What makes somebody cool? I asked this question to myself a couple of days ago after listening to Charli XCX’s new album “Music, Fashion, Film”. When I first listened to the album, it took me aback completely. Music, Fashion, Film, is completely different than any Charli XCX album. Void of the classic hyperpop autotune, EDM sound that she’s built her illustrious career from. Specifically, her prior album “BRAT”, which reached critical acclaim, winning 5 BRIT Awards, 3 Grammy Awards, and 1 Billboard Music Award. This album is the complete opposite. The production provides us with a rawer sound; Charli’s vocals sound clearer, with a very subtle use of electronic beats overshadowed by the sounds of guitar, which are plastered throughout the album. From the production, the lyricism, and the overall project, you see a very matured Charli XCX. Saying all this and giving her such high praise, when I had first listened to the album with no prior knowledge that she was even releasing an album. I found it very disappointing; it wasn’t the Charli I fell in love with, the Charli that I could blast with all my windows down, speeding down the road. To me, it felt like her trying to switch her sound and failing at it. That’s when I decided to take a dive and research the album, which I hated. And that’s when I came to a realization: this album wasn’t for us, the listening audience; this album was for her. She created a dense existential album relaying a whole bunch of topics that I’ve personally never heard being displayed in music. Touching on topics like fame, identity, creativity, friendship, and legacy. To me, I had always wondered why she took such a long hiatus from making music, excluding the “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack. But now it had all made sense coming off BRAT, a culturally revolutionary album; to me, Charli seemed unsure about what to do next in her career. From being 14 years old, recording music in a small studio in Cambridge, it felt like at the age of 31, two months shy of her 32nd birthday, she had now been given her long overdue flowers. Trying to make sense of what to do must’ve seemed very daunting.
If instead of Music, Fashion, Film, she released an album very much like BRAT, said album she would’ve been releasing would’ve caused more harm than good. We see this a lot in mainstream rap. Take, for example, Lil Baby, Gunna, and Playboi Carti. Lil Baby’s biggest critique is his inability to change and evolve his sound; if you listen to every Lil Baby album from 2020–2025, there is no noticeable difference, from everything from his voice, cadence, production, and even all the way to his image, it has all remained the same. Gunna, very much in the same boat as Lil Baby musically, has at least changed his image and changed how he markets himself. After getting out of jail, Gunna became a symbol for health and wellness, losing tons of weight; you see him nowadays doing run clubs and sponsorships with fitness companies, not being known only as a rapper now. Finally, in my opinion, who has stayed relevant and evolved the best in the entertainment world is Playboi Carti. From dropping his self-titled album all the way back in 2017, every Carti album since then has influenced generations.
No matter how you look at it, even if Charli released a similar but better album than BRAT, she would’ve been stuck in a vortex of competition between herself and the masses trying to top each album, ultimately leaving her in a similar situation to Lil Baby. Killing the BRAT persona was her only way of being able to create music that feels alive. Going back to Music, Fashion, Film, the song that stuck the most with me was 2007. Not because the song had a deep meaning to me, but rather because of the effect it had on somebody else. “theeswiftologist”, real name Zachary, is a popular creator on social media, and when he talks about the song 2007, it speaks to him and reminds him of a time when the internet was new and very handmade before big corporations started to control algorithms that decided what to push and what not to push. What he said stuck with me and made me question: what is cool?
The question of what is cool and what isn’t is a very subjective criterion, but it makes me wonder if there is an objective standard to that question. Are there things we as humans can collectively agree upon that make someone cool? I asked some of my closest friends who their top 3 coolest people they can think of are, and what they think makes someone cool. I asked my girlfriend Sofia what she thought, and she said this girl that she knows, Mazzy Joya, and Michael Jackson; for her reasoning, she said this, “Fashion sense + confidence, like the way someone carries themselves, like they’re not embarrassed of anything.” I then asked my friend Ali, who said his friends Gurman and Jonah, then me. When I asked him he said, “Me and Gurman have everything in common, literally we’re like the same exact person and get along so well, Jonah was my first best friend, I’ve been friends with for 13 years and he’s been by my side since day 1, and I’ve known you for 10 years and you’ve had my back the whole time,” and when I asked what he thinks makes someone cool he said, “Their personalities.” Lastly, I asked my friend Alaa. He didn’t answer who his top 3 are, but did say, however, he thinks someone who doesn’t follow the crowd is what he thinks makes someone cool. The answers they had given me left me with more questions than answers; I could gauge from Sofia and Alaa that someone who could walk in a room without fear and display an immense amount of confidence is what could draw them in and ultimately make them find someone cool. Ali, I can see that loyalty and connection make someone cool. He doesn’t care about how they dress or anything else superficial; what matters to him is the depth and character of oneself and how they treat the closest to them.
To answer my own questions, Action Bronson, Chito Vera, and my friend Eli’s mom are my top 3 coolest people. Let’s start with Action Bronson. Bronson’s creativity, the amount of detail he puts into his work, and how wise he is in all realms of life are what stand out to me. Bronson, a former chef turned rapper turned rapping chef, and his creativity and detail on every single project he’s on radiates coolness. Whether he’s writing a cookbook, making a signature shoe with New Balance, or painting his album covers, he accentuates such a fresh, colorful innovation that very few possibly can do; he is overall an underrated genius and deserves all his flowers. That genius doesn’t only extend to his creativity; how wise he is stands out also — I have a semi-personal experience with his wisdom that created one of my writing pieces, diving deep into how drawing is the epitome of human, all due to an Action Bronson street interview where he talks about how shitty his tattoos are. Even during an impromptu street interview, when caught walking on the sidewalk, Bronson can still give you amazing gems of wisdom without even trying. He is an irreplaceable gem that has positively impacted all facets of the culture, and I am immensely happy to be alive during his lifetime.
Chito Vera, an Ecuadorian MMA fighter, throughout his career has never been solely defined by his mixed martial arts career. He’s pursued other endeavors such as fashion, podcasting, social media, and being a symbol for the Latino community, etc. What I find that draws me into him is his creative arts endeavors and personality. In a very uniform organization like the UFC, which forces its fighters to align with sponsors specifically in the way they’re allowed to dress, coinciding with the fact that MMA is a very right-wing sport, it can seem a lot at times that the fighters under the UFC banner can be very boring, having no personality, and when it’s time to showcase their personality they exude traditional-conservative characteristics. However, Chito, on the other hand, is like a breath of fresh air; his love for all things creative arts such as fashion, tattoos, and music, not to mention the fact that he is a Puffco partner. Chito is the opposite of your typical MMA fighter — walking down runways in Paris, being really good friends with the previously mentioned Action Bronson, Travis Barker, Feid, Chente Ydrach, and modeling for brands such as Stone Island and Adidas, and so much more. Just by his body of work alone, he brings a level of comfort and appeal that makes people want to support him. Also, what I think draws people in more than just his previously mentioned endeavors is just how funny and cool the guy is. If you watch any Chito Vera podcast or see him on any YouTube video, you can almost immediately recognize how much of an amazing personality he has, making any stranger feel at home with him almost instantly. Chito Vera, in every way, is unlike any athlete I could think of; he is himself truly and showcases that in such a suave manner, inducing everyone who comes across him — whether that is through the screen or meeting him in real life — to think to themselves how cool Chito Vera is.
Lastly, someone I hold near and dear to my heart is my friend Eli’s mom, Mrs. Stephanie. I met Mrs. Stephanie when I was 12 years old, and from the moment I met her, I thought she was the coolest person ever, and as I got older and started seeing her more and more, the cooler she became. Mrs. Stephanie, unlike anybody else I had met throughout my lifetime, possesses such an effortless personality surrounded by a beaming, colorful joy. If talking to her about something, she’ll show total interest no matter what the topic could be, asking questions, cracking jokes; even something so finite as her body language shows how much she cares about what you have to say and how much she appreciates you being there. Her personality doesn’t just extend to that; she’s undoubtedly the funniest person in the room, lighting everyone else up, bringing the best out of anyone who’s near her, and when she’s not there, everyone from the backyard to the attic can recognize the shift. It doesn’t just extend to that, though; she owns a beautiful antique store full of amazing pieces that bleed into her beautifully decorated house. Every single piece of décor throughout her store and her house has such amazing detail that showcases her creative talent and unique taste to its fullest extent. I can’t help but simply lie back and admire who she is as a person and how wonderful she makes me and everyone else feel; she’ll always have a special place in my heart, and I can only hope to be half the person that she is.
What makes somebody cool to me? What makes somebody cool to me is their creativity, detail, and passion for whatever they do; how laid back and effortlessly confident someone can be, and how well they can treat and include others, providing them with a safe space. All three people I have mentioned have these traits, from Bronson and his genius to Chito and his suave, then to Mrs. Stephanie, who has all these characteristics and more. It is clear to me that there is a reason why they are in my top 3, and it is clearer to me that these traits that I admire about these people are what I strive for and validate myself on, and I hope one day I can fully embody what they all already have.
After reflecting and studying deeply on the question — what makes somebody cool — I have concluded that there is no objective standard for what makes somebody cool; it is 100% subjective opinion. How someone answers the questions “who are your top 3 coolest people” and “what do you think makes someone cool” says a lot about them. In my opinion, how someone answers the question “what do they think makes someone cool” is a reflection of what they value and who they strive to be. And if someone can’t name 3 people they think are cool, they simply haven’t found someone that meets their criteria. In all, I leave you with the task to try to recognize what you think makes someone cool, and try to replicate those characteristics and implement it onto yourself.