Cola Boyy, musician, disabled activist, 34

Los Angeles — Matthew Urango, the Oxnard-raised singer, multi-instrumentalist and activist who performed as Cola Boyy, has died. He was 34.

Cola Boyy’s management confirmed the death in a statement to The Times. Urango died at home in Oxnard on Sunday, though no cause of death was given.

In a public statement, Cola Boyy’s label, Record Makers, said, “The one and only Cola Boyy a.k.a. Matthew Urango passed peacefully last Sunday. He was quite a soul, a man with no age, a childlike spirit with the musicality of an old legend. His lyrics, his melodies, the sound of his voice: every side of his music was unique and timeless.”

Urango, who was of Chumash, African American and Mexican ancestry and self identified as a Afro-Latino, was born with spina bifida, kyphosis and scoliosis, which informed his activism and outspokenness as a disabled musician playing some of the world’s most coveted stages.

Urango got his start in music in Oxnard’s punk scene and played bass in the indie-pop group Sea Lions. He soon gravitated toward disco and funk-infused pop music and signed a deal with Record Makers, the label founded by members of the French duo Air. His 2018 debut EP, “Black Boogie Neon,” yielded the reputation-making hits “Penny Girl” and “Buggy Tip,” and created enough buzz for him to perform at Coachella in 2019.

His 2021 debut album, “Prosthetic Boombox,” celebrated his visible disability over deeply grooving synth funk.

Urango was a beloved collaborator who performed and recorded alongside major acts including the Avalanches, the Clash’s Mick Jones and MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden.

Sills said that 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 Record Makers to make sure this happens.”