September 2009 (L-R clockwise: Foolery, Charlie Smarts, Synopsis, DJ Ill Digitz, Rapsody, Tab-One, Me).

Kooley High is one of my favorite hip hop groups of ever, and it just so happens that they are from North Carolina. Tab-One, Sinopsis, Foolery, Charlie Smarts and DJ Ill Digitz now split their time between Raleigh, NC and Brooklyn, New York. This weekend however all five members of the crew are in town and they will be playing a hometown show at The Pourhouse in Raleigh.

Kooley High is running a contest to win tickets to the show via their Instagram page. The rules are simple: follow them on the Gram, repost this picture, include the captions @KooleyHighNC and #KooleyIsHigh you’ll be entered for a change to win tickets to their show on Saturday December 13.

I’ve been a Kooley High fan for years. Down below check out a couple of throwback freestyles from my Carolina hip hop archives. One was from an interview I did with Kooley High in September 2009 at their Breakroom Studios in Raleigh. This was actually the first time I’d ever done an interview at a studio. All I had was my Apple laptop and a microphone! The crew passed the microphone around and went it. The freestyle was so dope, I broke out into goosebumps. The other freestyle is from October 2008. The whole crew as well as the members of Inflowential stopped by my radio show at WXYC 89.3 FM Chapel Hill.

After the jump, y’all can also watch the video of a throwback Kooley High performance from the 2010 A3C Hip Hop Festival!

September 2009 Freestyle (Rhyming in order: Tab-One, Charlie Smarts, Rapsody)

October 2008 Freestyle Kooley High & Inflowential (Includes Beatboxer A-Did & Halo)