DJ/producer Owen Bones and The Cool Kids’ Sir Michael Rocks —collectively known as Mystery School — just released their self-titled debut EP. According to a press release, the goal of their music is to “deliver cultural disruption and radical positivity through their music and performances.”
They have an alternative approach to their works, pulling inspiration from genres such as pop, alternative and hard rock music in order to create their own unique Hip Hop sound.
Last October, the duo released their single “Holographic.”
“’Holographic’ was the first full track that we finished, and we immediately realized that it would set the tone for the first project,” Bones said in the press release. “The lyrical inspiration for the song came from our shared desire to do and say something radically different and our realization that being the first to break a trend is the same as putting yourself in the literal and metaphorical line of fire.
“In that way, the song is a call-to-action and introduction to what Mystery School is trying to do and say.”
Individually, the two artists are quite accomplished. Sir Michael Rocks co-founded The Cool Kids alongside Chuck Inglish in 2007. Their career was launched by releasing content on MySpace, which led to a performance at Pitchfork Music Festival, the release of their The Bake Sale EP and collaborations with artists such as Drake, Mac Miller, Lil Wayne and Ghostface Killah.
Bones started his musical career playing local shows in Chicago, experimenting with the relationship between Hip Hop and electronic music. It led to a self-released track “Stuntman” in 2016, which achieved viral success on Spotify, peaking at No. 1 domestically and No. 2 globally on the music streaming services viral charts.
Check out the EP stream, cover art and tracklist below.
- Holographic
- Sus
- Air Ride
- Island
- Meteor
- Hellcar
- Decursed
Damn, I rode so hard with the Cool Kids, Mikey Rocks was a dope MC, and Chuck Inglish’s beats we’re super slappin’. As time has gone on, Mikey, uh Sir Michael has moved away from straight up spittin’ to whatever this forgettable shit is. Mikey, call Chuck, come home. All is forgiven. For those that don’t know the history, listen to “Black Mags” and see how special this MC once was. I believe he still has it in him.
He still flames my guy. Check out ‘black mags 2’ it just released not to long ago with that classic cool kids sounds.
Damn homie, I wasn’t up on Black Mags II, shit is dope. I know you can’t expect artists not to change, evolve, whatever, but there was a magic to the partnership of these two, Mike sounds so nice over Chuck’s beats. Thanks for letting me know about this one. #respect.
Reminds me of the clispe in they were ahead of the curve but did not blow up.
I hope they finally get the recognition they deserve.
Dope Ep. It’s straight art regardless if you love this new creative art or not. I applaud them for creating a new sound for hip-hop. Mystery is a new favorite group of mine no doubt! Change is still a good thing this day and age & just bc Sir Mike might not spit the way we’re used to on this doesn’t mean it’s garbage, bc it’s not like the dude isn’t ever going to spit hard again, Lol. This project had different visions, ideas, & new styles of art in mind. Love the Ep mystery!