The Cool Kids - 'The Bake Sale' (XL) Released 04/08/08

With comparisons being made to the Beastie Boys, The Cool Kids are a rap duo who combined originates from both Chicago and Detroit. Apart from idolizing the golden era of hip-hop, which is mirrored extensively in their work, there is nothing else that should be even remotely compared to the New York legendary group. Aside from the fact that the Beastie Boys were white and The Cool Kids are not, the Beastie’s agro attack on wax and rock inspiration was and still is an original take on modern day music that very few have ever been able to replicate.
 
So what does this mean for The Cool Kids? Admittedly, the kids are in fact cool. Their calm demeanor and fresh yet vintage take on hip-hop definitely creates a buzz and sets them apart from the rest of the pack. Having worked with Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West’s DJ, A-Track, the kids seem to know the formula for success. Their latest offering, ‘The Bake Sale’ is an EP to give listeners a taste of what they have to come - their full length debut ‘When Fish Ride Bicycles’ is out later this year. And with content ranging from how fly they look in their new sneakers to old skool Sega games, these guys have a certain flava that folks stuck back in the 80’s, complete with rope chains and Reebok Pumps, will bow down and worship the ground they walk on.

The music contained on ‘The Bake Sale’ sounds like an early Def Jam record – think LL Cool J’s ‘Radio’, but without the lyrical rawness of a young Todd Smith. That’s the rap pretty much for the entire 10-track EP. There’s plenty of heavy artillery in the form of beats and production, however, the occasional simplistic rhyme is what might cause you to tune out for a brief moment. And that’s not because what the kids are saying isn’t original, because they’re lyrics are in fact  fresher than washing straight out the dryer, it’s just their delivery at times lacks a certain kick and has you drifting off elsewhere. It’s not that they need to switch up their flow and go against everything they stand for, meaning they don’t need to sell out to sell records. They just need to inject a bit of fire in to their rhyming style every now and then.

The continuous sample and bass featured on ‘Gold And A Pager’ flips the script completely. Sounding simplistic but yet so musically heavenly, The Cool Kids spit insistent rhymes over a beat designed to jolt the needle on your father’s old record player. The subject matter is simple – they’re describing the rocking of gold jewelry and Motorola pagers. It’s a joint you can imagine blowing from your car speakers whilst cruising through your local town at five miles per hour. On the other side of the track, a song that does maybe need a little more aggression is ‘One Two’, where the kids in fact compare themselves to the above mentioned legends. With a low brow monotone throughout, the synthesized-laced production needs a bit more lyrical force to make an impact with enough interest to spark off a new hip-hop craze.

‘Jingling’ is without doubt the strongest record on ‘The Bake Sale’. Its drum machine loop and female vocal echo, which is an obvious ode to LL Cool J’ ‘Jingling Baby’, sparks off visions of nostalgia. Remembering the days when ‘Radio’ or ‘Bigger And Deffer’ were pumping through speakers everywhere, when rap was about to come to the forefront of the music scene, and easy rhymes and easy beats worked so well, this track does that. In an industry where producers are being paid a million dollars per beat, it’s great to go back to a time when you could construct a beat in no time at all by looping the same few seconds over and over again. The Cool Kids have found a formula that won’t necessarily sell millions but will keep the older generation happy and make them believe that there are young kids out there that do appreciate hip-hop and its roots. With the production and subject matters on lock, perhaps on their forthcoming LP they’ll adjust their delivery slightly and rap will have another solid album to start shouting about.