Nursery Rhymes
(January 2002, Vibe magazine) Hip-hop tracks are adding a little bit of
flavor.
Hip
hop has gone through more styles than Gucci. We had the James
Brown beats of the late '80s and the R&B bass blends of the
'90s. Now, gangsta lyrics and hard-core beats are being
sprinkled with something straight from the playground--kiddie
choirs.
Sampling
children's voices for a street anthem was a far-fetched idea, until
Jay-Z added the vocals from Broadway's Annie to his 1998 hit
"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)." In 2000, Busta
Rhymes followed suit with "Get Out!!," as did R. Kelly with
"I Wish." Now juvenile vocalists are back on the
charts, featured on Trick Daddy's "I'm A Thug," and Krumb
Snatcha's police brutality song "W.O.L.V.E.S," from the Training
Day soundtrack.
According
to Krumb Snatcha, kid-crooned hooks draw attention to songs about
sensitive issues. The Soto twins, 12-year-old boys, lend their
haunting vocals to the "W.O.L.V.E.S." track.
"Now, even teenagers are getting murdered by police in the
streets," Krumb says. "The best way to get the song's
message across was to have kids speak up on it, because that's the
next generation."
Artists
searching for young voices to enhance their tracks often enlist the
services of industry veteran Betty Wright. Her Miami, Fla.,
youth choirs Wrighteous and Little Project People sing on trick
Daddy's track. The children, ages 4 to 14, have also
accompanied Juvenile and Michael Jackson. Although he may be
hard, Trick's still got a soft spot for the kids. "He
always shows us love," says 14-year-old Asher, a choir member and Wright's daughter. "He puts us first. It's not
like, "Little y'all and big me."
Wright,
best known for her '70s hits "Tonight is the Night" and
"Clean Up Woman," says she's not overly concerned with
Trick's grown-up subjects. "That's always an issue, but
it's entertainment," she says. "When you give your
child a good upbringing, they know right from wrong."
Though Wright admits her work requires a lot of patience, she says
it's time well spent. "It gives them an early start, so
this industry doesn't scare them to death." And for the
kids,
it's a way to be a part of the music they listen to. As Krumb
Snatcha syas, "Hip hop is for the youth." Now that's
keeping it young.
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