June 03, 2008 @ 2:00 pm

Kidz in the Hall, "The In Crowd"

by: Will Dukes

These Kidz are alright.

Like Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West, Chicago’s Kidz in the Hall have a penchant for turning the notion of the droll backpack rapper on its kufi-swathed head. Their 2006 debut, School Was My Hustle (Rawkus), borrowed Mr. West’s ongoing collegiate motif and featured songs that were cleverly polyglot, if a little anemic. While MC Naledge (right) and producer Double-O’s impressive follow-up effort The In Crowd continues in a similarly versatile vein, the vibe this time feels less like a greenhorn B-boy coming-out party than it does a self-assured statement of purpose.

On songs like the bass-heavy lead single “Drivin’ Down the Block (Low End Theory),” the Kidz’ confidence immediately explodes. Over Double-O’s minimalist bed of 808s and synths, Naledge brags that female admirers are fantasizing about bearing his child, while referencing A Tribe Called Quest and OutKast as if they were his peers. Elsewhere, the production gets complex on “Middle of the Map Pts 1 & 2,” as Double-O and Detroit’s Black Milk freak the same sample in different ways, making for a unique two-producer, one-song scheme. Later, on the laid-back “Paper Trail,” Naledge goes toe-to-toe with Little Brother’s estimable Phonte. Two albums in, it appears that these Kidz are alright.

Article tags: Kidz In The Hall, Revolutions