Cool Kids - The Bake Sale (Album)
Early in the second song, the claim is made: “We’re the new black version of the Beastie Boys.” In an album filled with playful braggadocio and listener putdowns, it would be easy to put the comment down to boastfulness, but the debut of The Cool Kids (Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish) echos the sentiment made. All the potential for something special is there- the old school beats, the obsession with bringing ’88 back, the rhymes that shirk gangsta convention and bring Hip Hop back to its’ roots. In fact, as the duo are entirely self sufficient (Chuck handles the beat duties throughout the record), it feels like they could serve as a time capsule to times gone (Hell, one of the songs is called Gold and a Pager, and what's more 80's than that?).
The lack of mercenary production throughout The Bake Sale is its strength. Instead of a mish-mash of sped up and played out 70’s soul samples, Inglish’s production gives a sense of fluidity to the album. The Boom Bap beats are perfectly suited to the playful lyrical themes, and the play betweem lyric and beat is perfect. The memorable What Up Man is the production highlight, with its spoken word drumline (that’s right, you heard me), an inventive use of sampling that creates a memorable introduction.
Although the duo lack the rhyme wizardly of A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul, their emulation is still commendable. They’re certainly not bad, and besides the occasional sound-a-like to Kanye (which is understandable considering their hailing from Chicago) they present a memorable take on life. Referencing waking up way too late, Star Wars, shirking drug use, BMX riding and jeans that actually fit, The Cool Kids represent the changing face of Hip Hop. Neither gangsta nor nerdy, the two seem to be content on just being young and individual. Both in their early twenties, the two are the part of a new generation-one where gangsta rap has not been totally dominant- and it shows in their lyricism.
Black Mags- pegged by some as the BMX equivalent to Lupe Fiasco’s Kick Push- is a day in the life disguised as an ode to the two wheeled vehicle that we loved in our youth. Rather than seeing it as a tool of children, the two Cool Kids embrace the freedom that a BMX brings. Meanwhile, on A Little Bit Cooler, Mikey and Chuck launch a scathing attack on style biters, haters and imitators that sums up the style of the two- immediately likable and confident without being cocky.
It’s difficult to fault much of anything on The Bake Sale. The two seem genuinely influenced by- and intent on bringing back, fluro or not- the 80’s and the unique Hip Hop it introduced. Full of clever wordplay and endearing tales of everyday life, the record helps introduce a new niche in Hip Hop (or maybe should that be reintroduce an old one…).
