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Album Preview: Kidz In The Hall’s The In Crowd

treats — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:36:06 +0000

The rapper/producer combo of Naledge and Double O (l to r) are riding a new wave of success right now. Last night, Complex was invited to a listening session for their potentially pivotal sophomore album, The In Crowd, on the same night as Double O’s birthday. Buckshot even stopped by to show support for his Duck Down signees, plus play his new collabo-album with 9th Wonder, The Formula. Get quick preview of six solid tracks from The In Crowd and a couple of photos from the event after the jump.

1. “Mr. All Of That Shit”
Naledge’s takes typical hip-hop bragging to a whole other level. “Flyer than a giraffe’s pussy,” nuff said.

2. “Love Hangover” f/. Estelle
The Chicago born MC’s lazy delivery over the string laden track sounds a lot like Ma$e. A line like, “I’m her groupie,” might have something to do with it.

3. “Let Your Hair Down” f/ Skyzoo
Another track for the ladies featuring the rising Justus League affiliate.

4. “The Pledge”
The obligatory Duck Down posse cut. According to Double O, when they tried to get Sean Price as a featured guest on the song, they got more than they bargained for when Buckshot offered Kidz In The Hall a record deal instead.

5. “Inner Me”
This seven minute track is the only song without a guest feature. “I tried to play piano at the end but ended up doing all crazy shit,” says Double O.

6. “Drivin’ Down The Block (Low End Theory) (Remix) f/ The Cool Kids, Pusha T and Bun B
Their nod to hip-hop’s old school gets a face-lift with the Cool Kids lending their throwback steez to the record. Pusha even manages to squeeze in a quick plug for the Clipse’s clothing line Play Cloths in the song.

The Knux Deconstruct Hipster Hip-Hop

treats — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:09:01 +0000

These days, it seems like every young rapper who doesn’t wear rhinestones like Jim Jones gets branded as “hipster hip-hop.” But if you ask up-and-coming duo The Knux, the “hipster” label just shows that they’re doing something different from the mainstream. In a recent interview with MTV, the New Orleans-bred siblings Rah Almillio (left) and Krispy Kream (right) make an interesting analogy: mainstream hip-hop today is like cheesy hair-metal in the ’80s, and all the so-called “hipster rap” is like punk rock because it takes it back to the raw essence. After the jump, watch the video to get the full explanation.

[MTV]

Related:

The Knux Premiere Their New Video

The Knux as Complex Men of 2008

Kidz In The Hall Explain Hipster Rap

treats — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:51:50 +0000

The MC/DJ twosome, Kidz In The Hall were strangely lumped into the hipster rap category upon the release of “Drivin’ Down Tha Block (Low End Theory).” In an interview with Whatever’s Good, Naledge (right) and Double O (left) explained the strange coincidence of being lumped in with the trend that’s also associated with Cool Kids, Mickey Factz, and Wale…

Double-O: The definition of a hipster is a, well, I don’t know what the original Wikipedia definition was when they used it back in the ’50s, but now it’s become a very pretentious title. It defines somebody who may or may not really be attached to the art form, but they just like it because it’s kind of ahead of the curve or it’s cool. So, I think that all it is is another definition, trying to define a sub-genre of music that they just haven’t figured out how to define yet. That, really, to me, that’s the buzz on music going around right now. I don’t call it hipster rap, there’s a lot of different types of stuff going on, it’s not just hipsters that like it. It just so happens that the bloggers and some of the more forward-thinking people are up on it.

[Whatever's Good]

The Cool Kids Cover Laced Magazine

treats — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:02:43 +0000

Chuck English (left) and Mikey Rocks (right) kick off the sneaker-heavy publication’s fifth issue. They are joined by the white-hot Floral Supra Skytop, and Nike Air Vandal Supreme. Pick it up on newsstands now.