The members of The Cool Kids met in 2005 when Reed found a beat on the internet that Ingersoll had produced. The two met to discuss terms of the beat's sale, and eventually ended up recording for two hours. They were inspired by hip hop in the 1980s and artists like Eric B. & Rakim. Ingersoll began promoting the new duo's material, and it was eventually booked by Josh Young of Flosstradamus for a DJ performance. At this performance (in a venue called Town Hall Pub), the duo met the electronic musician Diplo who offered to release a mixtape of their unreleased tracks titled Totally Flossed Out on his label Mad Decent, though it was eventually released on C.A.K.E. Recordings. They also received an offer from the DJ A-Trak to sign to his Fool's Gold label, which they did, but only for one single.
Up until recently, all material had been released solely on the band's MySpace page—their recording contract came after performances at the CMJ Music Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival, on July 15, 2007. Eventually, The Cool Kids signed to Chocolate Industries, another independent label, which had previously been the label of rapper Lady Sovereign. Ingersoll has been the producer for tracks released thus far, but both work in rapping and production.
They have been and currently are on tour, opening for M.I.A. One of the duo's singles, Black Mags, is featured in a late 2007 Rhapsody TV commercial, along with Sara Bareilles. In the same year, the group collaborated with Lil' Wayne and DJ Benzi through the internet on a track entitled Gettin' It, which will reportedly appear on the DJ's future album "Get Right." The band has been featured in the video game "NBA Live 08" with the song 88, and they have been featured in the video game "NBA 2K9 with the song 2k pennies, and in the episode "The First Cut Is the Deepest" from HBO's TV series Entourage with the song I Rock. They were listed in Rolling Stone's Ten Artists to Watch in 2008.
Their debut LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles, was released on July 12, 2011.
On April 25, 2015, member Mikey Rocks took to Twitter to address the consistent questions about a possible reunion, saying they were "never coming back."
Rush Hour
The Cool Kids Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let them trunks lift up
Ay, ay
We all know Mikey a.k.a. the Great Estaré, Banco Populair
Looking rare homie, what's the skit
So you could holla at me if you want me
If you don't keep it rollin' don't be
I'm in the '96 SL5, but ain't nothin' on that bad boy
The button stick when I be unlockin' it
So I grabbed the cut less keys like a fuckin' thief
Take a sweet, gut it, stuff it then we puff it baby
The Baileys, mixed with Grandma ye'
See we callin' it the grandmama
See, just like the Larry Johnson kinds
In the huddle with the Bubble goose down
Downtime spent working on my rhyme schemes
Them alpines hit like a young rocky
A skinny dude but I'm eating like I'm stocky
Bucket seats 70's challengers for the amateurs
[Chorus: x2]
This is for them Regals, Granddaddy's cutlesses
Stuck-in-town vehicles
The speakers gon' love it
The trucks is all low like I talked about his mother
Drivin' around slow, like there's an accident or somethin'
Skur
Diggin' the dumps, cigar guts into anything
Piggy bank change couldn't break if the ground shake
Earthquake shake and San Andres fault
First-place trophy is the only to race in them
Talk to me dawg, please don't talk at me
I thought I saw the credits runnin' on with all that acting
Was happenin'
Surely, surly, rerun
See me with it now like they gotta get theirs tomorrow
Ferrari's? nah, phantoms? nope
Triple gold spokes on them Lincoln town cars
Like back when I was driving to the mall where that Circuit City was
Gotta get this installed
That flip face touch screen remote control and all that
Bass treble biz
And it smells like a loud pack
Strawberry air fresheners to mix with the scent
Shooting free throws for the win
[Chorus: x3]
The Cool Kids' "Rush Hour Traffic" is a song that blends nostalgia with vivid imagery to portray the group's idealistic vision of life. The opening lines indicate that the song is about cruising, taking time to ride around town and enjoy the scenery, shown by the singer's line, "We get long, let them trunks lift up." It's a laid-back vibe, with the group members rapping about old-school cars, music systems, and smoking weed.
As the lyrics unfold, we learn about the Bomb Pop-sipping, high-society-catering, area code-hopping Mikey, who is rarity and style personified. The group encourages anyone who wants in on the action to come along for the ride. They also advise against being a name-dropper or trying too hard to be part of the crew in the lines, "Droppin' names like a ton of bricks, If you don't keep it rollin' don't be."
Throughout the song, the Cool Kids paint a picture of a funky '90s aesthetic with their descriptions of cars with bucket seats, 70's challengers, the classic Lincoln town car, and a high-tech flip face touch screen remote control. The song closes with another chorus, inviting listeners to ride around town in their cars, enjoying the singers that love their music, and driving slowly like there's an accident, taking in the view.
Line by Line Meaning
We get long,
We get high on marijuana.
Let them trunks lift up
Let the bass in the music be loud and powerful.
Ay, ay
This is just an exclamation to hype up the moment.
We all know Mikey a.k.a. the Great Estaré, Banco Populair
We all know that Mikey is a great rapper and he belongs to a bank named Banco Popular.
Looking rare homie, what's the skit
You look unique, what's new in your life.
So you could holla at me if you want me
You can talk to me if you want to.
If you don't keep it rollin' don't be
If you're not going to contribute to the party or the conversation, then don't ruin the vibe.
Droppin' names like a ton of bricks
Name-dropping excessively to make someone feel inferior.
I'm in the '96 SL5, but ain't nothin' on that bad boy
I'm driving a '96 Mercedes-Benz SL5, and it's the best car out there.
The button stick when I be unlockin' it
I use a button stick to unlock the car.
So I grabbed the cut less keys like a fuckin' thief
I quickly grabbed the car keys like a thief would before someone could take them away.
Take a sweet, gut it, stuff it then we puff it baby
We are taking a cigar, gutting it, stuffing it with marijuana, and smoking it.
The Baileys, mixed with Grandma ye'
We mixed Baileys (an Irish cream) with Grandma ye' (a brand of liquor) to make a drink.
See we callin' it the grandmama
We gave our drink a name, Grandmama.
See, just like the Larry Johnson kinds
Just like how Larry Johnson (a former NBA player) used to have his signature moves, we have our signature drink.
In the huddle with the Bubble goose down
In the group, we are all wearing Bubble goose down jackets and we are all getting ready.
Downtime spent working on my rhyme schemes
I use my free time to improve my skills in writing rap lyrics.
Them alpines hit like a young rocky
The Alpine speakers in our cars produce sound as powerful as the punches thrown by Rocky Balboa.
A skinny dude but I'm eating like I'm stocky
I may be skinny, but I eat like a person with a big build.
Bucket seats 70's challengers for the amateurs
For those who are new to this lifestyle, we have 70's Challenger cars with bucket seats.
[Chorus: x2]
Refrain from the song that is repeated two times.
This is for them Regals, Granddaddy's cutlesses
This song is dedicated to those who have Regals and older Cutlass cars, often passed down from their grandfathers.
Stuck-in-town vehicles
We have been stuck in the same town with limited travel options.
The speakers gon' love it
Our music is going to sound great through the artists in our cars.
The trucks is all low like I talked about his mother
Our trucks have been lowered and are now riding lower to the ground, like someone's mother who has been talked about.
Drivin' around slow, like there's an accident or somethin'
We are driving slowly like we are trying to avoid an accident or something.
Diggin' the dumps, cigar guts into anything
We are digging in the trash for discarded cigars and using them to smoke marijuana or add their guts to our own cigars.
Piggy bank change couldn't break if the ground shake
Our money is safe in our piggy banks, even if there is an earthquake.
Earthquake shake and San Andres fault
Even if there is an earthquake, we are not worried because we are cool like the San Andreas Fault.
First-place trophy is the only to race in them
We only race to win, and if we don't win, we don't race at all.
Talk to me dawg, please don't talk at me
Talk to me like a friend, not like someone trying to give me orders or tell me what to do.
I thought I saw the credits runnin' on with all that acting
I thought someone was pretending to be someone they are not, like the credits rolling at the end of a movie.
Was happenin'
What is going on?
Surely, surly, rerun
This line is a nonsensical mantra that sounds good with the beat of the music.
See me with it now like they gotta get theirs tomorrow
I have something now that they want so badly that it looks like they won't get theirs tomorrow.
Ferrari's? nah, phantoms? nope
We don't care about owning Ferraris or Phantoms.
Triple gold spokes on them Lincoln town cars
We have triple gold spokes on our Lincoln town cars.
Like back when I was driving to the mall where that Circuit City was
This line is reminiscing about a specific moment in time when the rapper was driving to the mall where Circuit City used to be located.
Gotta get this installed
We need to install the new tech and gadgets we have purchased for our cars.
That flip face touch screen remote control and all that
We have bought a new tech that consists of Flip-face, touch screen remote control, and more.
Bass treble biz
We have a gadget that controls the bass and treble in our music.
And it smells like a loud pack
We've been smoking marijuana in our cars and now it smells like it.
Strawberry air fresheners to mix with the scent
We are trying to cover up the smell of marijuana with strawberry air fresheners.
Shooting free throws for the win
We are taking shots of marijuana like basketball players take free throws to win the game.
[Chorus: x3]
Refrain from the song that is repeated three times.
Lyrics © THE ADMINISTRATION MP INC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rose Grainger
they choose the best beats, have sick flow, leaving them to rap about whatever they want and it's still good
Jeremiah Howard
One of the greatest album's of the 2010's
uncut raw
theyr still hitin hard af since the start
John Pehnke
This album has some of the sickest beats
lilmotel123
them being under rated is what makes them so cool!
Junior Melo
How come i never heard of these guys? There pretty amazing
MVR B. Free
Yea there music has been out there for years! Go's all the way back to the Myspace era lol. Unfortunately they're no longer making music together as a duo. One of the members (Sir Michael Rocks) recently shot down all rumors of a future project & said The Cool kids is over.
SAYVON of Treehouse Arcade
+MVR B. Free Not anymo!!!
Jager Meister
This beat is my favorite beat ever.
Kira Hoshi
Cool Kids always got them bangers tooooooooo many ppl sleepin on them