Hip Hop Album Made Exclusively For Kids

With an album cover containing characters reminiscent of the animation in "The Boondocks," this thoroughly enjoyable children's hip-hop album was created by a former teacher and a group of hip-hop industry professionals, as a vehicle to share positive messages with kids through rap music.

MeeWee: Hip-Hop for Kids features a collection of 14 energetic and uplifting songs that have been tested extensively (with overwhelmingly positive responses) in elementary schools and among students from kindergarten to sixth grade.

MeeWee bridges the gap between "urban" entertainment and children's entertainment, creating music that is crosses the traditional lines of pop culture and is accessible to a broad age range.

The album opens with the fantastic and fast-paced "MeeWee Chant." Songs such as "Jumping Jacks," and "Kung Foo Kid" encourage guided movement with their lyrics and fast beats. Were it not for the lyrics, listeners could not distinguish "Planet Brooklyn" or "Extra Cheese" from some of today's Hip-Hop and R & B favorites. "So Much Love to Give," "Sounds Like Music," and "I Need a Hug" (My personal favorite!) give a nod to R&B and Hip-Hop trends in the 60s, 80s, and 90s, respectively.

I personally found "Us Bus," "Me and My Guitar," and "Keyvo" to be somewhat grating departures from Hip-Hop. But what those songs lacked was far made up for in the two most melodic and touching tracks:"I Can Do Anything" (featuring Divinity Roxx), and "Driftee McCloud."

MeeWee:Hip-Hop for Kids was the brainstorm of Daniel Klein and Perry Landesberg.

Landesberg is co-producer of The Lyricist Lounge CD series and creator of MTV's "Lyricist Lounge" TV Show. (Please note: "Lyricist Lounge" is a little like "In Loving Color" with rap and rhyme, and is not appropriate for young children.) His past projects have involved artists such as De La Soul, Black-Eyed Peas, The Roots, Erykah Badu, and Mos Def.

Meewee's album features Divinity (long-time collaborator and bassist for Beyonce Knowles), Keith Middleton (of STOMP), and Michael Viera (star of MTV's "Lyricist Lounge" show.)

In conjunction with the album's release, MeeWee is offering free downloads for teachers, camp counselors, and dance instructors through their website. Use the songs for guided movement, or to encourage children to create their own raps, rhymes, and dances.

The album is available for purchase through online retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, and eMusic. For samples of MeeWee music, information about the MeeWee characters, and MeeWee merchandise, visit http://www.meewee.com/.

Music Transforms Lives

In the previous blog, you read about Music in Motions' history and product line. It seems that their products would be excellent for parents who are homeschooling or unschooling their children, as well as for additional enrichment at home for those who choose public or private education.

Ms. Stewart, founder of Music in Motion, suggests a few stories about music's transforming power. Although I have not seen them, the story lines are interesting and inspiring. I am not reviewing anything I have not seen -- this list is strictly informational. If you have seen them, feel free to share your thoughts below.

Some images may be too graphic for young children -- please use discretion and preview clips before sharing the stories with your child.

"Breaking the Silence" tells the story of Afghani musicians regaining their musical freedom from the Taliban, who had prohibited all music and destroyed instruments.

"The Journey of the Butterfly" prompted Ms. Stewart to create the Butterfly Award in memory of the 15,000 children who died in the Terezin concentration camp during the Holocaust. This choral work is based on poems of the children, who had kept their spirits up with music, art, and poetry.

"Song of Survival" is a documentary about women who spent 3 years imprisoned in Sumatra. They arranged orchestral and piano works of Beethoven, Chopin, et al, from memory. Their "symphony of human voices" sustained them.

"The Dancing Man" tells of tap legend "Peg Leg" Bates, who was a world-renowned tap dancer despite having a wooden leg and living in a bad time to be black in America.

Music in Motion

Although funding for arts education continues to decline in America's school districts, the Dallas-based company Music in Motion strives to keep music (and love for music) in schools.

Music in Motion is a music education and gift catalog. Music teacher Mary Ann Stewart founded the company in 1976, from her garage, as a mail-order resource for music and movement teachers and for musicians.

Music in Motion gives out a "Butterfly Award," which is a program designed to encourage schools and organizations "to develop exceptional music programs which help transform the lives of children or adults with special needs."

Music in Motion has more than 5,000 music education products distributed worldwide. The wide range of products includes games, books, videos, "ethnic" instruments, classroom instruments, software and gifts.

According to Ms. Stewart,

"Music is essential to every child's development -- physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. Music transcends all barriers of culture, language, and race. My hope is that Music in Motion will inspire parents, teachers, and students to recognize the power of music to transform lives."

For more information, or to request a free catalog, call 1-800-445-0649 or visit the website.