URB called them “purist hip-hop,” which is a much nicer way to put it than “throwback,” and also says something more accurate about the Eric B. & Rakim/EPMD/Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth two-heads-are-better-than-one set up that Chicago duo the Cool Kids have used since starting out in 2005. The predicted-everywhere mega-success they were supposed to have in 2008 hasn’t quite materialized, but the Kids’ recent mixtape Tacklebox shows they’re still leaders of the new old school: crate-sourced beats and confidently unprocessed vocals that draw from the last best five years of the golden age.
Fri., June 18, 8 p.m., 2010
