Pitchfork

Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full" has a long and storied history, one that says a lot about how Chicago rap duo the Cool Kids and DJ duo Flosstradamus approach their club-friendly hip-hop. Originally appearing on Eric B. & Rakim's landmark 1987 album of the same name, "Paid in Full" puts old-school rhymes over samples from classic soul, funk, and r&b. Next, a lyric from the song became the basis for UK act M/A/R/R/S' lone single, sampledelic house chart-topper "Pump Up the Volume". While the M/A/R/R/S track solidified house as a British phenomenon, the Eric B. & Rakim original not only helped catalyze hip-hop's shift from drum-machine beats to the use of samples, but also, for better or worse, helped inspire legions of backpackers to brag about their music, not their wealth. Issued on 4AD, the "Paid in Full"-sampling "Pump Up the Volume" has also cemented itself in broader indie culture, getting reused by Girl Talk on 2006's Night Ripper and having a song named after it on Art Brut's cheeky 2007 It's a Bit Complicated.

With ties to the Fool's Gold label run by A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs, the Cool Kids and Flosstradamus tend to straddle all the hip-hop, house, and rock bases that "Paid in Full" and "Pump Up the Volume" represent. Which I think makes each group some sort of tripod. Flosstradamus' remix of the Cool Kids' own "Pump Up the Volume", posted over at Daytrotter, finds the stage-rocking, retro-not-retro MCs known as Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks still committed to bringing, well, "summer 89" back; they mention double-dutch, Nikes, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, and a cassette of LL Cool J's Marley Marl-produced "Jingling Baby" in the laid-back first verse alone. Flosstradamus replace the Indian-tinged percussion of the Cool Kids track (from MySpace and the forthcoming The Bake Sale EP) with harder, floor-thumping beats, while some scratches and drum machines help stick to the nostalgic theme. It's a track equally suited for parties, headphones, or maybe test-driving a Jeep. For all that, Daytrotter points out, Flosstradamus are still the type of dudes who might close a DJ set with some Rivers Cuomo & co.

Stream:> The Cool Kids: "Pump Up the Volume (Flosstradamus Remix)"
[original track from The Bake Sale EP; due in January on Chocolate Industries]