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Kidz In The Hall Interview

Talented rap duo spill to MTV News about their support for Kanye and Obama.....

Kanye West, Common, Lupe Fiasco - all top hip hop artists from Chicago. This week we caught up with a slightly less well known but equally as talented act coming out of the same state - Kidz In The Hall. If you remember their '06 summer hit 'Wheelz Fall Off', then you're probably wondering what happened after that...... MTV News: ' You only released one single from your last album, why was that?' Naledge: That was whack, it was whack as ever, Rawkus, they didnt want to put the second single out, so we had a little discrepancy. But were back, new label, new album, and its gonna be so much better this time. 'Was there any drama moving from your last label to this label? How was the transition?' Double-O: It was fine because we only had a one album deal with them so as soon as the first album was done and it had been recorded we could go where we wanted and they didnt really make a big fuss to push out the second album. 'Speak to us about the new material' N: The new album is called The In-crowd. Really this is just us controlling our own destiny and taking everything into our own hands. The last album everyone wanted to put us into our own little box 'What was that kind of box would they put you in?' N: Like we were trying to backpack or trying to revive a kind of feel that was from the golden era or so to speak. 'Do you think that was because you were on Rawkus?' N-Probably, yeah I think a lot of that can be attributed to it, and while I love that stuff, I was in high-school when it came out and I loved it, its a new day, I wanna do something for the new generation so that when people make a time capsule of hip hop music, kidz of the generation is included. So The In-crowd is just us stepping to the forefront and that were bringing this new generation together, and were gonna stand as leaders to present it to you. We have a long list of collaborators on this album. 'Speak to us about collaborators, we love collaborators tell us whats going on?' N: We got Travis from Gym Class heroes, Estelle, shes from out here - its funny, when I first met her at the studio I didnt even know she was a singer and we just kinda connected about how much I love London and we just went back and forth on that. I ran into her again at a Mark Ronson show in the city and then it was my manager Dan that actually talked to her and she was like o yeah I know one of the Kidz In The Hall and this and that. I found out she was a singer and I was like OK and she ended up inviting us to the filming of her video American Boy and on the set I was like we have to do a record and she was down. It was literally like two or three weeks later, came to the studio and we made a record, its a great record too. 'Lets talk about your first video, driving down the block in it, well its very very funny. Whose idea was that?' N - The director, he came up with the idea of us being used car salesmen, but the actual characters were just us coming to life and setting the stage for what we thought should be presented in the video. It got over the top, not even he could imagine what we were gonna end up doing. We ended up like making commercials and putting them on the internet and you tube videos. It was crazy, crazy. 'Tell us a bit about Chicago. Why is it so hot right now in terms of hip hop and style. Im thinking of Kanye, Common' N:I mean I grew up listening to Common he is the reason I started rapping he actually went to my highschool, he grew up in my area , me being from Chicago is kind of like me being black, its just something I could go anywhere, you can read it on me, Chicago. Any show I do I talk about Chicago as if were in Chicago thats something you cant escape when youre dealing with me. But definitely there is a song in the water right now about Chicago, and its a dope culture thats going on, the young, there are a lot of innovative artists, and were all getting along for once. We used to not get along and hate on each other and not go to each others shows now were starting to see that come together, and I think Kanye and a lot to do with that movement because I think for a while everybody was separate, you had Twista over here and Common over here, Da Brat over here, other people were doing their thing but they werent actually in the city actually making things happen. And now things are starting to come together I mean youve got me and our group you got Lupe, you got a large amount of artists that are coming up, people are really making waves right now and its important we all keep supporting each other 'In about a months time you are gonna be back to the UK to be performing again with a guy called Wiley you know about him?' N:The Rolex guy?! DO-Like Ive always paid a bit of attention to the UK scene with Dizzee and Sway and Ive seen a lot of the write ups on Wiley, weve been in some of the same magazines but this will be the first time really that we have been immersed in the music it should be fun, I mean Ive spoken to people and everyone seems to like the single, this will be our first official time paired with a UK artist and thats dope, you get a very different crowd. 'Lets talk about political views. We saw something on the internet about you guys backing Barack Obama. Tell us about that, are you guys actively political?' N: We realise what is going on around us and were aware. If you say youre a political person you start having to talk about too many political issues you extend further than your boundaries as a musician, as a musician I just look and see whats going on and I have social commentary and I mean for me being from Chicago and Barack Obama being a local organizer from his early days and losing a few elections to being state senator and now running for president. It makes sense for me to back someone who I saw doing a lot of good in my community. Someone who could take the good locally from Chicago and spread it on a national level and he has such an energy and charisma, its like its contagious. It makes you motivated to be an American and to do more for your community and your country, he did that in Chicago he made people really want to go out and work. And I think a lot of that comes from a background of being institutionally validated and being able to go out and get all of his money and he was able to give back to the community and start from the ground up and to help people. That says a lot about peoples integrity.

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