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Alternative PressBalancing a DIY mentality with a good ear for catch hooks, the Cool Kids have the ability to please both sides of the fence--which is exactly what the hip-hop world needs. [Aug 2008, p.174]
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From the monster first track, 'What Up Man,' onward, Cool Kids ain't saying nothing new, but they have a damn infectious way of saying it; they're charmingly obnoxious in the best possible way.
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Prejudices be damned, this is the best hip-hop record this year, and if that doesn’t satiate your hype-riddled appetite, then you would be well-served to shut off your computer, removing yourself from the power of the web, and throw this in your car stereo.
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The Bake Sale is a near-perfect EP, insofar as it acts as an imperious album primer: not too long, not too short; it doesn't give away everything, but displays enough to get you excited.
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Under The RadarThe Cool Kids remember when hip-hop was a party. [Summer 2008]
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BlenderThe result is music that is excitingly in and out of time. [Aug 2008, p.88]
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While it's debatable whether the Cool Kids alone can restore hip hop to its former glories, there's no doubt that the Chicago-based duo (Chuck English and Mikey Rocks) are a breath of fresh air.
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The Cool Kids’ revivalist format might not remain flavour of the month long enough for their debut LP proper, "When Fish Ride Bicycles," to have much of a commercial impact when it’s released later this year, but this taster ten-tracker of older material certainly leaves a pleasant aftertaste.
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The Bake Sale is way too good for posturing.
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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.
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Chicago duo ride to the rescue of hip-hop--on pimped up BMXs.
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The Bake Sale is the first commercially available product from a group that's built its rep via MySpace and live shows, and most of these tracks have been floating around the internet for a long minute. But it makes for a great little introduction to two guys who know exactly what they're doing and who do it well.
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It’s a record that is fine in its own right but is all the better for what it portends in the future.
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All in all, and most importantly, the Cool Kids exhibit enough good ideas to promise that not only are they not cheesed-out throwback jokers, but that they are good enough rappers to stick around for whatever counts as a long haul these days.
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But for every song with a strong concept, there's another that meanders through so-so rhymes without any memorable phrases or punch lines. [July 2008, p.92]
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The witty anti-gangster taunts of A Little Bit Cooler and pretty much everything else on the album, makes for a fun, but still quality, Hip-Hop record.