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 kidz in the hall interview
 to access audio and video on collective you need real player.Class is back in session. If there’s one city still flying the flag for conscious hip-hop, it’s Chicago. Now, to the list of Common, Kanye West, Rhymefest and Lupe Fiasco you can add Naledge, rapper with Kidz In The Hall, and Windy City native. Despite its lineage Naledge laughs off its image as a city packed with activist rappers. “You’ve got people here who might gangbang and sell drugs, but might also go to college,” he says. “There’s loads of different walks of life, but at the same time it’s very urban. The people who are really into making money from crime aren’t making music, but everybody’s a hustler in their own way, we were taught to hustle.” The hustle is never far from the surface in hip-hop. Kidz In The Hall’s debut album, School Was My Hustle, finds the duo of Naledge and beatmaking partner Double O (whom he met at university in Philadelphia) pushing a distinctly nostalgic take on modern hip-hop, one that harks back to the universal heroes of the early 90s sound (lead single Wheelz Fall Off reworks Souls Of Mischief’s classic ’93 Til Infinity), though Naledge insists they’re trying to “evoke, not imitate” the past. They are, however, spearheading a revival for Rawkus Records, the label that epitomised the late 90s independent scene and has now been revived.  Naledge is aware of the kudos, but not in awe of the reputation. “There was never an artist on Rawkus that was wack,” he says. “So it’s an honour, but at the same time I have places I want to go, things I want to do. Everything that was old about Rawkus is no longer there, only (the owners) Brian and Jarrett.” Already (somewhat generously) hailed by one magazine as “by far the best LP” Rawkus has released, School Is My Hustle marks the start of a promising partnership. With a solo album pending (including production work from heavy hitter Just Blaze, who’s been championing Naledge since the get-go), Naledge is definitely the better known half of the duo, but Double O’s richly soulful beats are the perfect counterpart to such lyrics as “Revolutions start with individuals / It ain’t enough to sing negro spirituals”. School’s in for summer, school’s in forever.
Steve Yates
Kidz In The Hall – School Was My Hustle, released 12 March 07 on Rawkus.
 comments
Read members' comments related to this music.
comment by fingerchimp
Mar 14, 2007
im squishing your head! etc etc...amused the hell out of me once upon a time.
comment by amir
Mar 13, 2007
...and there was me thinking it was a group of preppy white kids from middle America who used to be on MTV.My bad. Still good, mind.
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