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I've noticed a recent surge in hits from the Chicago area, so in order to soften the blow of Rex Grossman's stumbling through last night's Super Bowl for all of y'all, I thought I'd spotlight one of the city's up-and-comers. Today's post comes courtesy of Naledge and DJ Dub's mixtape The Crown Jewels, released in late 2006.
One half of the rap group Kidz In The Hall, Naledge was born in Cincinnati but grew up in Chicago. During his freshman year at UPenn he met the other member of the Kidz, Jersey-based producer (and Olympic athlete) Double-O. The two eventually hooked up with Just Blaze, signed a deal with Rawkus Records and released one of the best albums of 2006, School Was My Hustle.
Naledge is currently working on a solo album, featuring production from both Just Blaze and Double-O, and this mixtape has me looking forward to it. One of the few new rappers on the scene that seems to have something relevant to say, Naledge's lyrics cover everything from the current state of hip hop to international politics. Those are some heavy topics, but Naledge keeps it light by filling his rhymes with punchlines.
Here are a couple of freestyles off of The Crown Jewels:
Move Around Freestyle
Rawkus Freestyle (Hip Hop Is Not Dead)
Naledge and his crew, Major League Entertainment, have a blog over here. So far it seems to be just a bunch of press releases, but Naledge has said in the past that he is an aspiring writer, so perhaps he will start writing some of the blog entries himself. In the meantime, you can hit up the Kidz in the Hall MySpace page to hear more of his music.
2/5/2007 8:42:58 AM posted by Fresh