Kidz In The Hall

Kidz In The Hall (comprised of Naledge and Double-O) are not your average group. Following their successful debut record, School Was My Hustle, released on October 31st, 2006, the duo teamed up with legendary Mix Tape DJ Mick Boogie, to release Detention, a digital-only LP, in late 2007.

Now these Ivy League Graduates of the University of Pennsylvania, co-signed by producers Just Blaze and 9th Wonder, are poised to release their second full-length release, The In Crowd, on 4-29-08 courtesy of Duck Down Records/Major League Entertainment.

The In Crowd is entirely produced by Kidz In The Hall's Double-O and will feature some of the most relevant MC's in the game today.  Though Kidz In The Hall's debut, School Was My Hustle, was universally hailed, Naledge and Double-O have set much loftier standards for themselves with its proper follow-up, The In Crowd, as Double-O states "fans can expect to hear a tremendous growth with The In Crowd.  Our debut was a stepping stone in our movement.  The In Crowd is a masterpiece and a concise reflection of our sound, as it's a bolder and bigger sounding album made for huge shows and cigarette lighters.  We have taken our experiences and our year of traveling and performing and morphed it into a true musical experience with some of the best rappers and musicians around---the true In Crowd."

Naledge takes things a step further asserting "The In Crowd is going to solidify us as the best new group in Hip-Hop.  Our new album is the re-definition of the Kidz In the Hall sound and our experimentation with artist collaboration.  The first album was a lot rawer and showed our potential for greatness, but The In Crowd is our greatness coming to fruition.  We went out of our way to create an album that has something for everyone and is air-tight from beginning to end.  This is a definite classic for the Hip-Hop lover." 

Kidz In The Hall's surging success has even caught the eye of Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, who has featured their hit song, "Work to Do" in his campaign effort. The song has been posted on Barack Obama's Website as well.

Kidz In The Hall will also be touring in a town near you. Check for them at this years' SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas and at the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida. They will also be joining Duck Down Record's Roster of Artists for a US Summer tour that will touch down in over 35 major cities.  Keep an eye open for Kidz In The Hall's upcoming video for "Driving Down The Block" (The Low End Theory), directed by Rik Cordero (Jay Z's Blue Diamond Trailer Director) and the group's second single from The In Crowd "Lucifer's Joyride." 

When Chicago native Jabari Evans began developing his literary gift in elementary school, he'd write short stories, poems, and things of the like. As Evans drew toward hip-hop, a fateful meeting convinced him that he had a bright future as an MC. During a recruitment visit to the University of Pennsylvania he decided to enter a talent competition and perform a freestyle rap. Afterwards, many of the students urged Evans to introduce himself to Michael Aguilar aka DJ Double-O, a track star from New Jersey who had honed his DJing skills in high school and at the time was starting to get into producing beats. Evans, then known as J-Naledge, impressed Aguilar during their time together, and before Evans entered for his freshman year at Penn, Naledge and Double-O formed a partnership that eventually spawned the Kidz in the Hall.

"The reason why we make dope music is because our music isn't forced or filtered. Musically, we are two like minded individuals and we strive to make a unique sound that is unordinary but portrays the lives of ordinary people," says the 20 year old Naledge while lounging in a studio chair. "Hip Hop is like literature and not everybody is interested reading the same things. The rap game is full of either cheap comic books or people pretending to be Shakespeare no one is providing "A Raisin in the Sun" ?like shit anymore. To me, ordinary people provide some of the most masterful and relatable stories."

After the summer of 2000 Naledge and Double-O began to put their resources together in efforts to begin to record songs together. After creating a makeshift studio inside of an off-campus apartment, The duo began making demo CD's together and performing local shows on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey underground hip hop scene. After building a strong buzz they are now poised to not only resurrect hip-hop that they grew fond of growing up as children of the late 80's and early 90's, but create what they perceive to be the "perfect album".

"The most critical part of this album is going to be the sound of the beats," says Double-O. "If I cannot provide the perfect landscapes for his (Naledge's) words, no one will pay attention. His sound and my sound somehow became the same sound. That's what makes our group different. I am assured we will be successful for that reason."

Kidz in the Hall are looking to become one of hip-hop's most admired acts ever, destined to leave a legacy of artistic brilliance. Double O and Naledge, the producer/DJ and lyricist/MC, are reviving a format that Gangstarr, Pete Rock and CL Smooth and Run DMC established as the set standard in early-'90s hip-hop. With their debut release, "The Broke Diaries" (Executive Produced by Just Blaze), they hope to wow both listeners and critics alike with DJ-style beatmaking and jazzy sounds, and insightful, conscious lyrics that aim to touch upon the everyday struggles of life.