Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks—collectively referred to as The Cool Kids—have introduced their first new album in three years, Hi Top Fade, will arrive October 10 by way of Fool’s Gold Records.

According to a current interview with SPIN, the 15-track undertaking sprouted from a facet collaboration with Mannie Fresh and Fool’s Gold founder A-Trak, who’d recruited the duo for an additional undertaking.

“We kind of started working backward,” Mikey stated. “While we were doing the Mannie project, Chuck was like, ‘Yo, what if we drop another album before this one to heat things up and make it a prequel?’ After the first two tracks, we figured we got something special on our hands, so we doubled down and focused more on another Cool Kids album.”

From there, the duo bounced round Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Chicago, laying down the tracks that might turn out to be Hi Top Fade. The album marks a return to the group’s early sonic DNA—stripped-down beats, heavy 808s and a nostalgic nod to their late-2000s rise.

The Cool Kids’ journey hasn’t been with out turbulence. In 2008, the duo discovered themselves locked in a authorized standoff with Chocolate Industries, delaying their debut album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, by three years. Despite the setback, their 2008 EP, The Bake Sale, and a number of other mixtapes preserved their momentum.

“Back then, we were in between all that indie label drama and it just didn’t work out,” Mikey stated. “This time, we saw that opportunity to reset the timeline and do this s### right.”

The rollout for Hi Top Fade started in July with the discharge of “Banana in the Tailpipe” that includes Seafood Sam. August introduced the second single, “Foil Bass” and on Friday (September 19), they’ll drop “95 South” that includes A-Trak and Sango, with a video directed by GL-Joe, the identical videographer behind their 2007 breakout visible “Black Mags.”

While Chuck has explored different artistic lanes, together with his Vanilla Is Black undertaking, he’s now absolutely locked in on The Cool Kids’ subsequent strikes.

“I think a lot of artists dream of doing other things,” Chuck stated. “Growing up, I watched Pharrell do it and, more recently, Tyler [The Creator]. They were able to cover all these bases. I want to do that, too. But our [the Cool Kids] sound was always what I did best.”

As Sir Michael Rocks defined, The Cool Kids’ bond has saved them grounded.

“We got ravaged by a lot of things,” Mikey stated. “We were victims of predatory industry stuff. We are victims of not knowing how to navigate through this business with the type of people that you have to deal with in the music industry. We were just kids who made good music. We saw other artists stealing our ideas and record labels stealing our money. It was tough.”

“But the thing that would take us back to a place of alignment and balance was when we would get together. And that didn’t even have to be for a recording or musical reason—just together anywhere in the same space. That’s where we figured out just how strong our friendship actually was.”

The Cool Kids shaped within the mid-2000s after connecting over MySpace and a shared love for golden period Hip-Hop With roots in Detroit and Chicago, they stood out for a retro-meets-futuristic type, mixing influences like Boom Bap, G-Funk, home and the Neptunes, capturing the weblog period’s zeitgeist and provoking a era of unbiased artists and followers by means of their minimalist beats, playful lyrics and distinct trend.

Beyond their influential work as a bunch, The Cool Kids have collaborated with the likes of Freddie Gibbs, Mac Miller and Chance The Rapper. In 2022, they launched a triple album—Before S### Got Weird (Chapter 1), Baby Oil Staircase (Chapter 2) and Chillout (Chapter 3), additional cementing their standing as masters of their craft.

Pre-order Hi Top Fade music.apple.com/us/album/hi-top-fade/1835777591″ goal=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>right here. (Featured picture by: Josh SPNR)

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