David Blot and Turbo Island’s graphic novel celebrates the life of disabled disco innovator Cola Boyy

The Cola Boyy Bookk bottles the late artist’s vibrant character, legacy and sound.

When disco innovator and disability activist Matthew Joseph Urango, a.k.a. Cola Boyy, passed away last year aged 34, he left behind a colourful legacy that filled dancefloors, opened minds and spanned continents. New graphic novel The Cola Boyy Bookk, created by French radio DJ David Blot and artist Chris Wright, a.k.a. Turbo Island, delves into the late artist’s iconoclastic life in full technicolour. 

Cola Boyy’s biography reads like a real life superhero story where music, adversity and activism intersect. “Cola Boyy is really like a comic book character himself,” says Blot, who contributed the book’s text. “You have this really strong image. Even the name already sounds like a character.”

Concepts like communism, police brutality and the artist’s lived experience with disability are conveyed in an accessible way – like sneaking vegetables into a kid’s meal or politics into a disco track. Surreal, kaleidoscopic illustrations jump out from the page, like giant, anthropomorphised strawberries and croissants holding up ‘Black Disabled Lives Matter’ signs at a protest in Paris. 

Cola Boyy’s own artistic journey ended abruptly when he passed away last spring. Yet his vibrant legacy lives on and, alongside his music, this book will help safeguard that legacy so that it can inspire future generations, whether on disco dancefloors or at demonstrations. 

We caught up with Wright and Blot to talk about creating the book, putting political ideas into pop and honouring Cola Boyy’s colourful life. 

How did the idea for this book come about and how did you both get involved in the project?

Chris Wright: I did some artwork for Matthew for his debut album. The record label suggested a comic for the new album [posthumous release Quit to Play Chess], so they reached out to me and I suggested we do a children’s book. I think his story suited a children’s story narrative – his life has been a big adventure. It tells the story of the obstacles he’s had to overcome. It’s a good life lesson. 

David Blot: Cola Boyy is really like a comic book or cartoon character himself. You have this really strong image. Even the name Cola Boyy already sounds like a character. You don’t get these kinds of stories from a lot of DJs or producers. I mean, my life is not as interesting as Cola Boyy’s, and yours probably isn’t either!

What does Cola Boyy mean to you personally and what drew you to his story?

DB: I met him three or four times. He’s a character from beginning to end. The most striking memory for me is the way he was going to protests in Paris and he was more involved than we were. He knew the names of all the people and got to know everyone.

What were the main messages from his life that you wanted to convey in the book?

DB: It was obvious that we had to include politics. We wanted it to have a strong message.

CW: By doing slightly surreal cartoons, you can tell a story in a way that no one’s going to judge. No one’s going to be like, ‘Hey, it didn’t happen like that’. I’ve drawn a massive strawberry, or I’ve drawn Cola Boyy as an airplane. That’s what I enjoyed about it. If you go into a surreal landscape, you can package his life as being even more fun and kaleidoscopic.

How did Cola Boyy’s music influence the illustration style? 

CW: Colour is an obvious thing. When I think of Cola Boyy, I think of colour. His music is very colourful; it’s got this sugary pop nostalgia. A lot of the drawing inspiration came from 70s-inspired American illustration, verging on Sesame Street-style – those bright oranges and yellows, bright pinks. With comics I always like the front cover more than what’s inside so I wanted each page to stand alone like a cover. I wanted every element of his life to be celebrated with the same impact, no matter how small or big it is.

The whole book has this joyful, uplifting tone, even though it’s been released posthumously and it’s got a sad ending. Why was it important to you to balance this sense of joy and loss?

CW: None of my art is ever too dark anyway, so I don’t know if my artwork could ever go there. There’s a whole other book about Cola Boyy’s life that could exist, which would be very in-depth with thousands of photographs and detailed stories and detailed politics. This is the pop side of Matthew. It touches on serious stuff, but I also think people learn about serious stuff by seeing it in a clear, children’s book way. People might take those things in more.

DB: That’s exactly what he wanted to say and do with the music and the way he was doing things. Putting political messages in pop music. 

What do you hope that Cola Boyy’s music will mean to future generations?

CW: I think it could snowball, and hopefully it does – which is sad because he’s not here anymore, but there are loads of messages in there that I think are going to become more and more valid. 

DB: It’s sad when you think about Cola Boyy, that he’s not here anymore to fight what’s happening right now. Maybe the music will live on in protests and that would be a good thing.

CW: It’s definitely a piece of positivity.