Naledge

Naledge
TwentySomething Promo Image, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Jabari Miles Evans
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	2000 – present
Labels	Rawkus Records(2006-2007) Duck Down Records(2007-present)
Associated acts	Kidz in the Hall, Double-O, Boot Camp Click, Donnis, Estelle Swaray, Masta Ace, Camp Lo, Travis McCoy, Just Blaze, Black Milk
Website	www.naledge.com

Jabari Miles Evans, better known by his stage name Naledge, is an American rapper and one half of the hip-hop group Kidz in the Hall.

Evans grew up in the South Side neighborhood of Chicago. The son of mental health experts, Dr. Robert Evans and Dr. Helen Evans, Naledge displayed lyrical ability at an early age and by fourteen he had become a member of a local Chicago-based rap group called FFC (Famous From the Chi). In addition to his early musical accomplishments, he demonstrated an interest in academics, writing and publishing a book entitled “The Straight Jab” at the age of 16. Upon his graduation from Luther High School South, he attended the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school, where he majored in Communications with a minor in Sociology. At Penn, Naledge became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. While attending college he met classmate Michael Aguilar, a hip-hop producer now known as Double-O. The two began working together and formed the hip-hop group Kidz in the Hall.

Upon Naledge’s graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, he and Double-O signed with Rawkus Records and in 2006 released their first album, School Was My Hustle.

In early 2007, Kidz in the Hall created a song entitled "Work To Do" in support of democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who has ties to Naledge's hometown of Chicago. They were among the first artists to support Obama in their music. The song features a sample from The Main Ingredient's version of the Isley Brothers original of the same name.