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With a name that instantly makes sense the moment you hear their infectious beats, The Cool Kids are young upstarts on the hip hop scene. Mikey Rocks (real name Antoine Reed ) and Chuck Inglish (real name Evan Ingersoll ) joined forced in 2005 after meeting on MySpace. They quickly caught the attention of Josh Young of Flosstradamus, as well as Diplo and A-Trak. Their debut EP Totally Flossed Out, a collection of their tracks that had only previously appeared on the internet, was released in 2007, and this year they return with their eagerly awaited second EP, The Bake Sale.
Right from the opening, the duo’s fun personalities shine through in their beats. On What Up Man, the structure of the track is quite akin to the interjectory style employed by groups such as De La Soul or A Tribe Called Quest. The beat is simple and lets the rhymes take centre stage. Having said that, the rhymes aren’t anything groundbreaking, nor are they a form of social commentary. What I like about The Cool Kids is that their approach to making music is to have fun with it. On One Two they deftly go from rhyme to rhyme between them, even comparing themselves to other hip hop luminaries: “What it is, what it is, come check the noise. It’s the new black version of the Beastie Boys.”
What is noticeable about The Cool Kids is a potential lack of maturity. Sure, they’re the new kids on the block, but there’s a fine line between rapping about stupid shit and rhymes with a clever wit. At the moment, they’re taking what they know and putting it into verse, whether that be playing Street Fighter on Sega ( A Little Bit Cooler ), riding a dope bike ( Black Mags ) or charging people an entry fee to a house party ( Bassment Party ). And they’re doing it with a carefree attitude, something lacking in hip hop these days.
Many artists are taking themselves way too seriously, and The Cool Kids are the perfect antidote to that serious brand of music. Again, it’s a fine line. Few groups (think Ugly Duckling ) are able to poke fun at others and themselves, and still retain popularity and credibility. The Cool Kids definitely have the attitude to keep going, and their forthcoming debut album is destined to be one of the most anticipated of the year. There’s no doubt that The Cool Kids remain, for the time being, the most appropriately-named musical group right now.
