//  Origin:  The Bay Area, CA

 

//  Genres:  HipHop . Alt-R&B/Soul . Afro Diaspora

 

//  Years Active:  2005- Present

 

//  Label:  Independent/Miss Behave Records

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//  Website:  Cocopeila.com

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//  Founder: BlackGoldMovement.com

 

 

 

Short Bio

 

Coco Peila is  a U.S.-born, Bay Area bred Hip Hop & Alt-R&B Afro Diaspora flex. The rap god.dess MC, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and cultural organizer developed her irresistible sound while working in the artistic activism and anti-oppression facilitation world alongside sharpening her musical craft, including serving as Director of Hip Hop & Climate Justice at Oakland-based youth-driven Climate Justice organization Youth vs. Apocalypse, and most recently being selected to participate in Women’s Earth Alliance’s 2021 U.S. Grassroots Accelerator For Women Environmental Leaders. Her work centers around the liberation of all people and protection of the planet through articulating her perspectives and amplifying, uniting, and resourcing African Heritage people, particularly Women & Girls, and their communities. She is the founder of BlackGold Movement, a grass roots organization whose mission is to reverse the flow of resources from the West back to Africa along the transatlantic slave trade routes through Hip Hop, Storytelling, and music of the African Diaspora. Some highlights of this work include executive producing the music for The Black Woman Is God, God Code, cypher song for the digital National Opening in 2020 and working 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 since 2019. Coco has had the honor of training professionals from Billboard and Rolling Stone, along with the new cohort from Variety and The AAFCA to facilitate the third iteration of the project at L.A.C.E.S. Her innovative Hip Hop & Climate Justice work with YVA have been highlighted at The Kennedy Center, in The New Yorker, as well at Stanford and Yale.

Miss Peila has performed at national and international venues including The Hollywood Bowl, San Francisco Opera House, 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, The Pharcyde, President Obama, and others. Her music has been featured by KMEL, Yale Climate Connections, and The MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora) and was recognized by Hip Hop historian Davey D's "Artists to Watch" lists. 

Coco built a solid foundation in audio engineering and production while studying at Full Sail University in Florida. As a student, she was awarded her first grant by Berkeley’s historic La Pena Cultural Center to produce two mixtapes and release parties in the Bay Area featuring artists from the U.S. (with a focus on Bay Area Artists), The Caribbean, and New Zealand whose music encouraged exploration of the writing process, literacy, intelligence and critical thinking. She maintained her relationship with the Bay Area, returning on school breaks to curate both mixtape’s subsequent release parties in Berkeley and Oakland while earning her Bachelor's degree in Recording Arts. She moved back to The Bay in 2011 after being awarded her Master’s in Entertainment Business and in 2013 she released a feminist Hip Hop anthem Misses Shoot Em’ Down followed by several EPs which culminated in the release of the complete collection of I Still Love H.I.M. (Hip Hop In spite of Misogyny) in 2017. In 2018 Coco was featured on Deva Mahalʼs womenʼs empowerment anthem Run Deep which was highlighted by Elton John & broke 3 million streams on Spotify alone.

Last year she released ‘Pretty Girls, which broke 70,000 streams on Spotify alone, launching the “Pretty Heist”, an Audio-Visual media campaign which aims to redistribute the wealth and power of beauty throughout the Black Girl Magic diaspora. The song, music video and Pretty Heist interview series were centered around Black Women & Girls’ liberation and addresses the impacts of sexism, anti-black racism, white supremacy, and the beautification industry on our: lives, perception of ourselves and each other, sense of worth, perception of beauty, relationships with one another, and access to resources. The initiative spotlights black women and girls and provides information about how to support the work they’re doing in their communities and the world. The video was featured in The Black Woman is God 2021 exhibition at SOMArts Gallery and San Francisco State University in San Francisco CA. Coco celebrated Earth Day this year by launching a Hip Hop & Climate Justice initiative under her new organization BlackGold Movement. The initiative began with her single “Whose World? (Red Black and Green New Deal)” and a two-cypher suite in Oakland and New York City leading up to the release of Whose World? (The New Normal) a Hip Hop & Climate Justice project she produced between Oakland, D.C. and New York City as a part of Creative Wildfire, a national call to action led by Climate Justice Alliance, New Economy Coalition, and Movement Generation.