Her most recent releases include a dance-worthy black love anthem music video, Love Me All, featuring international Deejay Young Fyah, and a lyrical Hip Hop & Climate Justice song that speaks directly to our times and people, addressing anti-black racism, the COVID pandemic, & Climate Change. The track is a call for liberation and the second of three collaborations with late legendary Bay Area producer Hawk Beatz. She’s currently in the studio working on her next solo project with Grammy nominated producer G Koop and up-and-coming Bay Area producers SarBChild and HTK “Knowy”. Her next single “Pretty Girls” featuring international treasure Taj Mahal, will be released this summer.