Steve 'Flash' JuonIf I say Kidz in the Hall and you think of Double O and Naledge instead of a Canadian comedy sketch show, you’re a rap head. We’ve been covering the duo since 2008 but they actually broke into the rap world a couple of years earlier on Rawkus Records. Even at a point where that label was on the verge of being defunct (they haven’t had a release since ’07) being released on Rawkus was still a stamp of approval as an indie rap darling. The Kidz lived up to that billing with subsequent critically acclaimed releases but they’ve become ever more sporadic in the years since.
“Mentally I’m Mr. T, pity any fool trying to stop what I’m meant to be.”
There are good reasons for that. Naledge (real name Jabari Evans) is now a professor at the University of South Carolina, while Double O (real name Michael Aguilar) has been working as Lupe Fiasco’s touring DJ since 2013. That’s not to say they aren’t still friends or not still collaborating – it’s just that the inexorable march of time stops for no man. I will have more recent Kidz in the Hall releases to discuss in the future, but for now we are talking about the overlooked “Wishful Drinking” EP from 2013. I say “overlooked” for two reasons and one is a bit egotistical. If RapReviews didn’t cover it until 12 years after its release, that’s overlooked to me, but to be fair Wikipedia didn’t even bother to put up an entry for this extended play. That’s a mistake.
“Not a hater, but other niggaz never did concern me
I feel for they position, none of them worthy”
There aren’t too many duos in rap I would consider a perfect match from producer to emcee. Premier and Guru. Pete Rock and CL. We can add Double O and Naledge to that list. There’s some magic in the air on songs like “The Life.” It feels special in a way that’s almost ineffable. You can hear the confidence in Naledge’s voice knowing that everything is done just right. The hand claps, the echoing melody, the artful choices to turn layers of music on and off, the way the entire song breathes like it IS life itself that the duo just gave birth to. Truthfully, it is. They conceived dope tracks like “Ridin’ Clean” and put them out into the world full born.
Maybe it’s because Mr. Evans hails from the South Side of the Chi, but when I listen to him rap I think “This is what Kanye would sound like if he hasn’t lost his damn mind and become a bipolar Nazi.” It’s a shame he became such a disgrace to rap music (and to humanity as a whole) but thankfully Naledge never went out like that and Double O wouldn’t let him. I wish WhoSampled had L Da Head Toucha’s “Too Complex” in its database, because “No Doz” is the only other song I can think of with the same samples and I’d really like to know the origin. It never stops being dope no matter who flips it.
Giving out a perfect score for a release can be unintentionally controversial. Giving “Wishful Drinking” less than one would be a disservice. “I rap really really well/don’t believe? You can go to hell.” Exactly. Naledge strikes the ideal balance of being cocky without being an asshole and being smart without talking down to the audience. Double O may be the most underrated producer of his generation. With only six songs on this extended play it’s hard to go wrong anywhere. Spoiler alert — they don’t.