Michael Aguilar, better known by his stage name Double-O (or Double O), is an American

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, DJ and one half of the acclaimed hip-hop group

Kidz in the Hall Kidz in the Hall is an Americans, American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Chicago, Illinois. History Group members Jabari Evans (Naledge) and Michael Aguilar (Double-0 (Kidz in the Hall), Double-0) met in 2000 during a talent show at the Uni ...

Life and career

Early life

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States, Double-O was introduced to music early by his father who was also a DJ and a guitarist/singer in a band during his youth in Belize. Even though Michael Aguilar Sr. ended his music career in its infancy, his love for music was apparent and passed down to his sons. "Even when we didn’t have much money I can always remember there being a loud system in the house" says Double-O of his early years. "He was always concerned with having a proper sounding system in the house and later the car." He later attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

where he competed in track. Double-O is an accomplished track runner, having won multiple Ivy League championships and competing in the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

for

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. While attending college he met classmate Jabari Evans, a rapper now known as

Naledge 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. He is also an assistant professor of Race and Media at the University of South Carolina in School of Journalism ...

. The two began working together and formed the hip-hop group

Kidz in the Hall

Double-O first met his future groupmate Jabari Evans (

) in 2000 during a talent show at the

. They began recording songs, making demos, and performing at local shows which eventually led to Double-O and

forming Kidz in the Hall. Double-O made a connection with

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his m ...

through a job he had at T-Mobile, and Blaze soon recognized their immense talent. Blaze then aligned himself with the duo and oversaw their debut ''

School Was My Hustle ''School Was My Hustle'' is the first studio album from Kidz in the Hall, a Chicago hip hop duo. It was the first release from a reactivated Rawkus Records, after its catalog was purchased by Universal Music Group. Track listing #"Hustler's Intr ...

''. Kidz in the Hall signed a group deal with Rawkus Records, and released the album to critical acclaim in 2006. In early 2007, Kidz in the Hall created a song entitled "Work To Do" in support of democratic presidential nominee

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, who has ties to Naledge's hometown of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They were among the first artists to support Obama in their music. The song features a sample from

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song "Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Dona ...

's version of the

Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group **Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...

original of the same name. In November 2007, Kidz in the Hall were officially signed to Duck Down Records, an independent label started by founding members of the

Boot Camp Clik Boot Camp Clik is an American hip hop supergroup from Brooklyn, New York City, which is composed of Buckshot (of Black Moon), Smif-N-Wessun ( Tek and Steele), Heltah Skeltah (Rock and Sean Price) and O.G.C. (Starang Wondah, Top Dog, and Louievi ...

. The duo's second album, '' The In Crowd'', was released in May 2008, with the lead single "Drivin' Down the Block," which samples

Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut " The Symphony". He is noted for his distinct voice ...

's song "Born to Roll" for the hook and contains an interpolation of Outkast's "Elevators (Me & You)" on the bridge. Many other tracks on the album use samples and interpolations of early 1990s hip hop, including their song "Snob Hop" featuring Camp Lo which uses the hook from Black Sheep's song "Flava of the Month" for the chorus. Their song "Blackout" was featured on the soundtrack of

Madden '09 ''Madden NFL 09'' is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 20th annual installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. The game was released for the Ninten ...

. The group's most recent album Land of Make Believe was released on March 9, 2010 and features guests

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...

, Just Blaze, Chip tha Ripper, Donnis,

Amanda Diva Amanda Ingrid Seales (born July 1, 1981), formerly known by the stage name Amanda Diva, is an American comedian and actress. Since 2017, she has starred in the HBO comedy series '' Insecure''. In 2019, HBO released her first stand-up comedy spe ...

and co-production by Just Blaze and Picnic Tyme. The album was declared the most "commercially viable" album the group has made thus far and was well-received critically, receiving an XL rating in

XXL Magazine ''XXL'' is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. History In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of ''XXL''. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006 ...

.".

2013 - present

Double-O has been on tour as

Lupe fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

's DJ since 2013.

Discography

Solo Production ;

Tabi Bonney Tabiabuè Bonney, better known as Tabi Bonney, is a Togo-born, Washington, D.C.-based rapper. He is the son of Itadi Bonney, an afro-funk musician popular during the 1970s in Togo and West Africa. Bonney achieved recognition in the Washington ...

Bang Bang (featuring

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

) ;

Nikki Jean Nicholle "Nikki" Jean Leary is an American singer. After studying theatre, Jean began her career as the lead singer of the Philadelphia-based band Nouveau Riche. She began posting acoustic music online. Jean gained major recognition after bein ...

Champagne Water EP (2014) People & Planes (2018) Co-Production Pink Lemonade (2018) Co-Production ;

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

*''

Free at Last (Freeway album) ''Free at Last'' is the second studio album by rapper Freeway. It was released on November 20, 2007, in the United States by Roc-A-Fella Records. Background In a recent interview, Freeway stated why he took such a lengthy hiatus. He had this to s ...

- Free At Last (song) (with

) ;Studio albums *''

'' (2006), Rawkus Records *'' The In Crowd'' (2008), Duck Down Records *'' Land of Make Believe'' (2010), Duck Down Records ;Mixtapes *''Detention'' (2007), Major League Entertainment *''Geniuses Need Love Too'' (2008) *"The Professional Leisure Tour" (2009) LRG ;Singles *"Wheelz Fall Off ('06 'Til...)" (2006), Rawkus Records *"Drivin' Down the Block" (2008), Duck Down Records *"Love Hangover" (2008) *"Take Over The World ft Colin Munroe and Just Blaze" (2010) *"Jukebox" (2010) ;Music videos *"Wheelz Fall Off ('06 Til...)" (2006) *"Drivin' Down The Block" (2008) *"Love Hangover (feat. Estelle)" (2008) *"I Got It Made (Reebok Classic)" (2009) *"Jukebox" (2010)

References

External links

Kidz in the Hall Website

Double-O Site
{{Authority control American hip hop musicians Living people Musicians from New Jersey Record producers from New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)