Matthew Urango, the Oxnard-raised singer, multi-instrumentalist and activist who performed as Cola Boyy, has died. He was 34 years old.
Cola Boyy management confirmed the death in a statement to the Times. Urango died at his home in Oxnard on Sunday, although no cause of death was provided.
In a public statement, Cola Boyy’s label, Record Makers, said: “The one and only Cola Boyy, also known as Matthew Urango, passed away peacefully last Sunday. He was a true soul, a man without age, a childlike spirit with the musicality of an old legend. The lyrics of his, the melodies of his, the sound of his voice: every side of his music was unique and timeless.”
Urango, who was of Chumash, African American, and Mexican descent and identified as Afro-Latino, was born with spina bifida, kyphosis, and scoliosis, which influenced his activism and outspokenness as a disabled musician performing on some of the most coveted stages in the world.
“Society wants us to stay closed in and be shy and docile, and not feel safe, or cool, or sexy. They just don't want us to feel any of that, you know? she told tmrw magazine in an interview. “So in my life, that often weighed me down, but it never stopped me.”
“Anyone who knew Matthew knows he had a larger than life personality,” manager Jack Sills wrote on Instagram. “He was always the life of the party and he could fight anyone. He was also one of the most talented and down-to-earth people I have ever met.”
Urango got his start in music in the Oxnard punk scene and played bass in the indie-pop group Sea Lions. He soon gravitated toward funk-infused disco and pop music and signed a deal with Record Makers, the label founded by members of the French duo Air. Her 2018 debut EP, “Black Boogie Neon,” produced breakout hits like “Penny Girl” and “Buggy Tip,” and generated enough buzz for her to perform at Coachella in 2019.
His 2021 debut album, “Prosthetic Boombox,” celebrated his visible disability with synth funk deeply inspired by Zapp and Gap Band.
Urango was a beloved collaborator who performed and recorded alongside major artists such as the Avalanches, Mick Jones of The Clash, and Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of our friend and collaborator Mateo Urango” the Avalanchas wrote on social media. “Matthew was the most effervescent, hilarious, talented and passionate guy you will ever meet. He was a man of convictions and words. “Many of us will miss him very much and today we send all our love to his friends and family.”
Urango combined his deeply danceable music with sincere socialism and community activism. In the video for his single “All Power to the People” we find him teaching socialist history lessons about Che Guevara and Karl Marx to schoolchildren, and he was actively involved in organizing workers and the left. Sills described him as “a community organizer who advocates for local immigrants and farmworkers.”
Sills said Cola Boyy “had just finished his next album and was excited to start releasing new music this summer. I will continue to work with his family and his Record Makers to make sure this happens.”
Urango is survived by his mother, Lisa; father, Joseph; younger brother, Noah; and twin brother, Marcus.
