TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Kidz In The Hall

"Smoking Sessions With..."    By MZ on May 20, 2008 at 3:53 pm

Since they came into the game, Kidz In The Hall (comprised of Naledge and Double-O) have been working nonstop to make their way to the top without sacrificing their integrity. With their debut, School Was My Hustle, they crept into our collective consciousness & grabbed our attention. Once they got our ears, they’ve made every effort to keep a firm grasp – “Work To Do” got play on Barack Obama’s website, while their digital-only Detention mixtape with Mick Boogie spread across the internet like wildfire. And their latest video “Driving Down The Block” is currently marching & stomping up MTV’s TRL charts.

What’s left for them to do?

Drop another album and keep it movin’. They’re definitely making their way into The In Crowd. Read as they tell TSS Crew’s MZ how it all happened.

Double O: Yo M.Z. what up? It’s Double O.

TSS: Hey man, what’s going on?

Double O: I’m chillin, I’m chillin. I got Naledge here; had to wait a couple seconds on him. Got him though so we ready to do this if you’re ready to do this.

TSS: Yeah we ready right now.

Double O: Cool.

TSS: So how’s the day been going for ya’ll, with the album release & everything?

Double O: It’s been going cool. We did some stuff at MTV News and J&R Music World, which is a big store downtown. They really prepared it well and had a big stock of the album ready. So it was dope.

TSS: Ok, so outside of TV & everything like that, what other promotion do you have planned for the album? You gonna be doing any touring soon?

Double O: Yeah, we start the Paid Dues Tour at the beginning of June and then we go to Europe. When we get back we’ll be going on the Rock The Bells Tour for the rest of the summer after that.

TSS: Sounds like you guys got it pretty much laid out then.

Double O: Yeah, everything is pretty much laid out ‘til the end of the summer, then we’ll figure some more stuff out.

TSS: Ok, so are you gonna do anymore recording? Or will you just focus on the album & promoting that?

Double O: I mean we’re always recording; we actually just started on some stuff yesterday. It’s one of those things where that’s always happening,

Naledge: You just fit it in. Fit it in where you can

TSS: So get in where you fit in, huh?

Double O: Yep.

TSS: Alright, basically the biggest question is a couple years ago nobody really knew who you were. You put one album out & now you’re here on MTV. How much work did you have to put in to get that?

Double O: I mean we’ve just been going at this a 100%. Since before we had the first album out, you just gotta keep working at it & working at it. We’ve definitely been at the same pace for two years; it’s just one of those things that finally just started to pay off.

Naledge: Man I think it’s got a lot to do with timing. This is the right record for the right time, you know what I mean? We’ve had a little bit of a following & a little bit of a buzz, but at this point in time it’s only escalating. Some people regress, we always progress; that’s the main thing with us. This record (“Driving Down The Block”) came at the perfect time for us & it made it easier to leverage some relationships. We already had relationships at MTV & a lot of other places, a lot of DJ’s already liked us. But sometimes it’s just a matter of giving them something to work with.

TSS: So you guys are happy with that as your single choice?

Double O: Oh definitely. We’re happy with it, we made the choice. It’s not like anyone made the single choice for us, we do what we want to do. So definitely.

TSS: So did you guys come up with the video concept too?

Double O: The video concept was something that the director had initially put together, so it was one of those things that we fit very naturally into. So it came together pretty easily.

TSS: Yeah cause I really like that. Especially the outtakes that you did with the other cars you were selling, the Raphael character & everything.

Double O: Yeah, a lot of the Leon & Raphael things was just us taking really taking on the roles of what we were gonna do. I mean if your gonna do it, you might as well do it 100% you know?

TSS: Yeah I feel that. Because it gives a little more as to who you are as people. I mean a lot of people don’t really know too much about you outside of going to Penn & doing the music thing. So I think that was a really good look for you in that sense.

Double O: Oh it definitely was cool.

TSS: I noticed that on this album you had a lot of guest spots & guest artists on this album. Was that something that you tried to do or was it a natural progression while you were recording the album?

Naledge: The guests came together naturally. Most of, I wouldn’t even say most, all of the people we worked with were either friends or people who respected us. So it wasn’t really us reaching out to people as much as them just being around us while we were making the album & us thinking that they fit on a record. Other than that, the only person who I can say wasn’t that way was Bun B. He kinda reached out to us & said he wanted to be on the remix.

TSS: On the flip side, are you guys looking to do more outside work. I know Double O did production on Freeway’s album, which was pretty dope. Are you guys looking to branch out & work with other artist’s on their projects as well?

Naledge: Of course. This album should cement a lot of that. The sound that Double O has created should become in demand. He’s proven that he’s a versatile producer. On the same token, I’ve been working on a solo record for the past two years. That was the initial deal that we got, so that’s just been there waiting in the wings for the longest. So you have that & we’ve been working with our team, our management team & us, we’ve been working with new cat named Tim Williams. As well as my boy from childhood, Fooch, who’s on the album as well. So we have a lot of things we’re trying to do coming up. But it all starts with this right here. The foundation of it is The In Crowd, which is out right now.

Double O: RIGHT NOW!

Naledge: That’s the foundation right there. If this album doesn’t do what it needs to do, then I can’t even sit & talk about anything else. Cause it won’t matter, you feel me? I feel like a lot of artists like to talk about what they’re about to do. What their label & people they’re bout to put out; this, that, & the third. Clothing line & all that crap, when at the end of the day if you’re not selling any record none of that matters. Or if your record isn’t good, I won’t say selling records, if your record isn’t any good it’s not going to help.

TSS: Yeah I was going to say with record sales declining, do you have a certain amount you’re looking to sell?

Naledge: Not at all. I’m more worried about us building a fan base & that’s more so shown with the shows and the demand for people to book you. That shows a lot more than just record sales alone. Pass along rate is crazy, especially with independent music, so you never know how many people really know your music just from record sales. You can only really only tell by reactions that you get at shows & just the amount of people that want to book you. That’s part of it.

TSS: Definitely. So are you guys happy with your move to Duck Down?

Double O: Oh yeah, very much so. I mean the reality is we busted our butt, but you can see the difference to a certain extent. You know, it’s a label, a fully functioning label & you really see the difference just based on that alone. So they’ve been great. Obviously you’ll never be 100% satisfied because you always feel like you can have somebody else do more. But right now I’m very pleased with what’s going on.

TSS: I mean you gotta be. A lot of major labels are scaling things back to the point where they’re almost functioning as independent labels regardless. You’re already there, so you don’t have to worry about anything like that.

Double O: Yeah, that’s because they don’t know what to do. They wasted their budget so much on just other randomness that I think they have to start bringing it back down. You see all these major labels doing these deals with people like Koch. Trying to have them incubate these artists, because they’re not really sure what to do, unfortunately they spent so much time worrying about the business side & trying to turn profit, that they’ve stepped away from the music. And because of that all the music suffered & when the music suffered, the overall product suffered. So they’re having to shift to dealing with people who are really music people.

TSS: Yeah, they’ve always relied on the people who went diamond to cover up for the people they messed up on & nobody’s doing that these days. So it’s almost a done deal for them.

Double O: Yeah, but I mean they’ve gone through this before. They’ll find their way back.

TSS: Pretty much, the music still has to come out, one way or another.

Double O: Exactly. And they’ll find a way to profit & it’ll do what it does. Then it’ll kinda go through the evolution again. It kinda has to.

TSS: Ok, so who are some of you guys’ influences in terms of production & how you guys approach making music?

Double O: For me, I think Timbaland was pretty influential in terms of taking me from the DJ side of things into the producer side. Because I looked at what he was doing as something so brand new that it was something that I wanted to carve out for myself. That if somebody like this could shift music the way he did, then I kinda wanted to figure out a way to be a part of it. I guess at the end of the day, looking back, I was always leaning in that direction anyway because I was doing a bunch of mash-ups when I had been deejaying. I just didn’t see anything more than that, then when I heard what he was doing I really wanted to start producing.

Naledge: It’s been pretty well documented that Common is the reason I started rapping in the first place. Listening to him influenced me a lot, him being where I’m from and being as prolific of an MC as he was. Definitely Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Jay-Z, the usual suspects. I listened to a little bit of Pac, not as much as Biggie. Big L, Scarface, UGK, Eightball & MJG. I have a lot of influences, they range all over the place. The old Ice Cube.

TSS: Sounds like everybody, a little bit from everywhere.

Naledge: Yeah, yeah I listened to pretty much everybody cause I was in the middle but if I had to really pinpoint one person it would probably be Common. Listening to the Resurrection album is what really made me want to start rapping.

TSS: Being from Ohio, I know exactly what you mean. You get a little bit of everything, you’re not affiliated with any coast so pretty much anything & everything is fair game.

Naledge: A lot of my likes didn’t necessarily influence my style.

TSS: I feel that because you always have to make your own identity, but you have people you look up too.

Naledge: I loved Bone when they first came out; I love Twista, Crucial Conflict, Do or Die but it didn’t necessarily influence my style. I grew up listening to all of their music.

TSS: Ok, just have a few more questions for you. In terms of sound: are you guys looking to build a signature sound or are you just trying to go wherever the music takes you?

Double O: Yeah, it’s a hard thing to try and pick your signature sound. What I’ve realized is that a lot of times the public picks your signature sound. It’s not necessarily something you do; it’s one of those things that just happen. For instance, you talk about a Timbaland. Timbaland, he was doing fairly diverse production on Ginuwine’s first album and on Aaliyah’s second album. It was a certain type of thing he was doing with the stuttered kind of beat, down south records that everyone wanted him to continue to do. The same thing with Just, Just Blaze I mean, he did what he did on The Blueprint. But it wasn’t until “Roc the Mic” and “Pump it Up,” that people wanted a specific type of record from him. I think that’s when they’re like “I want that sound.” Because it was commercially successful, it comes with time and making records. At the same time I like being diverse, to just better myself as a producer & as a musician.

TSS: Now do you guys come up concepts for songs or does it happen organically where you have the beats & lyrics come from that?

Naledge: A lot of times a good beat will inspire a song right away. So at this point it’s pretty much clockwork with Double O pretty much knowing what I’ll take a liking to anyway. So it’s like once I hear something, it’ll pretty much speak to me. But there’s times when I have concepts or rhymes written, ideas and the beat is built off of that and the feel I believe the song should have.

TSS: So I know you said you’re not trying to branch out into doing clothing lines…

Double O: Well he said the concentration right now is on the music. There’s nothing proven yet, we have a certain amount of buzz but it’s not like we’re sitting comfy over here just burning money like Rick Ross. We have not gotten into the position where we feel like we’re comfortable. So when you reach certain level of comfort, that’s when you start venturing out into those types of things. So first & foremost is making sure we promote this work and promote this movement 110%. From that other things happen, the reality is the more presence you have, the more famous you are a lot of things fall in your lap without you even having to do them. So first & foremost is the music and making sure this album is as big as we can make. Now everything else will come from that, you can’t say that never on anything cause you never know when an opportunity makes sense and you want to jump on it.

Naledge: Yeah, I just feel like a lot of artists in particular start talking about all the ventures they have as if music is just one of their hustles. Music isn’t a hustle, it’s my life. It’s what I was bred to do; it’s what I love to do so I don’t like to take the focus away from that. That’s what the focus is and even if it gets to a point where my music works for me & where the buzz for music works for me in other ways that’s great, but I’m gonna still continue to do music. The key thing is the music. You can have other ventures that you want to do eventually, but c’mon lets be real. Would you want any clothing from me if I wasn’t making music? If I slashed my name on it, it wouldn’t be a big deal. You wouldn’t be interviewing me.

TSS: I feel you. I wouldn’t buy it. Not unless it was tight.

Naledge: I mean the avenue wouldn’t fit. I’d have to go to fashion school, I’d actually have to intern for somebody, I’d have to do a lot of work. Just using that as an example, clothing lines, its one thing I feel artists do just cause they feel like it’s the next step. Like what rappers are supposed to do. They start labels, they start clothing lines, then they do this and that. Like they are certain things that are kinda standard at this point. I feel like everybody is, I don’t know, it feels like it comes to a certain point where things are stale. Like sometimes I listen to artists in interviews, & it’s like dude you haven’t even sold a record for real like that, and you’re talking about your clothing line like your movement is just that strong. This isn’t just my hustle, it’s my life. It’s what I’m here to do. I’m not moonlighting; a lot of these dudes is moonlighting.

TSS: So 10, 15 years from now what do you want your legacy to be? What do you want to people to remember you for?

Double O: I want to still be working, you know, I don’t know if I want the legacy yet. Just putting out dope music & making music. I want songs like “Hypocrites”, songs like “Inner Me” to still be around. They may be as fresh as they were 15 years before, but there’s still a connection to them. Like what we do is hopefully attain a level where we become timeless. But that only comes with time, if you can figure it out. So I hope to still be making music, be successful in music, & still have the respect of our peers for making that dope music.

TSS: Ok, that’s pretty much all my questions. I got one more for you guys though. Our signature question – what would you guys say now to the first girl that broke up with you?

Naledge: Ain’t nobody ever broke up with me…

Double O: Yeah, I was bout to say that’s never happened.

TSS: Never? No one’s ever broke up with ya’ll?

Naledge: I usually end up leaving them. 9 times outta 10, I end up leaving them.

TSS: So you’re the heartbreaker?

Double O: For the most part, I actually have pretty decent relationships with all my ex’s, for the most part. There’s only one or two. Not to say I could hit them up if I wanted to & it wouldn’t be bad business. I wouldn’t sit there & talk to them, but I could call them if I wanted to. Not all of them, but a good majority of them.

Naledge: That I can’t say. What would I say to them? Honestly a lot of the people I ended up shaking was because they didn’t believe, so you know. Ha haaaa….. Hoe!!! (Laughs)

TSS: That’s what’s up. I appreciate you guys taking time out of your busy release day.

Double O: No doubt.

TSS: Aiight man.

Double O: Aiight.

Naledge: Crackkkin.

Listen — Kidz In The Hall Featuring Bun B, Pusha T, Cool Kids & El-P – “Driving Down The Block” (Block Bounce Remix) (Produced by El-P)

Listen — Naledge – “Nez & Rio” (Freestyle) (Props to Fake Shore Drive)

Watch — “Driving Down The Block” Video

The new album, The In Crowd, in stores now.

For all things KITH-related including release info, vids & performance dates, visit kidzinthehall.com and duckdown.com/kidzinthehall.

If you’re in NYC, make your way to Kidz In The Hall’s Album Release Party. Tonite @ SOB’s. Click here for more info.

Posted in "Smoking Sessions With...", ARTIST INTERVIEWS, GENERAL — Tags: "FIFTEEN MINUTES WITH...", Double-O, Kidz In The Hall, Naledge, The In Crowd