After a peculiar wait, the Cool Kids finally grace us with a "debut" LP. The "indie rap" duo (oh how we hate that term) have been threatening to drop some full-length steez since the much-heralded (in hipster darling circles) Gone Fishin' mixtape more than a minute ago (2009, to be exact). Freed of the shackles of former indie label Chocolate Industries, Antoine "Sir Michael Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll benefit from a timely link up with Pharrell Williams. When Fish Ride Bicycles comes correct (with the goofy "Penny Hardaway" featuring the always reliable Ghostface), showcases some weighty boom bap ("Rush Hour Traffic") and gets breezy on ya ("Summer Jam"). So, brace yourselves: When Fish Ride Bicycles is worth the wait. And, yes, the Midwest dudes still keep the 808-backed laconic flow, by way of Eric B & Rakim. And, no, the album won't blow your mind to the nth degree. What it will do is satiate that hunger for straight-laced, consistent hip-hop that hits when it's supposed to, serving up an even-keeled, rarely wavering tempo on all 11 tracks.
Do you have a target fan base or demographic?
Inglish: No ― that's how you play yourself. We're just like, "Let's see if we can get this jamming" and organize things in a way that just flows. It's not about creating a gimmick. There are a lot of people like us and we [appeal] to people that are like us.
Why release When Fish Ride Bicycles at this point in time?
Rocks: Because we have everything in order now. Before there were a few recording and legal troubles. We had to get a couple things straight first and now everything is ironed out. Now we're ready.
How would you define your sound and style?
Inglish: We just do us and do what works for us. That's pretty much how the recipe works. It's not trying to brainstorm a style; it's just us. We just try to reinvent and create something new that's funky and hasn't been heard before.
Rocks: We're just us, man. That's no outside influence coming in; it's just us in the studio making everything from scratch, pretty much. There's nobody really like us so I think that's the biggest separating factor. I don't think there's no "best rapper" ― there's definitely an elite, but there's so many different styles that it's all based on what you like to listen to and what intrigues you. There are people that are good and not good, but I don't think it's for us to say there's a number one or a number two or anything like that.
(Green Label Sound)Do you have a target fan base or demographic?
Inglish: No ― that's how you play yourself. We're just like, "Let's see if we can get this jamming" and organize things in a way that just flows. It's not about creating a gimmick. There are a lot of people like us and we [appeal] to people that are like us.
Why release When Fish Ride Bicycles at this point in time?
Rocks: Because we have everything in order now. Before there were a few recording and legal troubles. We had to get a couple things straight first and now everything is ironed out. Now we're ready.
How would you define your sound and style?
Inglish: We just do us and do what works for us. That's pretty much how the recipe works. It's not trying to brainstorm a style; it's just us. We just try to reinvent and create something new that's funky and hasn't been heard before.
Rocks: We're just us, man. That's no outside influence coming in; it's just us in the studio making everything from scratch, pretty much. There's nobody really like us so I think that's the biggest separating factor. I don't think there's no "best rapper" ― there's definitely an elite, but there's so many different styles that it's all based on what you like to listen to and what intrigues you. There are people that are good and not good, but I don't think it's for us to say there's a number one or a number two or anything like that.
