Mixtape: The Cool Kids - Tacklebox

A friend of mine tried to put me on to The Cool Kids back in 2007 when they came out with that "Black Mags" joint. I told her thanks, but no thanks... I felt they were doing a corny hipster imitation of early 80s hip hop tracks, which--aside from a little Slick Rick & LL--I'm not a fan of. Not only did the decade influence The Cool Kids' music (from what I'd heard of them up to that point), that influence trickled down to their clothing choices. That made them offensive on two levels: auditory AND visual.

Uhhh... NO

What a difference a few years makes.

I won't call myself a full-fledged fan... because I'm not. Even after the dopeness that was The Cool Kids' and Hey Champ's "We Are Champions" (seriously, you need that song in your life), their rapping style is something I've found afflicts many popular artists these days: the beats are tight, but the lyrics are wack. Of course, corny lyrics & dope beats are what makes popular rap popular, and for that reason alone I stayed far away from this group. Despite my issues with the The Cool Kids, I must say their newest mixtape, Tacklebox, makes for a pleasurable listen--in addition to my own mixtape, which can be found HERE--for summer. I will be so honest with you, I wasn't listening for the lyrics, I just jammed out. Maybe that's all The Cool Kids really want us to do.

Tracklisting + DL link after the jump.

1. Fishing Lessons
2. Flying Kytes
3. Freak City (Prod. Chuck Inglish & Old Young)
4. Neat (Ft. Tennille)
5. Going Camping
6. Volume II
7. Birthdays (Prod. Ski Beats)
8. Great Outdoors
9. Strawberry Girl
10. Systems
11. Good Afternoon (Prod. The Productionix)
12. Parking Lot
13. Summer Nights ft. Tennille
14. Los Angeles Leakers Outro
15. Gettin’ Flick

>> DOWNLOAD HERE <<