The Cool Kids

Part of the mid-2000s hip-hop movement that found kids in all-over prints rapping about their shoes and their favorite forms of transportation (which often weren't cars), the Cool Kids proved to be both an Internet and live show phenomenon. The duo of Mikey Rocks (born Antoine Reed) and Chuck Inglish (or 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 (where Mikey was born and raised; Chuck lived in Mount Clemens, Michigan, about 30 miles north of Detroit, until he was 11) with the intention of making beats to sell to other artists, but soon realized their own measured, smooth flows and lyrics fit best over their production. In 2007, though they had yet to release any material outside of what was posted on their MySpace page or MP3 blogs, they started receiving a lot of press attention from fellow Chicagoans and tastemakers Pitchfork, who invited them 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 -- who offered to put out their EP -- and an opening spot on M.I.A.'s solo tour. However, that same year the Cool Kids signed to Chocolate Industries, who released their debut, the Bake Sale EP, in January 2008. Their full-length album When Fish Ride Bicycles would follow in 2011. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi