Kidz in the Hall Interview: Part 1- Naledge

Similar to Phonte and Nicolay who created the classic innovative album Foreign Exchange, Kidz in the Hall members Naledge and Double O are virtually creating dope music through parallel avenues. There has been a lot of buzz from their recent remix of the Souls of Mischief joint “93 Til’ Infinity” and people are looking for more music from this unique duo. We decided since they make music in separate cities we should chop up the interview as well. We start of with the emcee of the tandem Naledge, who in addition to the Kidz in the Hall project is working on the release of his solo project. With the depth and diversity that Chicago has produced, Naledge a Chi-town native, characterizes himself as the school boy next door who went to school but didn’t go straight home after, and was exposed to a world that he chose to talk about from a different perspective.

Scheme: You recently did a show with the Clipse, after listening to your album and then listening to the Clipse album you are both two totally different types of emcees as far as content goes. How is it to perform where the lyrical content is on two different spectrums?

Naledge: I don’t look at it as being somewhat different in the way that we do our music. I believe that the common denominator between the both of us is that we are sincere and have lived the life that we’ve talked about. To me that’s what hip hop is about, is spreading one’s reality and talking about one’s own lifestyle and use words as an expression of creativity and an outlet, and I feel like we both do that. If you listen to the Clipse they have a level of lyricism that probably extends beyond the average quote un quote trapper rapper. These are real street dudes, they aren’t fabricating stories for the sake of selling records. At the same time I’m not talking about middle class values, Ivy league and being around Jack & Jill kids because at the same time I’ve seen drug dealers and people getting shot and things of that nature, and these are things that really happened in my life. So it’s my reality and their reality, but I feel like there is actually a passion, and that’s the common denominator. Even at the shows, we both love our music and we say stuff that is sincere and from the heart, and at the end of the day that’s what good rap encompasses, energy and passion. So things go over well even though on paper it might be expected to.

Scheme: What was that experience like when you got the deal with Rawkus Records?

Naledge: I was more excited to be signed and have the opportunity to get my music heard. It wasn’t so much that I was being signed to Rawkus as much as them saying that I was going to be the focal point of the label and that was very exciting. It’s like watching a team growing up, then getting drafted by them, and then they make you their franchise player.

Scheme: Who are the emcees you listened to as a youth?

Naledge: Common, that’s been my favorite emcee since my first introduction to hip hop, and he had the biggest influence on my style. Q-Tip, the Pharcyde, Nas, Jay-Z, Big L …I have a pretty diverse group as far as emcees go. At the same time I was into some commercial rappers as well or quote un quote commercial rappers.

“I feel like the younger generation of hip hop four or five years younger than me doesn’t even know who the Souls of Mischief are.”

Scheme: You have a throwback track to 93 Til’ Infinity, did you feel like you had to live up to what the Souls of Mischief were doing? Remaking any rap song do you feel any pressure?

Naledge: The vocals were laid before Double O made the Souls of Mischief remix. I don’t want to call it a remake but a reinterpretation, and I guess in some ways it was a tribute but it didn’t intend on being one. So I had no intentions of matching any rapper because it was on another beat all together, but after I heard is remix I thought it was dope and we should go ahead and put it out. To be honest with you not to much thought went into comparing it to the past generation. I feel like the younger generation of hip hop four or five years younger than me doesn’t even know who the Souls of Mischief are. So for the older hip hop heads, my age and above and Double O’s age, it’s like oh, they respect their hip hop history and they respect the past and they know what real hip hop is, and their introducing it to a younger generation. I don’t feel pressure at all, I feel honored to be in this position, but I don’t feel pressure, I’m just writing raps to beats and you can’t feel pressure doing that. (Laughs)

Wheelz Fall Off (06 Til’) Video

Scheme: As a rapper do you feel about a certain amount of pressure in what your saying on these albums?

Naledge: I feel like rappers have the ability to express themselves in anyway shape or form that they want. Rock, country and jazz musicians do the same thing. There’s no responsibility to anybody except you and your state of being, and your want to be creative and express yourself. If you express yourself through telling another person’s life …it’s all artistry, it’s all an art form. So you don’t have to have responsibility except your own creative drive and what you want to make. Me, I make the kind of music I make because I have a responsibility as a man, and the son to my mother and father who instilled in me certain things that will always play in my mind, that make me quote un quote conscious. I believe everyone is conscious it’s whether you make a choice to talk about it in your music.

“It’s like watching a team growing up, then getting drafted by them, and then they make you their franchise player.”

Scheme: As a rapper from Chicago do you feel that the public thinks that everyone is going to sound like Common, Kanye, GLC or Rhymefest?

Naledge: I definitely think there was a style of rapper that’s been coming out of Chicago, but I think before Kanye, Chicago was perceived to be Crucial Conflict, Twista or Do or Die and we were all fast rappers that sing to melodies and things like that, which obviously has been proven not to be true. I think Chicago is probably one of the most diverse cities when it comes to hip hop culture and each and every emcee you just named, while they have a certain level of social consciousness, they are not all the same by any means. Common is more so the bohemian philosopher, Kanye is kind of the playboy, flawsy, backpacker rapper, Lupe is the skateboarder/nerd and Rhymefest is the blue collar factory worker. I guess myself I’m more of the school boy, I didn’t like the comic books or skateboard, but I was the school boy or the boy next door who didn’t stay in the house and saw certain things.

Scheme: How difficult is it for you to work with your partner working in separate cities?

Naledge: I’ve been living in L.A. for two years and even when I was in college I was in L.A. While we’re in two different cities we weren’t in two different cities until this year. We talk everyday through phone or email and with technology I can be in the studio talking to him about an idea, about a beat he may have made, or I can give him an idea about something I was thinking about. I mean technology has made it easy enough that you can make music from anywhere. Look at Phonte and Nicolay, they made Foreign Exchange without ever meeting each other.

Scheme: Nalege can you talk to me about your solo album, who are the producers and what is your mind state going into it?

Naledge: I have 9th Wonder, SA-RA, Just Blaze, NO I.D., three cats from Chicago, Memo from the Molemen and we’re in talks to getting Pete Rock on the album. Double O is going to be a part of that album as well. As far as the approach, this is my statement, this is who I am as a man. This is going to determine how people see me for the rest of my career. This is 23 years of writing raps all into this solo project to put out to the world. My focus is on a diverse range of topics and what my view is on those topics, from relationships, growing up everyday in the inner city life, and the day to day struggle.