The Cool Kids Party Like It's 1988

It Happened Last Night

By Larry Fitzmaurice on January 26, 2008 12:25 AM Comment

PHOTOS BY SEAN O'KANE

Though the hip-hop duo's studio full-length isn't expected until mid-2008, that didn't stop Chicago's Cool Kids from tearing the roof off of Brooklyn, New York's Studio B last night (Jan. 24). After killer opening spots from No Question?, Freebass808, and Tim William & the Arcade Stars, Cool Kids MCs Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish delivered a banging set of their unique brand of throwback '80s rap that included "I'm Mikey," "Gold and a Pager," the group's slammin' ode to BMX bikes, "Black Mags," plus several fresh tunes.

Despite some technical glitches at the soundboard in the beginning -- plus Mikey's shoelace kept coming untied, which he duly joked about a few times -- the Cool Kids' brisk rhymin' never slowed during their 30-minute assault onstage; the tight crowd of surly hipsters threw up their hands and danced like it was the year honored in the Kids' track, "'88." A guest spot by Bronx-born rapper Mickey Factz (who the Kids recently did a remix for) and some spitting over the beat to the Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere" closed out the sick performance.

We Asked: On the song "'88," the Cool Kids wax lyrical about the year 1988. What were you doing in 1988?

Name: Daniel Perez
Age: 20
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Rescuing animals
"I was a one year old, so…breastfeeding."

Name: Courtney Remmert
Age: 22
Hometown: The Woodlands, TX
Occupation: Student
"I was three, so probably playing in a sandbox."

Name: Emily Gallagher
Age: 23
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Occupation: Writer
"I was in gymnastics class, in preschool."

Name: Jonathan Hyppolite
Age: 22
Hometown: East Orange, NJ
Occupation: College student
"I was sucking my thumb and listening to Prince."

Name: Kat Calivo
Age: 19
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Student
"Being born! Making a mess!"

Name: Talya Reed
Age: 30
Hometown: Franklin, NJ
Occupation: Student/bartender
"In 1988, I was eleven years old, so probably playing soccer and taking dance class."