We all remember Rawkus, whether it was outstanding 12″ releases like “Universal Magnetic” and “End to End Burners” or great LPs like the Soundbombing series or Blackstarr, releases were always solid.   Around 2003 the train went off the tracks and Rawkus disappeared from hip-hop.   In a time where hip-hop is severely lacking, Rawkus is ready for their resurgence.   The cornerstone of that resurgence is Kidz in the Hall.   Virtually unknown until recently the dynamic duo of Double O on the boards and Chicago bred Naledge on the mic, are turning heads of the most disgruntled hip-hop fans, including myself.  “School is My Hustle” drops on Halloween on Rawkus records, and mark my words; this is one of the best hip-hop albums this year!   I got a chance to chat with these up and comers about the album, their come up and the future of Rawkus records.  Right now Kidz in the Hall is just one album, soon it will be an entire movement.

HipHopSite: What’s up fellas?

Naledge:  What’s good?

Double O:   What’s going on guy?

Been crazy for y’all aye?

Double O:  It’s getting there

You guys are humble dudes.

Naledge:  It’s crazy in a sense as far as things are happening they way we envisioned them happening.

Double O:  Yeah, I can still go to the mall and be a nobody. (laughs)

You have really burst onto the scene, let the readers know who you are and where you rep

Double O:  We were both at school, Nadlege was a senior in High School and he had come up to a weekend that Penn does to recruit new students.  There was a fashion show that I had been setting the sound up for.   Back then I was producing and DJing around the Philadelphia and U Penn area.  So I was developing a name around campus.  So this kid comes out of nowhere from Chicago, a senior in HS come out and just murdered the talent show.  Though the people at the show who were giving him dap they told him to come and talk to me.  I saw immense talent in him and we exchanged email addresses and kept in touch over the summer.

Naledge:  This was spring of 2000

Double O:  He ended up coming out to school and I was working with another artist and we were hell bent on putting an album before we got out of college.  When he came in 2000 we got right to work, and Nadledge when he came in and really fit into the fold of what we had going on.   The summer of 2001 we started to work and kept building on top of what we had done before.  So we had gotten a lot of songs done, did some shopping and had some people listen to the tracks.   It all really came together in 2004 when he moved out to LA, I had been LA for about 3 years while he finished school.  As soon as he got out of school we did this mixtape and it just made sense.  It made so much sense after that tape; we decided that we go at as a group.   2 heads are better than 1.

So how long did “School is My Hustle” take?

Double O:  Our whole life (laughs)

Naledge:  It’s a compilation of material that stands over a 2 year period.  “Cruise Control” is very recent but stuff like “Wheelz Fall Off” is almost 2 years old.  It’s a unique situation.

Double O:  It embodies the grind of what we have been trying to do over these last couple of years.  It’s a snapshot of what it took to get from ground zero to having a deal.

Obviously the name is a take off the old Late Night Show of the same name, by why choose that name for the group?

Double O:  It’s funny, I knew the name but I didn’t really watch the show. I had heard about it and that’s why it was familiar.   We really just wanted something to represent who we are which where academics or school boys to a certain extent.  We actually had multiple names like Houston Hall, Study Hall, some where really off the wall.

(Laughs)

Double O:  But, at the end of the day when we got to Kidz in the Hall it just made sense.   Plus, it’s more universal.  Those other names were specific to college and even our college.  We wanted something that was ambiguous, you didn’t know if it was a rock group, or a Canadian comedy troop, you never really knew.  The reason for that is that we would eventually define what Kidz in the Hall meant through our music.  At first listen to the Rolling Stones or A Tribe Called Quest you would have no idea what the music would be like just from the name.  They defined their name with their music; we wanted to do the same.

The album “School is My Hustle” is dropping on Major League/Rawkus, what is the exact release date?

Naledge:  Halloween

We all know Rawkus was a powerhouse in the late 90′s, but then due to whatever reasons they literally fell apart.   Why choose Rawkus and do you feel that Kidz in the Hall will be the cornerstone artist they need to rebuild.

Naledge:  Rawkus is a brand name that we came up listening to their catalog.   We appreciated the fact they were independent but have a mind set to operate on a larger level, and to get their artists out on a larger level.  We still have creative freedom and have been made a priority.   On a major label we didn’t feel like we would have been made a priority.  We were given the green light right away.  They basically said that your movement will be made the cornerstone of Rawkus’ resurgence.  The situation that was presented to us was like playing for a team that you grew up watching as a child and made a lot of sense.  With all the parties involved, we knew that if we were in a situation with Rawkus we would still be able to get our word out to the masses as if we were on Virgin or Sony Urban.

Double O:  It’s definitely the best of both worlds because Rawkus is an indie and we have the indie freedom.  It’s not an indie in name or in reputation.  Anything that Rawkus puts out it’s automatically going to be put on a larger level than say Stones Throw, even though they have a huge cult following.   People know what Rawkus used to represent.  With all things people are curious about what they are going to put back out.

Naledge:  I look at Rawkus as the Roc-a-fella of the underground.  People know what kind of music comes from that brand.  We are definitely going to get a lot of impulse buyers off of this album.  People that just want to know what Rawkus is coming back with.

One of the songs that stuck out to me is “Wheelz Fall Off”, you chose the same Billy Cobham sample that Souls Of Mischief used for “93 Till Infinity”, this is tribute to that classic hip-hop record or are you trying to say something different.

Double O:  I think it accomplishes 2 fold, what we are able to do with that record.  The record didn’t actually start off in that form.   Originally it was a Remix to the original version.  The beat itself is sort of a nod back to that feeling of the original version.  It brings the feeling back, but since it is re-produced from the ground up it doesn’t get stuck in 1993.   At the end of the day things have changed production wise and lyrically since that point.  If I would have just done a blend with the instrumental it would have come off, but it might not have come off like “Wheelz Fall Off” does.  Lyrically this was 2 years ago and it still speaks for what we are trying to do and represent in our movement.

Naledge:  If you listen to the lyrics I say “Whether I see a deal/I don’t waste my time with it” shows the dating.   That was when I was still in a cubical.  (laughs)

“Hypocrite” is such a true to words song, is that song aimed at anybody or anything particular?

Naledge:  “Hypocrite” was a song where I took situations that I have been through and situations that friends have been through and turning them into allegories or fables with that moral ending.  It is something that everybody can relate to, they have either been through it or no somebody who has been through it and they felt the same way.  Hardly ever does anybody just come out and say it.  I contradict myself from time to time.   Sometimes it takes somebody else to step forward and show the vulnerability to get these issues out in the open.  Because very few times we actually address the issues, we usually just let them go.   Point blank, if you talk enough you are going to contradict yourself.   When you grow and you evolve, you will always contradict yourself.   What I would have thought 5 years ago, I don’t think that way right now.  I realize that I might have contradicted myself in some of the things I said.   People always want to make excuses and people want to explain things, why not just say I’m a hypocrite, I contradicted myself.  It’s not the first time it’s been done and it won’t be the last.

Double O:  You have to own up to it sometimes.

2 of the greatest hip-hop artists of our time, 2pac and KRS are walking contradictions.

Double O:  Exactly, It’s life.  You aren’t always going to feel conscience.  We are all regular people, we don’t wake up on the same side of the bed feeling the same way every single day.  If we were all one dimensional it would be a very boring life experience.  The fact is you are going to get people that are very dynamic and you can’t be apologetic for being dynamic.  If you listen to the outro of “Hypocrite”, it’s like we are who we are.  As long as you are learning from these contradictions and the mistakes that come because of it, end the end your will be a better person for it.

Naledge:   People have different aspect to their lives than what you see on television.  Record labels are going to pigeon hole you into a certain personality, because they think that makes you unique.  People bring up our Ivy League education, but there was life before our education and there is life after the Ivy League.  I don’t walk around with my degree in my backpack.  That’s what “Hypocrite” is saying.

Naledge, you have a separate solo deal as well, elaborate on that a little?

Naledge:  That is through Rawkus as well.  My solo deal actually came first, but we had so much material for the Kidz album we decided to put “School is My Hustle” out first to build buzz for the movement.  John Monopoly who is the president of GOOD Music found me and brought me to the Rawkus situation.   Rawkus saw the way we work and they way our team operated; they took a liking to the entire movement and decided to put out the Kidz in the Hall album.  My solo album is probably coming out February or March, it’s about 80% done.  Double O is still a major contributor on the record.   I’m working with Just Blaze, No ID, Sa-Ra and the list goes on.  We are doing a lot of different things and my album is going to be a long the same lines as what the Kidz project has been.  It has the same feel, but is a little more personal for me delving into my childhood and my upbringing.   “Naledge is Power” is coming real soon, but right now “School is My Hustle”.  The album is just as dope as anything as I have ever made.

So are you guys going to follow the album up with a tour?   When and where is that beginning?

Double O:  Immediately after the album drops we are going to a couple dates with The Clipse on the east coast.  Then we head over to the west for some Colorado dates and end up in California in mid-November.   The one thing we love more than just recording the music is being on stage and connecting with the crowd.

So what’s next for Kidz in the Hall?

Double O:  The biggest concentration right now is the Kidz in the Hall album, because from “School is My Hustle” we all win.  Lyrically Naledge will have a setup for his album and production wise I will have it set up for anything I want to do.  This is the most important thing and we will be grinding it through the New Year.  I have music that I make that isn’t always in the vein of what Naledge or the Kidz in the Hall movement is trying to do.   There is always stuff ready to be sold.

Naledge:  I’m just focused on making this Kidz in the Hall brand stick.  This is the first step and the next step is my solo album.  The step after that is me bringing my own artists to the table.  Right now it’s about me establishing myself as an emcee in hip-hop and everything will spawn from that.  Once people have bought into whom Naledge is and what Naledge brings to the table and what the Kidz in the Hall brand is and what Double O does, we can go off and do other things.  Right now it’s just hip-hop, it’s just doing hip-hop.  Making music and performing music, there is no definitive next step.

Last Words?

Double O:  Cop that album “School is My Hustle” in stores October 31st worldwide.  Make sure you go out and buy the album.   Kidzinthehall.com, we have blog on there that we update regularly, myspace, facebook….be a friend.  We have some videos coming out soon so make sure you stay tuned.  If you love dope hip-hop or you feel like its missing and you want to fall in love with it again, cop that album October 31st.

Naledge:  Inside each album is a $20 bill….I’m just playing.   (Laughs)

(Laughs)

Naledge:  Cop the record its real hip-hop at its finest coming back.  This is probably the best underground hip-hop album of the year.