And The Song Goes

And The Song Goes
Just give me your hand, some days I hold it
Some days I need help up from the ground
Just give me your hand, this friendship’s golden.
I just like to know you're around.

Kid-Hop? You better believe it. You may have some preconceived ideas about hip hop music for kids. Those should all disappear with one listen of Underground Playground. Lots of children’s music is engaging, relatable and entertaining. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo’s kid-hop is challenging, empowering and extremely entertaining. The messages in the songs are not dumbed down for the kids. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a trip back to old school hip hop: positive party jams about real life. These just happen to be from the perspective of a child.

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is family project, often featuring 23 Skidoo’s daughter Saki (aka MC Fireworks) dropping rhymes and his wife Brooke on vocals to sing the hook. Underground Playground brings in a laundry list of guest musicians to play the banjo, horns, vocals, ukulele and turntables, giving each track its own unique vibe.

The album comes out of the gate swinging. ‘Road Trip’ is a bouncy, ska-flavored track about vacations in the car with the family, with lyrics relatable to parents and kids alike: “Us kids are always good, OK I lied, sometimes we yell like ‘dad she’s on my side.’” It reminded me of family trips we used to take with my brothers and sister piled in our station wagon.

‘Secret Handshake’ is a piano driven track that will have you headbobbing along.  A ukulele has never sounded funkier than it does on the track ‘Hula Hoop Soup.’ ‘Speak The Truth’ features Gift of Gab from Blackalicous and is about what happens when you lie instead being honest. Not your traditional kids’ music topic, which makes Underground Playground such a breath of fresh air.

I’ll be honest, the video for '13 O’Clock' kind of haunts me like Pink Elephants on Parade from Dumbo. Not scary? Secret Agent 23 Skidoo’s video for the song 'Chase the Rain'



Also check out videos of songs from their previous album: Gotta be Me and Family Tree, which is awesome simply for the line dropped by his daughter “my style is kinda preschool’

The closing track, 'Never Stop Asking' is aimed directly at parents: 'Hey kid you're my favorite child to play with, lets make this playground into a spaceship and grab mom then blast into outer space and stay there until the year runs out of days. keep teaching and I'll try to learn your lessons alright, just know I'm a proud pappa for the rest of my life." I love that last line.

Still not convinced? Listen to a couple more songs on their Sprockster page. The album is geared towards older kids, roughly between the ages of 5-10. At nearly 60 minutes, it is longer than your average kids CD and the album would be fine a couple tracks shorter. I highly suggest giving this album a chance. I think you'll be surprised by your reaction, along with how your kid reacts.

As always, we’ve got a copy to give away. Just leave comment below about your favorite old School Hip Hop artist.

CD: Underground Playground
Artist: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Audience: 5-10 yrs old and their parents
Sounds Like: A mix between Boogie Down Productions and Biz Markie.
Buy from: http://www.secretagent23skidoo.com/

Tracklist
1. Road Trip
2. Mind Over Matter
3. Secret Handshake
4. Opposite Day
5. Speak The Truth (Featuring Gift Of Gab)   
6. Once Upon A Rhyme
7. Sticks And Stones
8. Wildlife
9. Ride The Butterflies   
10. Chase The Rain
11. Sky Music
12. Bored Is A Bad Word
13. The Whalephant
14. Hula Hoop Soup
15. 13 O'Clock
16. Never Stop Asking