Coca Vango

Southern rapper Coca Vango became known for his self-proclaimed “cocaine flow,” a smooth approach that blended melodic rap delivery and a floating, narcotic singing style. Jumping into rap seriously in his late teens, he was first recognized in Atlanta’s underground rap scene for his Jugg Rich mixtape series. Released in 2016, Jugg Rich 2 featured cameos by Bandit Gang Marco and Yakki, and led to further exposure for the emerging rapper. Later that year he appeared on Project Pat’s “30” single and released upwards of three more mixtapes. Over the next several years he honed his trippy trap sound with several singles and mixtapes, including 2018′s Motivational Purposes Only. Coca Vango was born Rashad Best in Decatur, Georgia in 1990. He went through various troubles on the way to a life in music, being expelled from school for bad behavior and later being fired from a heating/cooling job when he missed work because he was up late performing his music at open mikes. Low-paying jobs and tough times persisted as he worked toward his creative dreams, releasing his first mixtape, Remember the Name, in 2013. His reputation slowly grew and he gained the attention of more established artists like Project Pat and Polow da Don on the strength of his Jugg Rich mixtape series. The 2016 mixtape Jugg Rich 2 included the song “Recipe,” a lurching trap banger that made the rounds in Atlanta’s underground rap circles and opened the doors for Vango to collaborate with new connections on a flood of additional mixtapes. Van Gogh, Cocaine Flow, and Cocaine Flow 2 all spilled out over the course of that year, and he continued on with Runway Juggin in 2017 and Motivational Purposes Only in 2018, both with high-profile features from Jazze Pha, Bigga Rankin, Asian Doll, and others. ~ Fred Thomas