Take a stroll down memory lane with me, my friends. The setting was Southern California in the year 2007. A young Vince Scott dressed in a 2x tall throwback jersey with a pro club underneath over baggy jeans and a NY Met’s fitted hat sitting atop a white durag sits in front of the TV(yes I am fully aware that was a nasty outfit for someone who was 5 foot 2 at the time and I’ve made mistakes in my life please forgive me). That's when it happened…A Rhapsody commercial came on…Rhapsody on Tivo at that. That's when I first saw The Cook Kids. 

Adorned in Retro Jordans, Skinny jeans, and snapback hats with crazy colors at the time. It immediately made me want to burn my outfit. “Black Mags” was playing with an intro line that’s never left my memory. “I got this 89-90, Piston's champ flat bill, Black Starter cap wit the hologram tags”. That moment right there instantly changed my fashion and music life. Haven’t worn a fitted since.

Skip forward 14 years and The Cool Kids are still going strong as ever. A slew of memorable albums, EPs, a couple of solo efforts, 2 NFTs, and some acting gigs like the classic viral scene from the film “Widows”. 14 years is not an easy feat for rap groups. You can almost count on just two hands the number of rap groups that stayed together for more than 3 years let alone 14. Yet here we are for their latest and perhaps greatest release, “Before Shit Got Weird”, Hip Hop’s first triple album that released its first part on March 2nd.

Episode 1 sees Chuck and Mike doing their thing as a duo and they’ve revealed that Episode 2 and 3 will be their solo efforts. BSGW starts with “In The Mix” and it's a great intro providing touches of nostalgia with the production. Both find a unique pocket to rap in while Mike’s verse brings back memories of the Banco Popular tapes. It might be their best intro. I know I have a recency bias and these are my “first listen” thoughts but dammit this shit slaps. I don’t want to use the term “Stand out” here cause its a bit cliche and there really isn’t one average or below verse on the project but “Horizon Island” really has a stand-out verse from Chuck. 

“Scam Likely” hits more on that classic TCK sound. Day one fans will be drawn back to this and “Hibachi” Often. Both contain that “New Jeeps, No Doors No tops, driving down the street setting off car alarms with the bass” sound. Hibachi contains the hypnotizing bass line and signature reverb snare that Chuck has perfected accompanied by Michael going ballistic as he waxes poetically about the difference between what his idea of rich was and what really being rich is. Shoutout Hans with the bodyguard who’s great grandad designed on the autobahn. 

Songs like “Dapper Dan Leather” “Strictly Business” and “All or Nothing” prove The Cool Kids really should have their sub-genre of rap. Don’t know what it would be called but someone should get on that. They effortlessly continue to display that originality works in a world where you can hear 5 back to back songs on a Spotify playlist that all sound like they were made by the same person even though there are 8 different artists named. (I know the math don’t be mathing.) 

Onto some quick notes… ”It's Yours Pt 2.” is gonna go crazy in the club. “Riding Clean” is probably the most perfect song on the album from production to mix to verse placement and hook. “I'm Coming Over There” is the funniest sneaky link song ever but it's definitely a top 5 song on an album containing 16 tracks, 4 skits, and 1 interlude. The second half of the album pulls out some of the most rewarding features from the JID and 6lack assisted “Lightwerk” where Chuck and Mike hand them the reins for the first 3 minutes of the song to “Low Sodium” that’s blessed by a verse from Chance The Rapper that sounds closer to the Acid Rap Chance his fans have begged for sans the signature adlib. A vivid reminder that when Chance wants to he can body the majority on any track.

Last but not least I had to set aside a section to talk about “Triumph Pt 2.” This is the best song on the album hands down and sees The Cool Kids reunite with Don Cannon and Bring Pac Div back from Hiatus. This song is such a magnificent reward to true Cool Kids fans almost feeling like TCK, Cannon, and Pac Div are saying “Thank You for holding it down, here’s this classic moment we feel like we owe you” and it's appreciated on another level. I almost shed a thug tear hearing this I can’t lie. The production is insane and Pac Div still has a chemistry that makes it feel like they haven’t left the studio even if it’s been a few years since their last release. I hope this feature births more songs from them soon.

I know I’ve said a lot, my friends, so I’ll end it with this. “Before Shit Got Weird” is a testament to Chuck Inglish and Micheal Rock’s greatness and ability to stay original and true to themselves. Their knack for blending their classic sounds with new experimental efforts lands flawlessly on eager eardrums. With as high as I hold projects like “Gone Fishing” and “When Fish Ride Bicycles” I found myself surprisingly arguing with myself over whether BSGW had replaced them both as my favorite and best in The Cool Kids astonishing discography. For now, it has and that may be permanent moving forward. I’ll be waiting on Episodes 2 and 3 but until then go stream “Before Shit Got Weird” on all platforms while I go schedule a day at Top Golf…It's been on my mind since I finished listening to the album.