…It was a conversation that could’ve been epic. Too bad fate wasn’t on our side that day.

A few weeks ago, Consequence of Sound had the opportunity to sit-down and talk [via telephone] with the two Ivy League members of Kidz In The Hall, Double-O and Naledge. Although the interview would eventually be cut-short, due to the banshee-esque awakening of a fire alarm in our building, the conversation that survived the surprise attack on our voice recorder was nothing short of insightful; covering themes from material economics to the recent blockbuster film Avatar along the way.

More often than not, the content of hip-hop music seems to be shrouded by themes of exhausted materialism. If anything, does this just showcase a level of immaturity not only in the music, but the culture as well?

Double-O: Honestly, it’s hard to say because hip-culture is so American. To me, it’s a microcosm of what America is. We are a capitalist society that is unfortunately built upon this idea of “Buy this! Buy that!” So, I don’t think it’s any fault of hip-hop. I just think it’s those things that are engrained in the American psyche. And since hip-hop comes from a place of have-nots, and then to have those things (with a sense of validation), I just think it comes with the territory.

Following this idea…Last year, BET ran a special called “Hip-Hop versus America.” At one point during the taping, they began to discuss the idea of who exactly is to blame for the glorification of these themes/ideals [whether it’s the portrayal of women, the understood hierarchy of money-power-respect, and so forth] found in hip-hop music/culture. I know it’s sort of a push-pull relationship, but do you believe one-set party can be held at fault for this? Does the responsibility fall on the record industry or the consumer?

Double-O: We are all products of very similar upbringings. There are times where hip-hop can be very realist, in that we believe that we don’t have anything we need to do better. There are a lot of times where music (such as it should be) is an escape scenario. Sometimes you do embellish those things and you talk about the big-booty girls and the bigger houses because it does help get to that dream state, or that imaginary state, where you can project a more positive feeling in the listener, through those things.

It’s funny because I was talking to Brother Ali about it. We were on tour in Europe and it’s like “Yo, at the end of the day, people can talk all the shit that they want, but if I put in a Rick Ross album and I ride around with it, I honestly feel good.” [Laughs] Like, I am the man in wherever I am at – windows down, a summer day, and blast some Ross. It puts you in a space. It makes you feel a certain way and I think in that, he’s accomplishing a very interesting goal for the listener because they don’t always want to know how fucked up their surroundings are.

I think that to a certain extent, the Bush-era created a lot of the overdose and glorification of all things capitalist in hip-hop. It was always there, but I kind of think it kicked into overdrive and then it almost became meditative. It’s like, “Everything is so fucked up in America right now, but when I go to the club, I’m just going to go do the Stanky-Leg. Or, I’m going to do the Lean With It/Rock With It.” I mean, it’s almost like an instructional booklet, so you can just zone out and not worry about any of the messed up stuff going on at the crib.

So, with everything to me, nothing is produced inside of a bubble. Everything is a direct reaction to kind of what’s going on and I think that society is still dictator of what happens in our music. Rappers may be rich, but they’re still going through stuff. They still have family members going through stuff. They still watch the news everyday. And, those things seep into what they’re writing about.

It is. It’s sort of a method of escapism…For example, whenever the nation is doing poorly, the movie industry seems to see an increase in profits because people want to just get away from reality for a little while, even it’s only for two-hours or so. I think this relationship was even true during the Great Depression, as well.

Double-O: Exactly. It’s a little more of an experience. The unfortunate thing is that the music industry was built on something that was a lot more portable (and really only almost portable), so inevitably it is going through the scenario it is right now where portability has become free so people kind of run with it, whereas movies were built on this experience of going to the movies. Going to the movies is engrained in culture. It’s everywhere from the drive-thru to the 1950’s, my first date situation, where everything is about the movie/theater experience.

And, as humans, we’re visually stimulated more. As much as we love music, I think the visual aspect of it always adds a greater effect to what’s going, when it comes to art. So yeah, I don’t know if the movie industry will ever struggle, but the music industry is.

I mean, as easy as it is to bootleg Avatar, you don’t want to watch it on your television. [Laughs] You want to watch that shit in 3D on IMAX, you know.

Yeah, I actually think it’s going to be released soon on DVD, so I’m curious to how it’s DVD sales are going to do.

Double-O: I think people are just going to want to have it. It’s going to be one of those things that you want to have as a collector’s item. I mean it’s the new Star Wars. Or, that is at least what it is essentially or hopefully starting, kind of this saga. You’re going to want to have it in your collection, knowing there’s going to be a new one coming.

A few seconds ago, we were discussing the state of the music industry and such, so I was curious to where you see the music of Kidz In The Hall playing into that?

Double-O: I think for us, it’s aspirational. That’s where we’ve always kind of seen ourselves. In that, there was never one right way to get to your goal and it’s kind of about utilizing your surroundings, however there are, to get there. And for us, it was college. But for others, it may just be they get discovered at 15 years old for being a dope rapper and it goes from there. Everybody kind of has a goal and a dream and it really is just about pushing forward and persevering and really applying whatever you learn to make those things happen because not only do those things get you to your endpoint, but also they make you an individual in the process.

[Enter Naledge]

I’ve read in past interviews, where you guys have discussed the idea of being an “independent” artist in contrast to that of a major label and all the financial backing that comes with it. I guess what I’m trying to get at is do you find yourself being creatively happier and/or more content with being part of the “independent” scene, rather than that of commercial radio, especially when looked at with the ideal of what you see/hope the music of Kidz In The Hall to be?

Naledge: It’s just a weird thing because for me, I foresee a future where we may not necessarily have to completely give-in to the mainstream, in order to be successful. I think we personally have achieved a certain level of success and I think there’s going to be a much larger platform for us in the very near future. But, I also think the way that the industry is going, it could definitely, you know…like I think that there are unique situations that are popping up that don’t necessarily mean giving into the major system because I feel that there is a certain amount of leverage that you have, when you have creative control over your music.

That’s why I think a lot of the new ways of “signing,” whether it’s having a sponsor, doing movies and television, or even having an investor and then being able to have somebody oversee your project that you’re already close and familiar with, can be the way of the future. If you ever want to get a plaque in this lifetime though, yeah, you have to sign to a major label.

So, I think there are two different sides to the coin. If we ever sign a major label deal, it will be because it was the right situation. Not because it was the first one offered, you know, because we’ve been offered deals before and we’ve been through the trial and error of people who were good and partnerships that were bad.

Since the music industry is first and foremost a business, how has the transition been from being solely an artist who just wants to make music to becoming a fully, self-aware businessman?

Naledge: Being an entrepreneur is almost essential to live in this economy of the music industry because the budgets are fewer and further in-between now and just the opportunities to sell, without things being taken or stolen, are closing. The windows are closing, you know. The big-budget rap stars are kind of over.

Our approach, which was always like the indie-rock band approach of going out and meeting the people and really doing the grind-work of hitting everybody’s city with promo run, upon promo run, upon promo run, until we come back and then do tour, upon tour, upon tour. That’s something that we believed was necessary for us to build believers. I think it’s more about building the believers, the trust, and the faith, then it is about just putting out dope music that can be stolen at a moment’s notice. I think business wise we have to take things into our own hands.

Like, we realize now that A&R’s aren’t the end-all-be-all gatekeepers. They don’t know what’s hot. We can just go give it to the streets, you know. I mean you can look at someone like Curren$y. He was told that his stuff wasn’t good enough and he decided to take it into his own hands and I think that’s what we’ve done. We did that from the very start…

[Enter Fire Alarm]

Going to Chicago this summer? Make sure you hit up Lollapalooza on August 6th to catch Kidz in the Hall, where they’ll be performing at Perry’s Lounge.