It’s plain and simple. In an age where intelligence and professionalism are more imperative than ever, who better to represent hip-hop, the new American mainstream, than this duo who has it all.
On the road traveling to their next show in Mississippi, I caught up with Kidz in the Hall, hip hop duo made up of Naledge and Double O. The two, although native to Chicago, met at a talent show at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000. They’ll be on the road for most of 2010 making stops all over including the legendary Lollapalooza.
During our conversation they started reading me the signs they were driving past. “Did you know that if you haven’t found what you love that you could find what you love at the Oak Hollow mall…?” Weird? Yes, maybe. But it’s that sense of realness you’d get when hanging out with those friends you can’t get enough of.
Within the past few years, Kidz in the Hall have managed to gain success through touring, a handful of mixtapes and of course by putting out three studio albums-“School Was My Hustle,” “The In Crowd,” and most recently, “Land of Make Believe,” which was released this past March 9th.
[pagebreak]
With fame comes the lifestyle and perks that everyone dreams about, but these two don’t look at it this way. “The biggest perk we get is getting to meet so many dope people and getting to interact with so many different people. These are things that a lot of people dream to do and we don’t take that for granted.” Notice they didn’t mention money, cars, and clothes. How refreshing.
When I complemented their intelligence and humbleness, telling them how refreshing it was to meet artists that possessed this, they asked me if I was trying to put a ring on it. I wouldn’t mind, but of course that wasn’t my point. I was just in awe of how well spoken they were and how well they handled themselves. In this industry this is hard to come by, so why not give credit where credit is due.
Kidz in the Hall classify their sound as alternative hip-hop, “Our style is just genuine, we have been pretty comfortable with ourselves as individuals for awhile. We like to dig a little deeper when it comes to our records, we just make genuine, soulful music.”
This hip-hop duo exudes character well beyond what we see coming from most hip hop artists these days. We need more of them.
Follow Kidz in the Hall @kidzinthehall | Naledge @naledgekidz | Double-O @double0kidz
-RachelSamara | follow me @rachelsamara
