Kidz In The Hall

Zwei Newcomer und die Last der Geschichte: die Kidz In The Hall fungieren neuerdings als Aushängeschild des kürzlich reaktivierten Kultlabels Rawkus Records sollen sein. Das heißt im Klartext, dass Naledge und Double-O in die Fußstapfen von Rapriesen wie Mos Def, Talib Kweli und Pharoahe Monch treten. Die sind – soviel können wir nach “School Was My Hustle” sagen – im Moment noch ein bißchen zu groß. Doch was nicht ist, kann bekanntlich noch werden und so selbstbewusst wie sich die Beiden in unserem Interview präsentieren, scheinen sie selbst daran den geringsten Zweifel zu haben.

What’s up, Naledge and Double-O, are you enjoying your stay in Germany?

Double-O: Yeah, i’m doing pretty good.

Naledge: We have alot of fun, the show has been dope. We had alot of fun just running around partying.

How did your day in Berlin look like?

Double-O: Work, work, work, work, work – time to leave! I mean, we got up real early, just ate some food and got out there. It’s about business, that’s what we were about.

Let’s take a look back in time. How has your everyday life changed since summer 2000 when you two first started to record songs together?

Naledge: It’s started off as something that was more a phantasy, although we always knew at some point it would be reality. We’re no longer at school, we’re finished with school. We’re not working 9 to 5, so that’s beautiful. What has really changed is the fact that we can wake up everyday and just think about music solely. And really make our music as good as we can make it. And keep trying to push boundaries and push limits with our creativity. Just keep trying to make really dope music. That’s the only way I can say that things have really changed: all we have to think about is music at this point.

Double-O, how important has Just Blaze been for your music career?

Double-O: I think without Just neither one of us would have been able to get the initial industry look that his co-sign kind of brought to the table. It definately kick-started alot of things having his name connected with our project since day one. That has probably been one of the most important things. I mean, it’s always great to be in the studio with Just to see how he operates, but you never want to be too much him in the sense that your making stuff that sounds exactly like his. Because then you’re not going to be able to branch out on your own. But: just making your beats sound big, that’s definately something he has been able to help.

What about the current situation with Rawkus – how do you rate the label’s position in the market place today?

Naledge: Well, I think Rawkus has a peculiar position in the market place because there’s tons of name recognition. But it’s not for something current. So, while it’s a historic label I don’t know if many of the people who belonged to the fanbase before are still buying hiphop albums, if they’re really young any more. Even, wether they haven’t replaced their Rawkus fix with other artists that are in the market place. So it’s really peculiar because there’s no way of knowing if we’re gonna bring back the same feeling – just because the same people aren’t around anymore. But: we’re in a good position because people are interested and there’s a buzz factor, just an impulse to wanna know what Rawkus is doing. Because people know that they were capable of making hits and stars before. We personally feel, we gonna be the forefront of that. The resurrection has started with our album. And the more ears they get to listen to our album, the more fans we’re gonna win over and the more people that will come back over to the Rawkus side.

My press info says that Jarret Meyer and Brian Water wanted you to be the new face of the label – do you feel like you are?

Naledge: As far as being an emcee it allows me to be the more visible person, ’cause I’m actually heard on the records. I think me, being a child of the era that Rawkus was in his heyday it makes me the perfect person to bring the label back. I’m kinda of the offspring of what they created. Mos Def, Pharoahe, Talib and all thos guys – what they did was dope but they’re getting a little bit older. So it needs to be some fresh blood in the water right now. And I feel I’m perfect to bring that to the table. I’m super-hiphop, I’m making dope music and I have a movement. And that’s what Kids In The Hall represents. It’s not even just me – it’s the sound behind me. And that’s what Double-O represents. That’s what we bring to the table, something new and refreshing to lead Rawkus into the new millenium and make them current again. We represents everything that’s new about HipHop and we also give you the feeling of everything that’s old about it as well.

To me, the album had a down-to-earth, almost nostalgic feeling to it…

Double-O: Yeah, it’s nostalgic in the the sense that we want to create that feeling that you felt when you first heard some of those albums people always love talking about. You know: A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul’s first album. We just made a album that was real to us. And I guess in doing so, it had a similar feel. I think that’s the most important thing: when you end up doing something that’s really soulful and kind of exposing in the sense that some of the ideas and some of the things you release out to the world, you end up getting an album that marks a certain point in time. And with using samples, sometimes you you gonna get a certain feel because they may have been used before. But I definately think: as nostagic as it is, it still feels very current.

Naledge, what can we expect from you solo album “Naledge Is Power” due to be out soon? And what’s coming up next from the Kidz In The Hall?

The solo record will be out late fall / winter. It’s gonna be more of the same. If you love the Kidz In The Hall, you gon’ love “Naledge Is Power”. It’s just an extension. The songs will be a little bit more personal and I’m obviously working with some outside producers. But for the most part, it’s very linear in the sound and where I’m going lyrically with it. Like I said, some of the subject matter is more personal, I let you know who I am as an emcee. It’s like a perfect introduction to let people know who I am. And Kidz In The Hall, man, we gon’ do another album. This is not a flash and a bang, we gonna keep it moving. We’re trying to be four, five albums deep five years from now. That how we can do: we just keep making great music and hope that you enjoy it.