My Gut Reaction: Kidz In The Hall - The In Crowd (May 13, 2008)

When Naledge and Double-O released School Was My Hustle onto the unsuspecting masses, the Kidz In The Hall were lavished with critical and blogger acclaim, if not with the blockbuster sales to match. Double-O's production work was reminiscent of the soulful work prevalent during the Golden Age of hip hop, and Naledge didn't completely suck as a rapper.

Even with the critical acclaim, though, I still found it surprising that the Kidz In The Hall signed a deal with Duck Down Records, which meant the duo was leaving the once-prominent underground label Rawkus Records for the home that the Boot Camp Clik built. Even stranger was the fact that their sophomore album, The In Crowd, featured a first single that apparently made it into the top ten on MTV's now-defunct TRL. Hearing teenage girls cheer for an underground rap act must have certainly been a surreal experience: I'm sure Carson Daly would have approved, since he's a huge hip hop freak and all. (Seriously.)

The In Crowd still boasts wall-to-wall production from Double-O (with a couple of assists from Black Milk, also known in Blogland (twelve miles east of Legoland) as the Next. Big. Thing), but this time around Naledge rhymes alongside guests for almost every single fucking song. Either he's worked on his craft and relished every opportunity to outshine his peers, or he's trying to deflect attention from himself onto everyone else on The In Crowd.

Which one is it?

1. BLACK OUT (FEAT DJ G.I. JOE)
This shit is nice. Double-O's beat grabs your attention immediately, making a valid case against rap album intros ever being considered as even a remote possibility again.

2. PAPER TRAIL (FEAT PHONTE)
I kind of liked this track. The beat flows along nicely, and Naledge manages to spit his verse without seeming to exert any effort whatsoever, which sort of works for this song. Phonte (of Little Brother) also pulls his weight nicely.

3. DRIVIN' DOWN THE BLOCK (LOW END THEORY)
I'm not one hundred percent on why the "Low End Theory" subtitle was tacked on, as this sounds absolutely nothing like A Tribe Called Quest, but whatever. I tend to find tracks where a prominent vocal sample (usually the source for the song's title) is as much a part of the beat as the drums (in this case, Masta Ace Incorporated's "Born To Roll" is utilized to such effect), but thanks to Double-O's creativity, this track works in spite of itself.

4. LUCIFER'S JOYRIDE (FEAT TRAVIS MCCOY OF GYM CLASS HEROES)
What the fuck is this shit?

5. SNOB HOP (FEAT CAMP LO)
I mentioned in the write-up for School Was My Hustle that producer Double-O is an accomplished mimic. This song proves it: the rolling drums, along with the horns straight out of the 1970s, create a sound that is exactly like something Ski might produce for a Camp Lo album. Other than the fact that it sounds as if Geechie Suede and Sonny Cheeba recorded their verses on a different planet, this song sounds good.

6. MR. ALLADATSHIT (FEAT DONNIS & CHIP THA RIPPER)
This shit just sounded lame.

7. LOVE HANGOVER (FEAT ESTELLE)
Well, kudos for trying something different. This song sounds like a track Kanye West would record on an off day. Lyrics-wise, Naledge is borderline ridiculous, as he comes off as not very sincere, a trait that usually makes songs such as this one work. Double-O's beat is good, though, and Estelle sounds alright on the hook, although she isn't given much to do, so as a whole, I can dig it.

8. LET YOUR HAIR DOWN (FEAT SKYZOO & LIL' EDDIE)
Well, this sounded okay while it was playing, but it's not very memorable, so I can't recall how this sounded okay.

9. MIDDLE OF THE MAP PT. 1 (FEAT FOOCH)
This shit is pretty good. Fooch sounds pretty good, and Naledge impresses over the production, which seems to be provided by both Double-O and special guest Black Milk. Given the way this sounds, I can't imagine that Double-O contributed much to this: maybe he was the guy who took the food orders that day.

10. MIDDLE OF THE MAP PT. 2 (FEAT BLACK MILK & GUILTY SIMPSON)
Oh, wow. While Naledge graciously hands over the reigns of The In Crowd, Black Milk and Guilty Simpson completely dominate this shit with fantastic results. Easily the best song on here thus far.

11. THE IN CROWD (FEAT TIM WILLIAM)
I actually liked this song (although it kind of sounds like Pharrell-lite). It comes off as the perfect bridge between "pop" rap and actual hip hop that MTV viewers could easily follow. That is, if MTV even bothered to show anything besides reruns of The Hills. Raise your hands if you believe MTV should change their name from Music Television to something else entirely.

12. THE PLEDGE (FEAT BUCKSHOT & SEAN PRICE)
Naledge stands alongside his label's boss and arguably the most popular guy in the Boot Camp Clik right now. As the beat sounds more like something Naledge would feel right at home with, he comes off as the best of the three. Sean Price does alright for himself, but Buckshot, stepping out from behind his desk, sounds a bit forced, as if he's trying to prove that he's still got it. It's okay, Buck: you don't have to prove shit to anybody. You released Enta Da Stage. You're good.

13. INNER ME
Meh.

The following is listed as a bonus track.

14. DRIVIN' DOWN THE BLOCK (REMIX) (FEAT PUSHA T, BUN B, & THE COOL KIDS)
I believe this line-up was created by flipping through pages of a phone book while blindfolded. The beat sounds like a perfect fit for Pusha T from the Clipse, who, predictably, sounds really good. Everyone else does alright, as well, although I'm not one hundred percent on the appeal of The Cool Kids. I suppose I should listen to some of their work before passing judgment, but if I were to work based off of this, I would have to pass. There's also a second remix of this track produced by (and featuring) underground stalwart El-P, which is probably the most commercial thing the guy has ever done, and based on that fact alone it's worth tracking down on the Interweb.

THE LAST WORD: The In Crowd is surprisingly good. Naledge still sounds like a work in progress on the mic, but he rests on the "better" end of the spectrum, and he can only get better (unless he doesn't). Double-O's instrumentals also prove that there is some actual talent there, and when united, the Kidz In The Hall can make some good shit. A few of these songs are outright terrible, but that's alright: I just won't upload those onto the iPod. But I can easily picture myself listening to a good number of these tracks in the future. Nice work.

-Max

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Kidz In The Hall - School Was My Hustle