Steve 'Flash' JuonWhen the Midwest needed an indie rap duo to counteract the swirling winds of commercialism, The Cool Kids stepped up and delivered. Chicago native Sir Michael Rocks and transplant Chuck Inglish found common ground on MySpace thanks to a beat produced by the latter, and don’t worry if you’ve never heard of MySpace before now. It was social media and music promotion combined before Twitter or Facebook existed, although the rapid growth of both ultimately relished it to obscurity. These days those platforms face an existential crisis of their own, both self-inflicted and through an erosion of public trust. One song on “Before Shit Got Weird” sums up how many feel about FB these days.
Happily this album is no scam. The title is an admission that after being dubbed darlings of underground indie rap, things “got weird” for both artists. They had issues with their record label, which either accidentally or directly led to them having to release solo projects. The Cool Kids didn’t break up and in fact continued to work with each other, but it was six full years between their first and second group project. They’ve been more consistent since then but you could successfully argue that the buzz they had as a duo vanished during that extended hiatus.
“Look — I don’t make kids’ music
I need new car keys, let me get to it” – Chuck Inglish
It didn’t affect the quality of their music one bit though. If discussing MySpace seems dated, referencing Dapper Dan seems positively antiquated. His designs were peak hip-hop fashion before I was even in high school. Rocks and Inglish are not young bucks either though, and I would politely and positively describe their music as “grown man rap.” It’s still playful, provocative and packs punchlines, but there’s an air of experience to tracks like “Too Bad” featuring A-Trak and Pell. It sounds like a song you could play in the club yet also sounds like men who yearn to leave it as soon as possible. It’s an admission of carnal desires that need to be sublimated before becoming all-consuming.
Are the Kids now too Cool for the room? No. They have the sense to keep themselves up-to-date through collaborations with other artists like 6LACK and JID on “LIGHTWERK.” What really makes the song work for me though is Inglish providing his deft production to the instrumental. The way the hi-hat sliiiiiides in the percussion pulls you into the light melody yet neither overpowers the lyrical side of the performance. Electronics echo, a light jazzy bass player hits a groove, and all the parts meld together into musical magic. I’ve come to regret how overused the term “underrated” is but Chuck Inglish definitely deserves more credit than he gets.
One thing that’s definitely not weird about “Before Shit Got Weird” is the length. True — some of the 21 tracks on the album are skits, but at over an hour in length total it doesn’t feel like they are padding it out. Instead they are pauses for breath before diving back into the cool vibes the kids provide. It reminds me of an early De La Soul album, where the skits were enjoyable enough that you weren’t tempted to press fast forward and skip through them. By the time you reach “Warm Handshakes” that’s exactly what it feels like — Chuck and Mike are thanking you for investing your time in them.
I can’t think of a significant downside to “Before Shit Got Weird” other than the fact the landscape of rap has changed dramatically since they linked up in the 2000’s. Even in the Chi the positive vibe of underground rap has been replaced by the aggressively nihilistic sound of drill, and while I’m glad they didn’t change to match it, they are definitely out of step with what’s popular locally let alone nationwide. I think they’re fine with that and so am I. Sometimes the coolest thing you can be is your authentic self, doing the things you like and enjoy without concerning yourself about trends or trying to second guess what will go viral in the algorithm. It’s not the road to lucrative profits, but there’s something to be said for paying yourself with artistic expressions that are personally satisfying. For Sir Michael Rocks and Chuck Inglish there’s nothing cooler than that.