I have heard it in almost every single hip hop artist interview I have ever conducted in my short music journalism career: “No one has fun in hip hop anymore.” And if you sit back for a minute and think about that—it’s so true.
I mean, for years now I have totally drenched myself in highly political, socio-conscious, serious hip hop mixed in with a dab of early nineties throwback jazz spoofs. I never once noticed how serious some of these records were. Nothing that would really put a smile on your face, nothing you could throw on at a party and get it moving, and definitely not the music you can cruise in your whip and get down with.
I never noticed how boring my music was getting until I came across a colorful EP that was given to me by a friend. He handed it over and said: “You aren’t cool enough to listen to this, but fuck it.” How right he was. Right now, The Cool Kids have the internet going nuts!
The Windy City rapping duo, Inglish and Mikey Rocks, have made quite a commotion with hip hop fans (old and new) with their recent exposure on the NBA Live 2008 game and their new 8-track EP, “Totally Flossed Out.” With their stripped down, throwback style of production and flow The Cool Kids are making music to have fun and to bring that ‘feeling’ back to hip hop fans on a global scale.
With songs about tricked out bikes, clothes, and partying The Cool Kids are not another cookie cutter response to what is hot in hip hop at the moment. They are neither pop nor backpack, abstract or gangsta, old school or modern—they are just cool.
The self proclaimed “new black version of the Beastie Boys” are guaranteed to be a refreshing alternative to everything that is being released in hip hop right now, mainstream or independent. For those music junkies that haven’t worn out their car speakers in years.
For those fans that have to tuck away their hip hop binders at a party because El-P can’t jump it off. For those fans that loved the simplicity of old school hip hop. For fans with stereos sitting on their handlebars. For hip hop fans. The Cool Kids--
