February 28, 2008 issue
Hip-Hop For Kids with a Grown-Up Sound
WYN Hosts Agent 23 Skidoo This Saturday
Story by David Brewer
Do you remember the golden days of family entertainment before kids worshipped a certain purple dinosaur that shall remain nameless? Asheville-based MC and parent Secret Agent 23 Skidoo fondly recalls the days of characters in The Muppets and Fraggle Rock and their ability to entertain not only the kids, but also keep older viewers tuned in.
Kicking kid-friendly rhymes with a positive message over intricate and eclectic hip-hop grooves, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo and his six-year-old daughter Saki are determined to raise the family entertainment bar. The father-and-daughter team will make their High Country debut this Saturday, March 1, at the Western Youth Network.
The show will start at 2:00 p.m. with a local Puppet Troop performing the play The Beautiful Ones. The cover charge is $5 and free for kids age three and under.
Watching his daughter grow up in a world of over-her-head hip-hop and sickeningly sugar sweet kids music, Skidoo felt that he was likely not the only dissatisfied parent left searching for a pleasant and positive alternative. The MC felt that there must be a middle path, but instead of searching it out, he decided to create it himself.
“If it’s the mainstream radio hip-hop, it’s nothing you would want your kids to hear anyway,” said Skidoo. “And if it’s underground, it all goes right over their heads.”
With more than a decade of live musical performance under his belt as a member of Asheville funk collective Granola Funk Express, the longtime North Carolina resident realized that he could easily put his rhyming talents to work in a new and exciting way.
In fall of 2007, Skidoo hit the studio to record Easy, his first-ever kids CD. The disc finds Skidoo drawing from traditional hip-hop, funk, bluegrass, reggae and blues to cook up a musical gumbo tasty to kids and adults alike. With a dash of dragons, mermaids and robots and a pinch of positivity and self-esteem, Skidoo is encouraging parents to turn up the speakers and serve.
“I love hip-hop. I love positive hip-hop. I love the entire culture,” said Skidoo. “I looked around and there’s absolutely nobody doing this sort of thing.”
Music feature on Easy includes contributions from Snake Oil Medicine Show, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Granola Funk Express, Strut and more.
Skidoo and Saki’s live shows are an energetic affairs that blend sophisticated beats with the simplicity of classic storytelling and to educate, entertain and make the crowd dance, all at the same time.
Though Skidoo and Saki have only been performing since last fall, their music is already reaching ears all over the country. Songs from Easy are currently being featured on satellite station XM Kids and the team is preparing for a main stage appearance at the upcoming L.E.A.F. festival in Black Mountain.
For more info on Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, click to www.undergroundplayground.net. To preview Saturday’s show, click to www.youtube.com and search Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.
For more info on the show, call WYN at 828-264-5174.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, March 1
Time: 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Western Youth Network
Cost: $5/Free for children 3 and under
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
