With their 2008 EP,The Bake Sale,the Cool Kids deliver enough goodiesto assuage any concerns that their MySpace hype was overblown. With 10 tracks of little more than late '80s drum-machine boom-bap and strategic synth jabs, Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks recreate Golden Age hip-hop with more giggly sincerity than irony. That earnestness keepsThe Bake Salefrom becoming cash-in nostalgia. The duo's mouths are full of uncomplicated rhymes about their stylish bicycles ("Black Mags"); selling black-market cones when the ice-cream truck runs out ("What Up Man"); and being so original that the average b-boy can't understand pants that fit, vintage Sega game-system enthusiasm ,and boutique clothes ("A Little Bit Cooler"). And of course, per the Cool Kids, the ladies find all this irresistible. It would all be standard fare with a retro sheen, but the Detroit/Chicago pair often point the humor at themselves, which a shrinking number of rappers are willing to do. That self-deprecation gave them a hip indie-music fan base. The real trick is keeping the underground cred as they move toward the mainstream. --Kris Kendall