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