* En anglais uniquement
Inspired by classic rap of the '80s and offbeat hip-hop production, Midwest duo the Cool Kids were an underground phenomenon when they emerged in the 2000s. The pair issued their quirky debut EP, The Bake Sale, in 2008 and followed with their breakthrough full-length, When Fish Ride Bicycles, their first Billboard hit. Although the project was absent from the scene for years, they returned in 2017 with their sophomore offering, Special Edition Grand Master Deluxe.
The duo of Mikey Rocks (born Antoine Reed in Matteson, Illinois) and Chuck Inglish (Mt. Clemens, Michigan native Evan Ingersoll) met in mid-2005 after Mickey came across some of Chuck's beats online and liked what he heard. They met up in their Chicago-area homes with the intention of making beats to sell to other artists, but soon realized that their own measured, smooth flows and lyrics fit best. In 2007, though they had yet to release any material outside their MySpace page and MP3 blogs, they started receiving press from tastemakers Pitchfork, who invited the Cool Kids to play at their summer festival. This led to a spot at New York's CMJ Music Marathon -- where they shared a showcase with DJ A-Trak -- as well as an an opening spot on a tour headlined by M.I.A. That year, the Cool Kids also signed to Chocolate Industries, which released their debut, an EP titled The Bake Sale, the following January. Mixtape releases and additional touring preceded their full-length album When Fish Ride Bicycles, which arrived on Green Label Sound in June 2011 and debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 chart. When promotion ended and the era was closed, Mikey and Chuck continued to work on individual projects for several years. At one point, the Cool Kids' inactivity appeared to be permanent, but the duo returned in September 2017 with Special Edition Grandmaster Deluxe. They rounded out the decade with a consistent streak of non-album releases, including 2018's "OilBass," 2019's Layups EP with the Alchemist, and 2020's Louis the Child collaborations "Bag It Up" and "Super Smash Bros."
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