The Cool Kids: The Bake Sale EP

I'm sure there's a dozen reasons why The Bake Sale, the debut EP from Chicago's The Cool Kids, doesn't give me a headache. Maybe it's because emcees Chuck Inglish (Evan Ingersoll) and Mikey Rocks (Antoine Reed) wax nostalgic on all things 80s, or that their sound embodies the energy of golden age hip-hop acts like A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and EPMD while still remaining progressive in its style. Perhaps. But what seems more likely is that lately I've discovered I gravitate toward music that is, for lack of a more nerdburger music-journalism term, genuine. What I mean is, The Cool Kids aren't claiming to be street, or pretending they aren't obsessed with things like throwback Starter jackets, Mars Blackmon-era Jordans, or BMX bikes. They're all about it, and that's what's refeshing. Sure, I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge that the duo's image is somewhat propped up by these "things" they rap about, and that keeping their lyrical content fresh will ultimately decide their longevity. But name a rapper who's not funneling his or her stage persona through some sort of filter and you'll soon realize we're chatting about a total stranger with no record deal.

Stocked with 10 tracks (six new, plus Internet and mixtape favs like "Mikey Rocks," "88," "Black Mags," and "Gold and A Pager"), The Bake Sale EP is a slow and steady burner. But don't let the reduced speed fool you, Chuck and Mikey fill the spaces between the beats with oodles of entertaining chatter. "What Up Man" and "One Two" drop you sneakers first into The Cool Kids' world, where the pair does their best to orient you to their own sense of space and time before getting you hooked. And the hook? That would be track three, "Mikey Rocks." Anchored by a minimal, bedrock beat accented with a touch of glitchy garnish, The Cool Kids demonstrate what all the hype is about.

And while references to the pair's Neptunes-style production are unavoidable, The Bake Sale is more than just warmed-over mega-producer posturing. Sure, Chuck and Mikey lean on the type of minimal, ridiculously catchy beats that have helped make Pharrell and Timbaland rich, but they do so with restraint. The pair aren't necessarily reinventing rap as so many smitten critics would have you believe. But their meticulous approach and signature style is undeniable, and more importantly, fun.

Tracks like "Bassment Party" and "A Little Bit Cooler" ooze with the type of emcee braggadocio we've come to expect on a rap record. But in this department the pair do their best to turn perceptions on their ear, spouting playful, schoolyard rhymes like, "I guess it goes full circle like a Cheerio / Cuz you rockin' what I was rockin' like a year ago" ("A Little Bit Cooler"); and fist-in-the-air house party fare, "So if you ugly keep your hands by your side / But if you not then put them in the sky ("Bassment Party"). The EP's final cut, a track callled "Jingling," transposes the chorus from LL Cool J's classic song of a similar name, perhaps rehashing the duo's affection for LL a bit too much (the first nod being the video for "Black Mags," which channels the vibe of LL's "Going Back to Cali" video from 1989). But then again, when you're tapping into old school appeal like The Cool Kids do, how can you not pay tribute to the veteran Def Jam rapper. 

To be blunt, The Bake Sale works because The Cool Kids make it work. It's a well-conceived package of beats, rhymes, and swagger. Not too over analyzed (well, maybe a little), but no signs of laziness either. The beats are minimal, but airtight. The rhymes are equal parts high school humor and cocky twentysomething wit. And the swagger? Well, you know how that works. But most important, the music's fun, which music too often forgets to be. It's the type of record that coked-out club kids and battling b-boys can appreciate as much as my two-year old (who was going apeshit over "Black Mags" when we bumped it in the car). And yeah, I know "that track was out, like, a year ago!" But give the pint-size headnodder a break, he's already smarter than you.

PS: In case you didn't notice, the album art was done by none other than Brooklyn's Kimou Meyer aka Grotesk. You can read our interview with him here.