The journey from Penn student to toast of the hip-hop community may seem unlikely, but two alums are proving that it can happen.

Jabari “Naledge” Evans and Michael “Double-O” Aguilar–2004 and 2001 College alumni, respectively–together make up the rap group Kidz in the Hall and are set to drop their debut album, School Was My Hustle, on October 31.

Rather than attempt to hide their Ivy League roots, the Kidz put their background up front and use it to send a message about the importance of education. In stark contrast to the implications of fellow Chicagoan Kanye West’s College Dropout album, Naledge and Double-O want to shed light on the opportunities that most of urban America isn’t seeing. More lighthearted than typical political or conscious hip hop, this group’s music is the perfect medium for the pro-education message. In a time when rappers are the new role models, that balance between the political and the mainstream is especially critical.

While rapping might not be on any Career Services list of ways to use our degree, Naledge and Double-O prove that our options are far broader than we imagine and that our Penn education can have benefits no matter what we chose to do. Keep your minds open and go check out this CD. I predict it now, they’re going to be huge.

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