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Avg: 4.5 (22 ratings)
- Date Released: June 10, 2008
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Hip-Hop
- Label: Chocolate Industries/C.A.K.E Recordings / INgrooves
One of the most outrageously fun party-rap records of the year.
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We Say...
The coolest kids you knew when you were younger always displayed a weird mastery of meaningless skills. Maybe they could win Contra without entering the secret 30-guy code, or maybe they could ride a wheelie for a whole block. Whatever their specialty was, their easy command of it, and their overall devotion to the cosmically insignificant, somehow enhanced their Zen-master aura of coolness.
The Cool Kids, two smirking teenagers hailing from Chicago and Detroit, understand this truth instinctively. On The Bake Sale EP, their first official release, they boast effortless control of a wide range of utterly trivial skill sets. They know, for instance, that when you rhyme over self-consciously retro electro-rap beats made on cheap software, it’s best to state your breakfast-cereal preferences early, and often (Fruity Pebbles receive special mention). They understand exactly how little should go into simple, Rick Rubin-aping tracks, but grasp how hard it is to make an interesting one (they knock out ten in a row here). And they have perfected the art of the old-skool rap quotable: “Did you know I made this beat with a mouth and a bell? That’s F-Y-I/ I’m F-L-Y/ And for those that can’t spell/ I’m a pretty swell guy.” Or how about: “It’s that sick, it gets sicker than the flu/ — enza, you tend to pretend I’m you/ So attend you a class on how to be cooler/ In fact I’m the superintendent of the school.”
Most importantly, they seem to understand just how long this sort of ironic costume-party fun lasts; the EP runs exactly 36 minutes, stopping precisely one second before the affectation starts grating. These kids, after all, were not yet out of diapers when the era they are insouciantly mimicking was in full force, and they know better than to stick around after the novelty of 19-year-old kids in dookie chains wears off. Thanks to their knack for such minutiae, The Bake Sale EP is one of the most outrageously fun party-rap records of the year. -
They Say...
Despite reams of online hype and commercial anticipation, the release of the Cool Kids' debut EP still radiated sonic excitement, a blast at once sharp, funny, and intimate. Here, after all, is a triumph of absolute aestheticism. The name fulfills itself, not just in that these kids do seem pretty cool (all 16-bit name-drops and shoe talk), but because musically each moment -- each immaculately chosen drum hit, each spare sci-fi sonic embellishment, each depth-charge punch line -- is precision-placed for maximum efficacy. Which is to say, though the point may be a bit moot, maximum coolness. This is a production exhibition first and foremost, and in that regard the EP's success is absolute, from the Clipse-via-Beastie Boys crush of "88" to the Fannypack bounce of "Bassment Party" to the indescribably fresh "What Up Man," which might contain the funniest idea in post-millennial hip-hop this side of Lil Wayne's flow. The Cool Kids recast mainstream hip-hop as a medium of geeked-out self-reflexivity, which isn't a viewpoint that's been handled rewardingly since the Native Tongues' loopy, album-centric heyday. But instead of lamenting the genre's artistic erosion lyrically (like the pedantic Talib Kweli), they infuse their music with the spirit of that time and prove through example how the golden age sound earned its name. Still, the best part of this release isn't the sainted artists it recalls, alternately EPMD, DJ Premier, and the Bomb Squad. Like the Ramones way before them, this revivalism isn't for the nostalgic or the academic. It's for -- well, there's that name again.
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| 01. |  |
What Up Man |
2:59 |
|
| 02. | |
One Two |
3:32 |
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| 03. | |
Mikey Rocks |
3:27 |
|
| 04. | |
88 |
3:46 |
|
| 05. | |
What It Is |
2:27 |
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| 06. | |
Black Mags |
3:11 |
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| 07. | |
A Little Bit Cooler |
2:51 |
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| 08. | |
Gold and a Pager |
3:47 |
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| 09. | |
Bassment Party |
3:27 |
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| 10. | |
Jingling |
2:47 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 32:14 Total Length
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Credits
- Dan Stout - Mastering // Kimou Meyer - Illustrations // Chuck Inglish - Producer // Chuck Inglish - Executive Producer
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