Dave Soldier and Da Hip Hop Rascalz

Artist: Dave Soldier & Da Hip Hop Rascalz
Album: Da Hip Hop Rascalz
Label: Mulatta Records

Thank god for obscure bargain-bin finds. Da Hip Hop Rascalz consists of several groups of young children from East Harlem and instructor/composer/performer Dave Soldier, cofounder of Mulatta Records. Recorded between 2004 and 2006, this album had me both grooving along and laughing hysterically. Kids rap about the darndest things, y’all, including chicken wings, dinosaurs, television, candy, bad days, and ghosts. I am a little jealous, though, that these kids have made the album I’ve always wanted to make. Now I’m gonna have to think bigger.

Muffletoes – “I Want Candy”

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This sounds a little bit like PJ Harvey produced this song during her “To Bring You My Love” stage. Don’t let the cheerful title fool you; this song is about the frustration and the hope of being a kid and not being able to go to space or eat as much candy as you want, two things I’m still grappling with myself.

Tuff Kidz – “I Don’t Want You No More”

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I wouldn’t want to run into this kid on the street. She is just mean, but I’ll definitely be using her rhymes: “You need Listerine, you need all the Listerine in the world. You need a tic-tac in your backpack . . . Youuuuuu’re soooo weeeak.”

The lyrics are really the best part. You can’t write this stuff!
From “Do the Lollipop”: “Now we all gonna name all the countries: Ethiopia, Ethi Ethi opia, Nigeria, Australia, Asia, Europe, South America, North America, South Carolina, North Carolina, Egypt, Egypt, Egypt is in the house, Georgia, Somalia, Hold up, I got one thing to say and it’s India, Boston, South America, and America, America, don’t forget that. Harlem is in the house.” From “T-Rex”: “They just like vampires. They eat blood. They eat other dinosaurs. T-rex, they eat their wife, they don’t even care if their wife is cute. They just like food. They don’t even care if their wife was a baby, they would just eat them. They drool, they drool. They always eating coal [I think]. They think they hot, but they not. They is just kkchckhckckh khckchkhckc.”

Look out Smoosh and Eyeball Skeleton, Harlem is coming up. For more info, check out the label site, which further explains how they made the record (and also gives you tips on how to do it yourself). I haven’t been able to find the record online, but if you see it, buy it.

UPDATE (8/5/08)
The album is indeed available on the iTunes Store, so check them out. If you have trouble finding Da Hip Hop Rascalz, search for individual songs, which will lead you to the whole album.

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