Posted on 05/01/2008
It’s hard being the middle kid in a family of three and or a million, you never receive the love like a first born, and you never get spoiled like the baby of the family. Kidz in the Hall have been blessed and cursed with that positioning on hip-hop’s timeline. Never being credited with really being the first to bring that new wave of independent and solid music back to the rap and hip-hop culture; so similar to a Tanya Morgan, no one really knew what to do with them or where to categorize them. The gift from that is now that with this new renaissance of artists from Mickey Factz, U-N-I, to Guilty Simpson, Kidz in the Hall are slowly getting the recognition that any child or individual needs to grow and move forward.

With their second effort The In Crowd, (self explanatory) Nalegde (emcee) and Double-O (producer) have taken what they’ve gotten from Rawkus, touring, and a piece of the mainstream and created a pivotal record that will make many individuals take heed and say like a parent, “Why aren’t you more like them?” With a myriad of guest appearances from Phonte (Little Brother), Estelle, Camp Lo, and Masta Ace it would appear as if they were doing too much, but it’s the exact opposite. These and other artists that collaborated on The In Crowd fell in well with the diverse yet precise base knocking sounds of Double-O.

Tracks that stand out; the well conceptualized “Midwest Thang Part 1 & 2” which features Black Milk and Guilty Simpson and a beat that changes midway through and takes the record to another plateau. The “Inner Me” was an in-depth view of what Naledge has dealt with when he decided to pursue the career as an emcee, from possible marriage, bills, and the parental advisory he received to head to Graduate School delivered over a beat that would make Pete Rock reminisce.

With one of the founding characteristics of an emcee having their own persona the record “Mr. Alldatshit” displayed Nalegde in a light similar to their mixtape Geniuses Need Love Too he basically states that Geniuses can floss too. Overall, The In Crowd was a quality album that demonstrated much growth and Double-O and Naledge as a tandem have blossomed together at the same time they’ve grown individually and with the infusion of a number of different artists it all came together and for a second album, sophomore jinx is non-existent.

- Dale Coachman