About The Schoolhouse of Hip Hop
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It started at a birthday party I took my 7 year old daughter to back in 2005. I noticed that there were a few rap songs that all the kids knew practically word for word. I was particularly amazed at a 3 year old girl who knew every word of a Kanye West song. One rap song after another, the kids knew the lyrics, not to mention a few dances these songs promoted. So, me being a hip hop artist/producer I thought to myself “If we can teach them how to ‘walk it out’ or do the ‘chicken noodle soup’ dance, we could make hip hop songs that teach them about math, science, just about anything. The possibilities are endless. I also figured that someone had to have used hip hop music to teach children already, I mean hip hop music has been the language of the majority of our youth for decades. I searched the web and sure enough, there were plenty of products and learning aids that used hip hop as a theme. The problem was…execution. None of the children’s music I listened to(and I listened to quite a few) had the sound, feel, production, or creativity that could stand up to a mainstream hip hop song. I was sure none of the music I heard would hold my daughters attention, not after her listening to the quality of the Bow Wow and Rhiaana songs in her IPod. Most of all, I couldn’t find an effort that seemed to take the parents into account. No one seemed interested in the parents enjoying their work too. Thus I began The SchoolHouse of Hip Hop series. I decided, with the help of my 7 year old, to record hip hop music for children but approach the writing and production of the songs with the creativity and professionalism of a major rap project. In other words, we set out to record songs that were so good they could actually play on the radio. Songs that could stand next to any hip hop song of the day. Our first effort became “The Multiplication Songs”. The multiplication songs are reminiscent of a program I used to watch as a kid called “Schoolhouse Rock” Each song is catchy, well written and produced, and performed by my daughter Suhn, her friends Jahon, Jo Jo and Reeba. All under the guidance of an alter ego I created named MC Schoolie Rapp. I wanted lots of input and interaction from the kids, that’s why it was important to me to have as much of their performances on the songs as possible. The result was 9 unique and refreshing songs that kids and adults love alike. A revolution in hip hop and children’s music/learning aids. We are proud of “The multiplication songs” and look forward to helping kids all over the world learn their times tables, and have fun doing it.
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