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Kidz in the Hall: Impeaching the Class President :: Tired of being branded as "conscious" hip-hop's savior, Naledge and Double O are expanding their base

By Matthew Kantor   Photography by URB

02/21/08 :: URB web

“I should be mentioned with all the legends in Chicago,” says Naledge from his Windy City home base, authentically coming in from shoveling snow. “I’m up there with ‘Ye, Common, Lupe. I need to be in the same sentence as them. These are my friends and people and I love what they do, but I came in the game admiring Common and now I’m on his level. This album will let people see.”

The rapping half of Kidz in the Hall, Naledge is just that confident in the group’s upcoming release, The In Crowd, readied by new home Duck Down Records. Somehow though, he comes off as assured and down-to-earth rather than arrogant. “As an MC, I’ve improved,” he says. “A lot of fans don’t know that [the Kidz' previous album] School Was My Hustle was made in 2004 and was meant to be a mixtape.” Armed with a cohesive product that comes intentionally laden with cross-regional features, Naledge is out to prove his point. “I feel I’m one of the best MCs out there that’s under 25, if not the best. I’m more versatile and I have a certain potency to my voice that can hang with anybody.”

Double O nods his head as he plays tracks off the new disc at Duck Down’s New York studios. The production end of the team, O is easily taken away by his own music. This underscores the Kidz’ absolute love for what they do, as well as the versatility and levels to which Naledge alludes. “One person sees one thing in our music and another person sees something a few layers deeper,” comments O. “Everyone can enjoy the music and create their own visuals and experiences with it.”

One glance at The In Crowd’s song listing indicates a lot to offer for diverse listeners. Collaborations range far and wide from the Clipse and Camp Lo to Sean Price and Little Brother’s Phonte . But the different records are anchored by O’s attention to the right sounds for the right moment, his Go Ill partner’s outspoken presence, and what Naledge cites as “a sound and passion and dedication to craft” that a spectrum of fans and artists can appreciate.

“In high school there were cliques,” Naledge says. “The jocks, the thugs and the gangstas, the backpackers, the drama kids, maybe all the black kids hung out together. The in-crowd is those people who can sit at any table in the lunchroom. They got friends in every single clique. It’s us sitting at different tables with our friends and making dope records each time.”

Though immersed in each lunchtime rhyme session, the Kidz also see the forest for the trees and are aware of a necessary evolution in their sound and concepts. Both Naledge and Double O liken their path to creative icons OutKast. “I don’t mind the other comparisons,” says O,” but I’ve always felt more in the OutKast realm. I wanna be able to evolve. I want things to stand out in their time but to not be stuck doing the same thing two years later. We’ll continue to get better and keep on with the experimentation and providing new experiences.” 

The group is expansive now, with The In Crowd canvassing different sides of life in terms of both music and lyrics. The theme of education is still present but there’s alternately rawness and playfulness mixed in there, too. Sonically, the more accessible side of that G.O.O.D. Music, Midwestern sound is combined with Double O’s own search for beats and life. The 28-year-old producer complements Naledge’s often overlooked intricacies with “an emphasis on instrumentation and melody” that includes jazz inflection, notable high hats and frequent horns. He laughs away the latter. “I love ‘em,” he says. “I can’t get away from them.”

As much as the Kidz can smile about what they do, there remains a workman-like ethic to their studio time. In addition, Naledge is still not letting anyone forget that he’s fighting.

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