Surviving the sophomore jinx triumphantly with The In Crowd, Kidz In The Hall [click for interview] return with their third effort in Land Of Make Believe.
The new darlings of Duck Down Records come with a new sound, as Double-O opts to be original, (meaning he used no samples), as the mouthpiece, Naledge once again takes advantage of the production provided for him; and the ivy-league graduates open their halls to folks like Amanda Diva, Marsha Ambrosius, Chip Tha Ripper, Colin Munroe, and Donnis to help make this their most successful CD to date.
(more after break)
After the braggadocios ‘Traffic’ hits the speakers, where Naledge drops lines like: “You can catch me riding down Lake Shore Drive/Purple Label head-to-toe cause I’m just so live/bottles of Rose, we call that mouthwash/cherry-red Beamer, we call that hot sauce”; the synth an melodic ‘Flickin’’ takes over, where Naledge gets his Autotune on for hook purposes.
Double-O then goes with a simple drum pattern and quirky sound effects to create ‘Out To Lunch’ (feat. The Kid Daytona). Naledge goes for self on ‘Bougie Girls,’ where he professes his love for the high maintenance females, with the help of guitars serving as his backdrop.
One of Double-O’s best-produced tracks on the project comes in on ‘L_O_V_E,’ which sees MC meeting the beat like a match made in heaven. Just Blaze lends a hand on ‘Take Over The Word,’ as he co-produces alongside Double-O, with a harmonizing Colin Munroe taking care of the hook.
Other songs that make the CD believable are the hard-hitting boom-bap presence of ‘Fresh Academy’ (feat. Donnis and Chip Tha Ripper), ‘Will II Win’ (feat. Marsha Ambrosius), and the ‘Simple Life’ (feat. Amanda Diva) with the only real blemish coming in on ‘Running’ (feat. Tim William).
In the end, Land Of Make Believe is a solid collection of music that shows the growth and maturity they’ve gained since first coming onto the scene back in 2006 with School Was My Hustle. Naledge’s penmanship continues to expand, as opposed to sounding redundant, and the bold move of Double-O producing the record without one use of a sample prove that he’s actually an artist within his own right.
Already in its 15th year of operation, and with acquisitions like Kidz In The Hall, Duck Down Records is certainly making sure that they will be around for another 15 years, and beyond.
