The Future: Cool Kids

This is the first post in this blogs new serial titled The Future that will cover new, noteworthy acts in hip-hop and beyond. The group I'm covering in this post is none other than the blog-hyped Cool Kids from Chicago aligned with A-Trak's Fool's Gold Record label and Chicago's Chocolate Industries. 'Black Mags', the Cool Kids' latest single, makes flossing on BMX bikes seem suddenly possible. Fool's Gold single '88' (referencing / interpolating Nas' 'Made You Look' in its chorus) is a striking boom-bap throwback. One of the new tracks from the latest Cool Kids EP, 'The Bake Sale', is a house party anthem titled 'Jingling' that lifts some party fun from LL Cool J's '88 single 'Jingling Baby' from 'Walking with a Panther'. I admit that I'm not fond of the exploits of the internet's blog rap explosion, most artists littering the web with poor flows disguised as clever hipsterisms. The Cool Kids, though calculated, never dresses their music like it's a joke - their throwback 'Paid in Full' sound seems like it belongs. Check it out to see if you agree.

The Lowdown:
The Cool Kids 'Black Mags', '88', and 'Jingling'
from 'The Bake Sale' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Black Mags', '88', and 'Jingling'
Nas 'Made You Look'
from 'God's Son' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Made You Look'
LL Cool J 'Jingling Baby'
from 'Walking with a Panther' (1988) (MP3/CD)