The Cool Kids

Long before - well, four years before - Odd Future were making waves with their deliberately controversial brand of alternative hip hop, The Cool Kids - a Chicago/Detroit duo made up of Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks - were carving out a reputation for themselves for all the right reasons; sonically adventurous and lyrically abstract, they were well and truly making their own lane in an overcrowded genre, and proving themselves to represent a serious breath of fresh air in the process. Their debut EP, The Bake Sale, met with a rapturous critical reception and had the genre’s biggest names queueing up to work with them; they’ve collaborated with the likes of Drake, Lil Wayne and Ludacris since. They pursued solo projects after releasing their one and only album to date, When Fish Ride Bicycles, in 2011 - Inglish dropped the superb Convertibles LP earlier this year - but are now readying their long-awaited sophomore effort, Shark Week, for later this year. To preview it, they’ve lined up two UK dates for late August - one in Manchester and one in London - which promise to be among the hip hop live events of the year. The duo bring their trademark eccentricity to the stage, playing their own solo cuts as well as classic Cool Kids tracks in a manner that sees their trademark off-beat flow interweave cleverly with each other’s - no discerning rap fans will miss these shows, especially with the possibility of a live debut for Shark Week material.