Kidz In The Hall

The Kidz in the Hall insist that they're average, mostly.

After the release of last year's The In Crowd, bloggers began labeling the Chicago duo as hipster rap, along with acts like The Cool Kids, Kid Sister and Mickey Factz. But the Ivy Leaguers say their decidedly non-gangsta style is a product of their middle-class upbringing: "Most of what’s out right now is… people who are extremely rich, or people who are from the bottom of the bottom, and that’s not the majority of society. We come from the middle."

Formed in 2000, rapper Naledge (Jabari Evans) hooked up with producer Double-O (Michael Aguilar) while attending the prestigious University of Pennsylvania: Evans had arrived on an academic scholarship while Aguilar starred on the track squad (he represented Belize in the 2004 Olympics). After graduation, Kidz in the Hall dropped its debut, School Was My Hustle, inspiring comparisons to Talib Kweli, A Tribe Called Quest and EPMD for its gritty, sample-heavy sound.

Double-O's self-described infatuation with classic horn samples continues with The In Crowd, which includes guest spots by Estelle, Travis McCoy and Bun B. Tracks like Blackout and Driving Down the Block will put car sub woofers to the test while paying homage to pioneers like Rakim and Masta Ace.

Despite their throwback sound, Naledge insists they aren't interested in re-living the "golden age" of hip hop: “There are a lot of corny rappers that try to bring ’88 back when they should be trying to bring in 3004."

See: myspace.com/kidzinthehall