Kidz in the Hall are a neat group with a neat past. The story goes that the group’s two members, Naledge and Double-O, met in the early 2000s at the University of Pennsylvania through talent shows (and parties) before deciding to form a music group. Signed out of college by the left-field imprint Rawkus Records, the two dropped School Is My Hustle in 2006. In the wake of The College Dropout and around the same time as Late Registration, Kidz in the Hall was more of a homemade, garage band take on the “scholar-artist.” Reunited after six years between releases, Free Nights and Weekends dropped right at the end of 2017 and escaped the notice of the masses. Though a decently popular group during their run in the late 2000s, Double-O went touring as the DJ for Lupe Fiasco while Naledge pursued his doctorate, recorded solo music, and developed his nonprofit The Brainiac Project. The two were never out of the industry, just kept apart by other obligations.
With Double-O behind the boards and Naledge on the mic, the two find success on Free Nights and Weekends when channeling the DIY sounds they built a career on. The one-two punches of “Dear Eastside” and “Soup Coolin’” along with “No Love” and “1000 Colors” are the stronger stretches on the album, particularly the first. “Dear Eastside” features some soothing piano keys, delicate tambourine, and a strange buzzing in the background that might be a little bagpipe note. Naledge adapts a famous Gangstarr line and talks about his lifestyle in Chicago as well as how its people are living by comparison. “Soup Coolin’” employs some echoing drums and a jerky bass line as Naledge spits some steady, lighthearted bars about an attractive young lady. His rapping isn’t forceful and his rhymes are mind-bending, but his bars are clean, precisely performed, and damn clever. He’s certainly a more cerebral rapper, but it works over the live instrumentation and less complex beats.
“No Love” is a busy but elegant beat over which Naledge discusses the plight of African Americans in urban areas. This is the most urgency we get from him on the album, but it’s a surprising and engaging change of pace that sticks. “1000 Colors” is a simpler kick-snare beat that brings back the light-hearted raps that trace the artist and a girl through the years where their paths diverged. Naledge’s little harmony pairs nicely with the deep, hollow horns that stand alone on the chorus.
The pair does dabble successfully in more “modern” sounds (stuff nobody had heard yet in 2011) on two occasions. “Bonafied” is a majestic track that sprinkles saxophone over light background vocals, pattering hats, and wavering chords. By contrast, the closing track ‘Find My Way” is a slow, grinding, slamming beat with intense, borderline angry raps that confidently assert the Kidz’ return after being written off. Unfortunately, the three tracks between “Soup Coolin’” and “No Love” are rather unsuccessful attempts at adapting to the popular sounds of 2018. The tracks aren’t necessarily unlistenable or even bad; they just don’t sound natural or interesting when coming from the Kidz.
However, Free Nights and Weekends is an unexpected triumph from a group most had likely forgotten. Their fingerprints are all over today’s Chicago rap scene, particularly the stylings of the Savemoney crew, because of their homemade charm. They excel on this album when they get back to basics; simple but lush beats and lighthearted, occasionally political raps. It’s a winning formula employed by many of today’s upstarts, but it’s always hard to beat the vets at their own game.