Synopsis

The Cool Kids cruise through Chicago on BMX bikes, turning the city streets, alleys, bridges, and industrial spaces into a playground for style and movement. The duo perform directly to the camera while local riders execute tricks around them, creating a loose street-session atmosphere rather than a conventional narrative. Shot in stark black and white, the video mixes gritty urban imagery with surreal animated interruptions, including a cat, a buzzing insect, cheering spectators, and a huge airplane passing over the buildings.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video emerged in 2007, before The Cool Kids had become widely known, and helped establish the duo's visual identity alongside their BMX-centered sound and lyrics.

• The production grew out of a friendship network. The filmmakers had previously worked with BMX and rollerblading footage, and the project began with little or no money before the group raised a budget through live performances.

• Behind-the-scenes coverage reported an unusually long shoot, beginning around 5:30 a.m. and continuing until approximately 3 a.m. the following day.

• The BMX riders were not simply background performers. Several came from the local street-riding scene, and their tricks provide much of the video's kinetic energy.

• The video's black-and-white look, low-budget resourcefulness, and surreal animated details helped it stand apart from more conventional rap videos of the period.

• "Black Mags" became an early breakthrough for The Cool Kids. Its growing online profile contributed to the attention surrounding the group in late 2007 and helped lead to their inclusion on contemporary artists-to-watch lists.

• The song was also used in a late-2007 Rhapsody television commercial featuring Sara Bareilles, giving the duo exposure beyond the independent hip-hop and BMX scenes.

• The track later appeared on The Bake Sale, the 2008 EP that became the duo's first commercially available release.