Words By Jason Hortillas

You don’t want to like The Cool Kids – but you do. The tight pants. The loud ass T-shirts. The songs about bicycles. You just can’t get down with all that – but you do. These Chicago kids have become the quintessential guilty pleasure from Hip-Hop’s freshmen class.

Hearing “Black Mags” for the first time last fall, all I could initially comprehend was bass. Hearing the thump, my head began to slowly nod, with its pace increasing in speed until I caught up to the BPM. You could actually catch me saying “waddup,” quoting Mikey Rocks while walking with my iPod in hand. Let’s just say I got “got.”

Fast forward to May 2008. The Bake Sale (Chocolate Industries) is the group’s first official release after almost a year of pushing their product via Myspace and word of mouth that is the internet. Although an EP, Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks seem to make this a re-introduction to new listeners and finally “caking” off of the initial hits that now put them on the map. The previously mentioned “Black Mags” still remains to be their most powerful cut from their repertoire. You can argue that this is the boys’ version of “Kick, Push” but banter about riding their bikes is more universal. This was more in your face than observation. “Mags” is 2008 youth culture on wax, rather mp3; it is a glimpse of the possible generation next for Hip-Hop, like it or not.

Keeping it domestic, production is primarily handled by Chuck Inglish. There is a continuity in the sound which primarily revolves around a traditional boom-bap kicks and snares. On “One Two,” Inglish utilizes the homegrown drum kit à la MF Doom, as the beat box is recorded and looped for the beat. The more contemporary additions come by the chopped and screwed punch ins which are interesting to see from a Chicago Hip-Hop team. That combined with timely synth additions, you could say they embody the new retro.

Generally speaking, The Bake Sale is a lot of the same. The flows are far from complex, the punch lines are witty and not over your head. This is straight up good music to bump in your whip. On the reverse, proclaiming that you eat “Fruity Pebbles” in Mike Jones’ style repetition on “A Little Bit Cooler” may make you pull your hair out. Talk of gear can get redundant as well. But the brilliance behind The Cool Kids sound is in its simplicity.

The main drawback however is how long will this remain to be appealing. Don’t get me wrong it’s relieving to see the Kids drawing inspiration from Hip-Hop’s origins yet that style didn’t last for a reason. Now in the same way of thinking, will TCK be able to evolve as throwback rap lessens in favor? As this is only an EP we’ll wait and see what they have on deck in the future. For now, this is a solid effort that will definitely be incorporated into the ’08 summer rotation. Nevertheless, The Bake Sale is definitely an album taste tested with a thumbs up.

3.5 CIGARETTES

Watch – The Cool Kids – “88″ Video

Previously Posted — TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With The Cool Kids