Koolade

Biography

Matko Šašek, also known as Koolade, is a Croatian hip-hop, electronic, and urban music producer. Born in Zagreb in the late 1970s, he began his music career in the late 1990s. Along with other members of the Blackout family he played a role in establishing the hip-hop genre in the Croatian and regional (Balkans) music scene, winning national music awards in Croatia and Bosnia.
Later he and his partner/manager Phat Phillie continued to expand his work throughout Europe and the U.S., where he is known for his production work on Masta Ace's "Beautiful" on the album A Long Hot Summer, as well as a number of other prominent American hip-hop artists such as Ghostface Killah and Masta Killa of the Wu Tang Clan, Sean Price, Xzibit, Sadat X, Styles P, Diamond D, Das EFX, Peedi Crakk, Tony Touch, Rah Digga, Too Short, Bow Wow, and others. Koolade is locally and regionally known for his collaborations with the Croatian hip-hop groups Tram 11 and Bolesna Braća, as well as Bosnian rappers Edo Maajka and Frenkie.

Early years

Born on 1 June 1978 in Zagreb, Croatia, he showed great interest in music from his early days. Growing up in the 1980s he listened to artists like Queen (being a fan since age of 6), Michael Jackson, U2, Depeche Mode, New Order, Human League, Dire Straits etc. In 5th and 6th grade he took piano lessons, but quit after two years due to a lack of interest in classical music education. He did not play the piano again, until the start of his professional music career in the mid/late 1990s.

Hip hop

In the years 1989/1990, his sister introduced him to Hip Hop music, which he initially hated, but after a year or so, it became his obsession. Artists like Run-DMC, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Ice Cube, EPMD would very soon take over his tape deck. Due to a few shows like MTV's Yo! MTV Raps, Rap Attack, and his future manager Phat Philly's own Blackout Rap Show on Radio 101, he kept track of the international scene and all the fresh new releases. Soon, he started forming his first high school demo bands like G-Style and Ill Behavior. Having interest in both rapping and beatmaking, he makes his first tracks. Those would end up being just tries and attempts, but practice for his later work.

Blackout

As Hip Hop scene would start resonating more with the children in Croatia during the early/mid 1990s, he started hanging around clubs and the people playing, promoting, and making hip hop music. Hearing the local artist's demos being played on the Blackout Rap Show, he was not overwhelmed with the production, and decided he wanted to contribute to the scene with his musical talent as a beat-maker and producer. Later, he focused on beat-making and production.
He becomes a member of the Blackout Project, the DJ's, MC's and beat-makers revolving and evolving around the Blackout Rap Show. In 1998, his first production credit release, which marked the start of his professional career, were two tracks by Tram 11 "Des Mozges" & "Kog je briga za vas", on Blackout Project's Project Impossible album. He collaborated with local and regional hip hop artists like Tram 11, Sick Rhyme Sayazz aka Bolesna Braća, El Bahattee, Nered & Stoka, Edo Maajka, Frenkie, Shorty, and Elemental. He produced "Beautiful" by Masta Ace.

Media and marketing

Being a music producer and sound engineer, Koolade created scores for commercials. Some of the references are H&M, Nivea, Alizee, EA Sports, Y2K, and TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance & Ugly Betty etc.

Awards and recognition

In 2007, Los Angeles-based URB magazine named Koolade one of the top 100 best up-and-coming urban artists, along with artists like M.I.A. and Block Party.