The Cool Kids: "Summer Jam" (Music Video)

The Cool Kids long-awaited album When Fish Ride Bicycles is available now.

The Cool Kids: "Swimsuits ft. Mayer Hawthorne"

Here's another single from Chicago retro-rap duo The Cool Kids. "Swimsuits" features crooner Mayer Hawthorne on the chorus, and will be featured on The Cool Kids' upcoming album, When Fish Ride Bicycles. Stream only, but the single can be purchased on iTunes.

The Cool Kids: "Free Throws" (Music Video)

A different, pseudo music video came out for this song over a year ago, when the Merry Christmas mixtape came out. Here is the official version.

The Cool Kids: "Bundle Up"

The Cool Kids are back, and finally ready to release their debut full-length LP When Fish Ride Bicycles. The Kids recently signed a deal with Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound. Despite the unconventional nature of that decision, it seems like the label will actually be a good deal for the group in the long term. Green Label Sounds is forgoing many of the normal revenue sharing fees that goes to music labels, leaving more money directly in The Cool Kids' pockets. When Fish Ride Bicycles should be out in the Spring. Here's the first single, "Bundle Up."

The Cool Kids: "Bundle Up"

L.E.P. Bogus Boys: "Countin My Money feat. The Cool Kids" (Music Video)

Props Nah Right.

The Cool Kids: "Big Talk" (Music Video)

The Cool Kids got access to the United Center to record their latest music video. Props to Fake Shore Drive, where it was also reported that their much-delayed album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, should be released in January. Nice.

The Cool Kids: Tacklebox (Mixtape)

New heat from The Cool Kids is always a bonus. All but two tracks on this 15-song mixtape were produced by Chuck Inglish, so it's sure to feature some bangers. But where is When Fish Ride Bicycles? Link via 2DopeBoyz.

The Cool Kids: Tacklebox (Mixtape)

Pacific Division: "Shut Up ft. The Cool Kids" (Music Video)

Off Pac Div's spectacular (and spectacularly titled) mixtape Church League Champions.

The Cool Kids In The Studio For Blakroc 2 (Video)

Andrew at Fake Shore Drive recently stepped in the studio with The Cool Kids to discuss what's new with the group. To recap, I'll borrow a few of his words below:

Last year, I did a full preview of When Fish Ride Bicycles, most of which ended up becoming Gone Fishing. Chuck and Mikey decided to redo the project and go a different direction, and from what I heard on Monday, that was a pretty accurate statement. This new project is going to totally mess your head up. I'm willing to give you the FSD guarantee on that. It's not what you're expecting, and Chuck has taken his production to the next level - not to mention Mikey is snappin' like crazy.

I wasn't able to film any of the new When Fish Ride Bicycles tracks, but I was able to get some footage of The Kids recording a track from the upcoming BlackRoc project, with The Black Keys. Chuck Inglish produced the track while out in NYC, during a hilarious studio session that featured Dame Dash, Sean Price (P!), Thirstin Howl III and the Black Keys. I'm not sure when the new BlackRoc project is dropping, but this is sure to be a heater.

The Cool Kids: "Free Throws" (Music Video)

New Year's blogging hiatus is over. Here's a video from The Cool Kids' Merry Christmas mixtape with Don Cannon.

The Cool Kids: 'Merry Christmas' (Mixtape)

Merry Christmas (and happy holidays) from The Cool Kids and Don Cannon. Tracklist and download link below.

The Cool Kids & Don Cannon: 'Merry Christmas' (Mixtape)

The Cool Kids & Don Cannon: 'Merry Christmas' Mixtape Teaser (Video)

2DopeBoyz just posted this video announcing a six-track mixtape that The Cool Kids and Mister Money Machine Don Cannon will be releasing tomorrow. Chuck and Mikey are about to do 'em like Derrick Rose.

The Cool Kids: "Pennies (Remix) ft. Bun B" (Live)

(Via)

The Cool Kids: "Bundle Up" (Live)

Here's a track, recorded by RubyHornet at a recent concert in Chicago, off The Cool Kids' upcoming debut LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles. Andrew at Fake Shore Drive has more footage from that night, including other songs from the new album.

The Cool Kids: "Knocked Down" (Music Video)

Off the group's Gone Fishing mixtape with Done Cannon. I'll tell you what, though. I'm not appreciating that White Sox hat that Mikey Rocks is wearing. Ha!

Hey Champ: "(We Are) Champions"

Spotted this via URB. DubFrquency is relasing a remix project featuring the likes of Mike Posner, The Sounds, and more. But this is the first leak, a remix of The Cool Kids' "Champions," by indie group Hey Champ.

Hey Champ: "(We Are) Champions"

The Cool Kids: "Champions" + "Popcorn" (Live in Madison 8/22/09)

More goodies.

PREVIOUSLY - Concert Recap --- "Introduction to Ice Fishing" --- "Delivery Man"

The Cool Kids: "Delivery Man" (Live in Madison 8/22/09)

PREVIOUSLY: Concert Recap -- "Introduction to Ice Fishing" (Video)

The Cool Kids: "Introduction To Ice Fishing" (Live in Madison 8/22/09)

As promised...

Concert Recap: The Cool Kids in Madison (8/22/09)

The Cool Kids were initally slated to perform in Madison on August 22 at the Orpheum Theatre, a ritzy, ornate venue with plenty of seating and not so much standing room. However, in a serendipitous turn of events, the concert was transferred to a new location: The Majestic Theatre. The new setting couldn't have been more fitting for Chicago's rambunctious hip-hop duo. The floor was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty college students, all ready to nod their heads to the group's unique hipster boom bap sound.

The party didn't start immediately, though. Opener F. Stokes kicked the show off, but I unfortunately had to miss that act due to prior obligations. Next was Milwaukee's hip-hop band Fresh Cut Collective, who made up for in exuberance what they lacked in coherence. The group's sound was at times garbled (do you ever really need two electric pianos, and a violin player?), but the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Just as anticipation for The Cool Kids to take the stage was peaking, they took to the stage rapping the intro track to their Gone Fishing mixtape, "Introduction to Ice Fishing." On records, there's something infinitely fresh about how Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks are almost completely unwilling to raise their voices above talking volume. Despite my skepticism, this was not a problem during their live sets, as they were completely audible throughout the performance. The duo maintained a relaxed yet fun demeanor, and were always composed and in control during the set. Another fun feature about the performance was the video screen hanging high above the stage. During every song, a custom-made video was playing, which was designed to match the theme of the song playing. For example, during "Champions," a highlight montage of cool sports moments was playing, and the opening minuute of "Hammer Bros" featuring a compilation of crushing hockey checks. It was tough at times to decide what to pay attention to, but the video screen was a nice additional aspect of the show.

The Cool Kids continued by running through several tracks off Gone Fishing, including top notch renditions of "Champions" and "Hammer Bros." They brought out flashy guest Tennille to do "Jump Rope," and she stayed on stage for the rest of the show, dancing around and occasionally chipping in on backup vocals. The night really picked up steam, though, during the second half of the show, when they dived into some of their older songs. "88" had the speakers rattling and the crowd bouncing off the walls, as did "Gold and Pager," two of the more exciting songs of the night.

For a final hurrah, however, the group put on quite an encore performance. With the crowd demanding "one more song!", Chuck and Mikey performed "One Two" over a medley of Beastie Boys beats, such as "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "Paul Revere." That officially validated Mikey Rock's self-proclamation as The Cool Kids being "the new black version of the Beastie Boys," and was undoubtedly my highlight of the night.

Overall, the crowd at The Majestic that night got exactly what they bargained for: a high-octane dance party, courtesy of The Cool Kids. The group clearly has put time and effort into developing their live show, and it paid off in full.

As a bonus addendum to this review, I'll be uploading YouTube footage of songs at the show throughout the week, so you can get a taste of what it was like. You can subscribe to my YouTube account in case you want to catch those videos when they come out, and I'll also be posting them on this site.