Feature photo by Vanessa Heins
While maybe not as well known as Chicago hip-hop heroes like Common, Kanye and Lupe, The Cool Kids certainly have the skills to be held in the same regard as their hometown peers. On their first major label EP, The Bake Sale, Antoine “Mikey Rocks” Reed, 22, and Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll, 25, brought back the minimalist beats and lyric swapping that first made the Beastie Boys hip-hop superstars. And like the Beasties, their message is something much different than the “Look at my money/cars/hoes/gangsta-ness” of the mainstream hip-hop scene. Instead of talking about their ice-cream painted whips or their Gucci bandanas, The Bake Sale was filled with rhymes about their BMX bikes, a little bit of gold, and a pager.
Well it’s been about two years since that album came out and the duo has left fans anxiously awaiting When Fish Ride Bicycles, their second album. The album still does not have a release date due to some legal issues regarding the group name. To ease the pain of the wait, they’ve released a mixtape available for free download on their site. The mixtape, Tacklebox, shows a definite progression in their sound, but still has the trunk rattling beats that their fans are familiar with. They’ve even incorporated a female vocalist on a few tracks, notably “Summer Nights” feat. Tenille, one of the stand-outs from this compilation. Other notable tracks to check out are “Strawberry Girl” and “Great Outdoors”. Both tracks show the newer sound The Cool Kids are working with. If this is where they are headed with their next EP, it sounds like it will be a strong follow-up to The Bake Sale.
If you want to check out their live show, pack up a lunch and head down to Millennium Park today at noon. They’ll be playing at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion as part of the weekly Edible Audio Picnic series at Millennium Park, going on every Monday this summer.
Events information
Date 06.14.2010
Time(s) Mon, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Check back weekly for a look at the best acts to catch this summer in our new Summer Sounds series!