Black Mags (a Cool Kids video)

directed by GL Joe

GL Joe’s video for the first Cool Kids single, Black Mags, is just what the duo claims to be themselves: cool. Stark black and white. Badass, flashy (you know what I mean) animation interspersed with fresh close-ups and lo-fi abstractions (Chuck Inglish’s background during some of his verse) make for a stylishly minimalistic statement. And like pics of the Chicago hip hop pair posing in front of Irocs like the LLs and N.W.A.s of yore, Joe’s video says “yes, we’re as cool as all fuckin’ get out. And if you don’t think so, then you obviously don’t know what cool is.” The Black Mags video, like Tony Alva’s skate ads in the 70s, is more than simply a video, it’s an attitude. This video came out a few years ago and made all things hip hop hipster cool, things like bikes and pagers and The Bad Boys (my Detroit folks know what I’m talking about), which belies Chuck’s background (he moved from Motown to Chicago to work with Mikey Rocks). At first, the two wanted to just keep releasing singles, like the old school rockers, but the fans yelled loud enough, and The Bake Sale finally graced the world. The album is solid in every way, and The Cool Kids, like Lupe Fiasco, are a breath of fresh air for the hip hop community. For a minute it was getting pretty scary, but never fear, cause The Cool Kids got the situation locked up, with some gold ropes and beepers.

Black Mags, ladies and gentlemen.