Kidz in the Hall’s Naledge and Double-O might have Ivy League degrees, but on their sophomore effort, The In Crowd, the Penn grads never come across as too smart for their own good. In fact, relatability is their strongest asset. Rapper Naledge shares a hometown (Chicago) and a lyrical aesthetic (nonthreatening, Native Tongues–ian backpack rap) with Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco, but he lacks their pretentiousness—which also means he lacks some of their charisma, but that makes him a more convincing everyman. Producer Double-O’s beats, meanwhile, are primarily of the sample-based, East Coast–flavored strain, with enough variety to draw in fans from across the map (“Love Hangover” borders on house music; the title track is essentially synth-pop).

An antidote to a decade’s worth of raps about rims, lead single “Drivin’ Down the Block” features both Kidz at their best. A bottom-heavy, trunk-rattling rider’s anthem in which the prized accessory is a cassette of A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, “Drivin’ ” has such universal appeal that its remix (included as a bonus track) brought together the unlikely team of Southern rap “mayor” Bun B and hipster-hop poster boys the Cool Kids, and its video is now getting spins on TRL. The In Crowd isn’t always on point—“Lucifer’s Joyride,” featuring T-Pain-style autotuned vocals from Gym Class Heroes’ Travis McCoy, is a mess—but the album’s consistent enough to make its mistakes seem like forgivable growing pains.

Kidz in the Hall play Webster HallMay 10, 2008, and S.O.B.’s May 20, 2008.