Columbus, Ohio, brought together the five founding participants in the musical collective Fatty Koo—Eddie B, Gabrielle, Marya, Ron, and Valure—through their enrollment in the city’s CAPACITY youth arts program. That initiative connected young urban artists with established professionals and administrators in the field. The notion of forming a permanent unit surfaced at the CAPACITY-sponsored “Columbus Songwriters’ Summit for Oneness” in 2004. Although their musical backgrounds and preferences differed, the members recognized an immediate chemistry and chose to remain together. A mobile recording studio provided by the nonprofit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus enabled them to cut a demo during its visit to Columbus, and the resulting recording reached DAS Management. Having previously worked with the Fugees and the Black Eyed Peas, DAS Management was well positioned to shape the collective’s mixture of hip-hop, R&B, pop, and dance. Sony Music and BET soon entered the picture: Sony offered the group a recording contract, and BET structured an agreement that would chronicle their rise in a television series. Audiences first observed the adoption of the name Fatty Koo with the April 2005 premiere of BET’s Blowin’ Up: Fatty Koo. One month later, the addition of new member Josh coincided with final work on the debut album. House of Fatty Koo reached stores in June 2005 while its lead single, “Bounce,” was featured in ABC’s NBA playoff coverage.
