Considering the neon attire, The Cool Kids might not visually stand out from the other musical acts frequenting the ‘Sco lately. However, last Friday’s Cool Kids and J-Live show, sponsored by Hip Hop 101, was no Dan Deacon or Boys Noize. Oberlin’s thirst for fresh hip-hop, something not produced too often from visiting artists here, has finally been quenched. As 101 member Nana Efua Embii reflected: “We focus on artists who have positive messages, as well as those who have a great stage presence. Eventually, we decided that The Cool Kids and J-Live would be the best match up. J-Live has had just a long, successful career and The Cool Kids are just starting to break out.” This combination guaranteed an oh so bumpin’ night at the ‘Sco.
J-Live (AKA Justice Allah, Jean-Jacques Cadet, and founder of Triple Threat Productions) has mastered the gamut of the music industry in New York, producing, MCing, and DJing. Beginning his rap career in 1995, J-Live has come out with four full-length albums and two EPs, also having made guest appearances on numerous projects including Handsome Boy Modeling School’s The Truth and Asheru & Blue Black of Unspoken Heard’s Trackrunners. As he himself explains on the song “Braggin’ Writes,” he is “Metaphorically murderin’ MC's when they battle me / you can't rattle me. / I'm not your average snake slitherin’ through the grass; / I surpass the serpent as I head to class. / You consider me crass as I wax that ass; style's no joke, / but you best believe I gets the last laugh.”
Did I mention he was also a middle school English teacher in Brooklyn? I bet those kids could bust some sick rhymes. DJing and simultaneously spitting out lyrics filled with references to chess, lumber, knives, school, and replete with much-deserved cockiness, J-Live mastered the crowd. Energy was inexplicably higher during his older music, which was full of sampled material taken from soul, R&B, and disco-era instrumentals. Perhaps the audience response to the older songs was induced by familiarity, as some of the new tracks were never-before-heard. I would argue, however, that the newer beats strayed a little too far out of his creative zone. They were rather lethargic, although bass-intensive, and the kind of groove they suggested was less than adequately evocative of the ‘Sco’s preferred dance technique of the bump n’ grind.
Although the “put yo hands in the air!” is a staple of pretty much any hip hop show, J-Live brought it to new heights (literally, I suppose) by starting out with a slow beat, yelling out for the audience to “try to keep up.” As the beat accelerated, the vigor with which the sea of hands pulsed to the beat amplified. Even though J-Live lost some of his command of the stage due to the lack of his usual DJ, he managed to maintain an impressive hold on the audience. Along with his clever lyrics and tasteful inclusion of funky samples, the thudding bass proved to be almost magnetic.
Having an extremely hyped-up hip-hop powerhouse perform at the ‘Sco brought in a whole new demographic of Cleveland hip-hop enthusiasts and former students. The Hip Hop 101 group here on campus worked diligently to organize this show, as elaborated upon by Embii: “There's a lot of little details that go into a great show. We work very closely with Tina Zwegat, who is a great mentor. She goes over everything and makes sure that we are on schedule. This year we had a great group of individuals that really sacrificed a lot for this show.” Another Hip Hop 101 member, Udoka Chima, added: “The show was a huge success; it sold out. There were over 400 people packed in the Sco. It was exciting to see so many new faces. There was a lot of perspective students there, some people from the town, and others from the Cleveland area and nearby colleges. The organizing process ran smoothly because the majority of Hip Hop 101 members are seniors and have been planning Hip Hop 101 events since 2004. I would say that the most difficult part of the whole process was choosing and bookings acts. Before we make a decision on who we bring, it’s important that we are all excited about the artist as well as consider if they will draw a crowd on campus. When we are assembling our show we like to involve student performers as much as possible. This year we were proud to showcase three Oberlin dance crews: And What!?, S.P.A.R.K., and a special performance choreographed by Sherece Donalds featuring Michi Osato, Carina Brown, Jessica Judson, and Veronica Alexander.” The level of enthusiasm for these dancers was intense, to put it mildly. I had to literally grasp on to my tall and accommodating friend and jump awkwardly in order to see anything through the throngs of entranced, yet pushy onlookers.
The Cool Kids (consisting of Antoine “Mikey Rocks” Reed from Chicago and Evan “Chuck Inglish” Ingersoll from Detroit) call themselves “the new black version of the Beastie Boys,” combining 80’s throwback (complete with Billy Idol lyrics quoted in the song ‘“88”) with bass-heavy beats. The music caters to this campus’s love for danceable and multi-faceted music. Students accustomed to the electro scene would feel completely at home at a Cool Kids show, as some songs like “Black Mags” or “Gold and a Pager” almost sound like some of Spank Rock’s Fabriclive mixes. In fact, they have worked alongside with Spank Rock producer, XXXChange, in order to remix the track “Stranger” by Sunny Day Sets Fire. Solidifying their indie cred, the song “Pump Up the Volume” has been remixed by Flosstradamus (who left many Oberlin students, author included, sad and confused after an almost-but-not-quite appearance on last month’s concert line-up). The Cool Kids also cite James Brown, The Ohio Players, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin as influences, alongside more expected figures like N.E.R.D. and Timbaland.
With most of their recorded material available online, many onlookers could rap along to their favorite songs. This show was particularly exciting, however, because many of the songs were new, coming from their forthcoming album, The Bake Sale (C.A.K.E. Recordings/Chocolate Industries) coming out on May 20th of this year. With the world of indie hip-hop being somewhat dominated by acts such as Atmosphere, Blackalicious, and Binary Star, The Cool Kids definitely stand out. Not only do they only sample more minimally, they also take inspiration from more European trends in electronic music and 80’s pop than they do from many genres of American hip-hop. Adding a distinctively urban edge to this unique base, The Cool Kids rocked the ‘Sco with bass-heavy syncopation and catchy loops.
A highlight of the show was a performance of the ever-popular song “Black Mags,” a confusing song if you pay attention to lyrics and don’t know much BMX terminology (the word “wheelie” was the only one that didn’t fly directly over my head), but is an excellent track musically, and even better live. A short version of the 1992 hit “Jump Around” by House of Pain peaked the interest of approximately 98% of the onlookers, who seemed genuinely thrilled to hear it and jumped…a lot. Some fly girls and guys also got to show off their best moves on stage, perhaps motivated by And What!? and S.P.A.R.K. Despite being my favorite Cool Kids song, “Gold and a Pager” fell a little flat live due to the lack of effects available during a tour versus in a recording studio. There is something so grimy but awesome about the impossibly low voice chanting, “With a little bit of gold and a paaaaager” that just didn’t quite hit the spot live. Otherwise, the show was hugely successful, with extraordinarily high levels of audience fervor.
After a long and fulfilling set, The Cool Kids left Oberlin wanting more, so many students stayed to dance until the ‘Sco closed. Nana Embii added as a closing thought that, “Over the past 4 years, it's really been a great experience. I really hope that we get some more first and second years to step up and join the organization. I'm graduating and I would love to see the tradition carry on well after I'm gone.”
If you missed out on the show, I have one thing to say: these kids were cool; probably cooler than you, unless you can breakdance.
J-Live - "Traveling Music" mp3
The Cool Kids - "Gold and a Pager" mp3
The Cool Kids - "88" mp3
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