Kuku

Art in the cafe...

Laurel Statz


"The Spectator"


December 2025



Laurel Statz is a painter and Madison area native. Her work, while figurative, is influenced by abstraction and minimalism. The paintings often have a quick and instinctual nature, capturing just what’s needed. While she often times herself to eliminate extra details and over-precision, she has ventured into more detailed works as well. Laurel does not attach narrative to her pieces. Rather, she thinks of them like a journaling process for her scatter-brained psyche. The figures in the pieces are meant to be processing tools for the artist and the viewer. She hopes that seeing these figures helps the...
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Friday, August 15, 2008

A native of Nigeria, World Soul artist KUKU grew up listening to the assorted sounds of American soul, folk, and jazz music, as well as, sweet African rhythms. KUKU moved to the US in 1993 to attend college and serve in the US Army. During a 2002 open-mic show, he picked up a guitar for the first time. After teaching himself to play, KUKU began building an enthusiastic fan-base. In 2005 "Love Sessions, a home recorded EP, was completed. It has gone on to sell more than 4,000 copies. The next year, KUKU released his first full-length recording, "Unexpected Pleasures", and in 2007, in only two hours, he recorded "The Absence of Cool", a suite of live songs with just an acoustic guitar.

Hailed as "the African Music Medicine Man," this DC-based troubadour has been touring extensively for the past four years. KUKU's captivating live performances feature an effortless blend of Yoruba and English languages. Fans have described KUKU as the perfect mix of Bill Withers, Terry Callier, and King Sunny Ade and labeled his sound as the beautifully arranged "Afro-soul Acoustic Experience.---

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