The Cool Kids Hold A "Bake Sale," Support Darfur

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on May 21, 2008 7:56PM

You can have Kanye, Lupe, and Common; we're hitching our wagon to Chicago's fantastic rap duo, The Cool Kids. Already slated to Rock The Bells and perform at Lolapalooza, The Cool Kids continue their quest for not only world domination, but world peace as well.

First, their new EP The Bake Sale was released on iTunes yesterday, with a physical CD and wider digital release scheduled for June 3. Stripped down songs like "What Up Man" (featuring human voices repeating "tick" and "bass" in place of drum beats) and "One Two" harken back to old school hip hop. The sparse production of songs like "Gold and a Pager" and "Jingling" puts the duo's lyrics front and center and allows their laid back delivery to breathe. Hit single "88" swaggers with a confidence you expect of a group with the word "cool" in their name, as the Kids declare: "And I'm back on my job/ I press and twist nobs/ Just to make your head nod/ All you whack rappers/ Need to keep your day jobs/ My work here is done/ Gonna take the day off." Go right ahead, guys. We've made space on our iPods to keep Bake Sale in heavy rotation all summer long.

If that's not enough, Chuck English and Mikey Rocks, ardent Obama supporters, add another feather to their political activism cap by appearing at tonight's Darfur Now Tour Afterparty at the Abbey Pub. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. at The University of Chicago's Kent Chemical Laboratory with a screening of the documentary, Darfur Now, an exploration of the genocide in Sudan through the eyes of six different individuals (including actor Don Cheadle). The night continues at the Abbey with performances by the aforementioned Kids, plus sets from Million $ Mano, Willy Joy, and All Natural. Tickets for the show will only be available at the door for a minimum donation that has yet to be announced. so you'd better start lining up now. However, attendance at the film screening earns you a ticket for guaranteed entry to the concert later. It's a win-win situation! All donations will go to the Genocide Intervention Network.

Darfur Now Screening, 6 p.m., Suggested Donation TBD, Kent Chemical Laboratory at University of Chicago, 1020 E. 58th St.

Photo of The Cool Kids from their MySpace page