The Cool Kids x Don Cannon- Gone Fishing (C.A.K.E Recordings/Cannon Music)

Let’s be real, The Cool Kids just want to have fun. They are great at rapping about absolutely nothing important and will only get better at it. The duo known for their flashy gear and their bass heavy production style, found each other on Myspace in 2005. Three years and four mixtapes later, The Cool Kids are back with their most impressive project yet. They have enhanced their production, but have left their lyrics behind in the release of their mixtape Gone Fishing with Don Cannon, a prelude to their highly-anticipated upcoming album, When Fish Ride Bicycles. They made a huge splash in 2008, opening for M.I.A. on her World Tour, joining the Rock The Bells concert roster, and headlining the “NBA 2K Bounce Tour” with rap veteran Q-Tip. The two are not the most profound lyricists, but with recent approval from Hip Hop notables such as Q-Tip himself, many wonder what gives The Cool Kids, their cool?

The key to The Cool Kid’s success is their ability to make music that mixes boom bap and early rap influences as a soundtrack to simply having a good time. With fun storytelling, punch lines, and amusing analogies, they show their playful tone on many tracks as in “Popcorn,” where Chuck says “Doorbells, door knocks/ Open up it’s the cops/Sike naw it’s The Cool Kids/Came to jump on your couch.” Their arrival complements the new wave of rappers with a refreshing approach to Hip Hop, where the alpha-thug is no longer the genre’s idol.

Throughout the mixtape, their corny yet cunning style of word play continues to work in their favor. On the bass-loaded “Premium Blends,” Mikey Rocks feels he can reel in women like a master fisherman saying, “Throw that girl a line and I bet that I can catch her.” But Chuck makes it clear that there are many fish in the sea and he is not in for the long haul. On “Weekend Girls” (Don Cannon borrowed from Camron’s “Weekend Girl”) Chuck says, “You looking wedding day nice/ Now I don’t want you to think that I’m the wedding day type/ I just had to make it clear/ Before we make it outta here.” Their cockiness when is comes to the opposite sex is both cheesy and entertaining.

The Cool Kids go beyond their often heavy bass production on the laid-back “Summer Vacations,” where the keyboards rule the track. But some things never change for the two, as they still show signs of having gold chain obsessions on “Gold Links,” a follow-up to The Bake Sale’s “Gold and Pager.”

One won’t find memorable lines on Gone Fishing, but it is amicable in its entirety, keeping one zoned in track by track. Also, Don Cannon doesn’t overload the tracks with drops, making it an easier listen than most mixtapes. With Gone Fishing, the duo makes it clear they want to make good music for relaxing and nothing more. This mixtape is a solid preview of The Cool Kids’ upcoming album and shows that the two charismatic charmers are more than ready to put out their first LP.

(Photo Source: coolxkids.com)

Link to Free Mixtape Download

-Natelegé Whaley

This a great year for Biggie. First the bio-flick and now a new free mixtape. Today makes 12 years since the death of arguably the most illest rapper ever,  Biggie Smalls,  and DJ Drama & Cookin Soul marks his anniversary by dropping a new Notorious Big Tribute mixtape today. It features original appearances from P. Diddy,  Styles P, Amanda Diva, Freekey Zekey and others who pay their respects to the late rapper.

20 new tracks are unveiled on the Notorious Big Tribute mixtape and even better, Cookin Soul is sharing the goods for free.  Click for Free Download.

-Natelege

The Dream is back at it again. The self proclaimed “Radio Killa” releases his sophomore album Love vs. Money Tuesday, and fans wonder what he has up his sleeve this time.

The singer/songwriter came on the scene successfully in 2007 with his “Shawty Is a 10″ (Love Hate), and is also responsible for Beyonce’s quintessential ladies anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Yet, like far too many über-talented writers, he gives most of his good stuff to everyone else.

Love Vs. Money in it’s entirety is not a disappointment, with the melodic, chart-topping hit “Rockin That Thang” leading the pack as one of the best songs on the album. Not far behind is The Dream’s revived version of The Police’s 1979–dance-groove “Walkin on the Moon”, featuring a vocoder-less Kanye West (the way he should always be). However, The Dream shows signs that he may be running low on metaphors, especially on “Put It Down” where he compares his affection to a “monster truck” and a “white tee’d thug”, over a beat too hype to get it cracking to. The title track, “Love vs. Money”, has one of the most enthralling beats on the album and gives off a paranoid feel as he sings about losing love to what else, but money ( Instead of loving you/I was making it rain…). The melody and the sound of glocks popping are puzzling, but the point of the song becomes more clear after listening to “Love Vs. Money Part 2.”

The Dream gets his R.Kelly on in “Sweat It Out”, breaking down article-by-article what piece of clothing he wants to remove from his girl, so he can “properly put it down” and “sweat her hair out”. Fortunately for her, The Dream forewarns her to “call Latisha” her beautician before he takes action, so that she can get her hair re-whipped in the next morning.

Overall, Love Vs. Money saves itself from the evil pitfalls of the “sophomore curse”, but The Dream does not match the standard he set with his surprisingly pleasant debut Love Hate. The album still has worthy cop-ability though, and he proves he can still come correct…even if it is on someone else’s joint.

- Maya Rhodan

Amanda Diva is creating new buzz with her new EP:  Spandex, Rhymes & Soul which features production from Chuck Inglish from The Cool Kids. Read more for tracklist and download.

To get the free download click on the album art below.

[Shouts to the The Cool Kids for the album art]

-Natelegé