Rap Lullabies and Lo-fi Tupac

Music for you to literally bump in your crib.

If you’re wondering what new music dropped last week then you should head over to Rec’s N Effect to see! And if you plan live in Brooklyn or plan on being in Brooklyn I’ve got a few shows coming up in March.

Shouting at The Screen St Patrick’s Day Edition (3/17) - Tickets
Another Rap Show (3/7) - Tickets

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A while ago I was talking to 6th Sense about being a new dad and he told me about rap lullabies which I was already aware of for some reason. Then it came up again in convo when I was talking to The Expert which poses the larger question about why my producer friends be bumping rap lullabies but that’s aside the point.

So now I feel compelled to bring them to your attention.

Rap music for kids is not a new concept at all. I would even go as far as to say that, albeit being on a very adult album (God’s Son), "I Can" by Nas is a children's rap song. I don’t think there is another song in his catalog that you can describe as cute and i know it has everything to do with the hook cus the lyrics are kinda rough. I am also pretty sure this song was some sort of collaboration with the Save The Music Foundation because he shouts them out gratuitously and I also found this supporting evidence.

But rapping for kids is total normal now and a few examples:

RIP Biz Markie! Yo Gabba Gabba has some of the best musical vignettes of any child show. I could do a whole post on them alone.

Mega Ran had a kid and then dropped a pretty cool album of kid friendly rap and if you know his pedigree you know it’s far from wack.

Even Elmo was barring out! He been on Sesame Street huggin the block!

With all that in mind I’m pretty sure that rap lullaby’s are a fairly new phenomenon. They may have existed before but something tells me that streaming audio has accelerated their proliferation (look at me using them big ass words to say sped up their growth lol). It’s easier than ever to make and release niche music now and this genre has greatly benefited from technology.

Based on my research the cover art is generally kinda bland because it’s gotta look like the music sounds. Every now and then tho you end up with a banger like this Marvin Gaye lullaby album.

I know that it’s not hip hop but you get it. Rockabye Baby is a company that specializes in the niche of turning modern music into lullabies and I’ve listened to a few of their titles just to see what it was about.

Some of the stuff was interesting and most of it was easy to ignore in the same way that lo-fi stuff is but I guess that’s the point when you trying to put a baby to sleep. It did not put me to sleep tho but since I’m not a baby I won’t accuse the product of false advertising.

Here are a few choice cuts that I’d like to share:

Did that xylophone just call me a nigga?

This is kinda weird. Yes it’s a wordless lullaby but still. Weird. I guess it’s how babies are made tho so that makes it kinda okay.

Okay I can’t front this one goes kinda hard. The slide whistle at the top before the xylophone bars out on us. I mean you can’t drop this in the club but it might work as a ‘productivity hack’ soundtrack.

I stumbled across something else that isn’t necessarily a lullaby but kinda fits into the same category as toothless covers of songs. I say kinda because I was honestly a little offended when I saw it pop up on my radar. Long story short a guy has remade Tupac’s Me Against The World album and reimagined it as lo-fi.

I have several varied thoughts about lo-fi music that I’m trying to unpack and will do so at some point in the future but this album was so fucking unnecessary. It’s completely contrary to the spirit of what the album and it’s message is about!

But on the flipside here I am talking about it so I guess that the jokes on me.

It goes without saying that Hologram Tupac is not happy about any of this. Aren’t holograms the polar opposite of lo-fi?!

And before I release you from my nonsensical stream of conscience here is a clip of Mos Def on Yo Gabba Gabba.

Okay. That’s all.