Wednesday, April 19, 2023

My Kind of Street

We've spent some time in this space celebrating the combination of Sesame Street clips and Hip-Hop (I'll never, ever tire of Bert & Ernie getting down to M.O.P's Ante Up). Which is why when Sesame Street dropped a nutritionally educational rap video a few weeks ago, my entire week was made. Not because Sesame Street was doing something related to Hip-Hop. Surely that's happened before (I'm guessing here but I feel pretty confident).

No, no. It's because who ever was behind the video below was/is clearly a true fan of Hip-Hop. First, check out the video (specifically the part that begins at 2 minutes)


So, the first part was fine but the banana is what got me. The banana is Phonte, formerly of Little Brother. Little Brother is by no means a household name, but for Hip-Hop fans of a certain age and taste, they are legendary ( I highly encourage you to check out "The Listening" and "Getback"). This isn't some random pick. Not even close. This was a Little Brother fan who knew Phonte would be into the idea of being a rapping banana. 

Secondly, the ad-libs - "Ha haaa!" "Yeaaaah", etc. These ad libs are classic Young Jeezy. If you've ever listened to Young Jeezy these are unmistakable. They're as essential to his sound as the rapping itself. 

Lastly, that beat? That's Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". It's all so perfect. It kind of makes me wish I had a small child that I needed to encourage to eat more fruit.

9 comments:

Whitney said...

Awesome video, awesome post. Love this shit.

And that Ante Up video can be played at my funeral. So damn good.

rob said...

this is what g:tb was made for. so good.

rootsminer said...

I have a 17 year old with an injured shoulder that needs to eat better, and has a taste for hip hop. Perhaps this will be the thing that gets through to him.

Whitney said...

Mark, I’ve watched this a bunch of times. Kudos for sharing.

rob said...

zdeno chara ran the boston marathon in 3:36. dude is 46 years old, 6'9, 260 lbs. that's stupid.

Mark said...

You're welcome, Whit. Glad it brought you the kind of joy it brought me. Speaking of joy, rode bikes with my kid to school today. She's 11 and still very much wants to hang out with me. Soaking this in because I know it ain't gonna last forever, or (gulp) much longer.

Whitney said...

Here's a story that will make rob feel kinda funny, like when he used to climb the rope in gym class.

rob said...

ummm. i'm gonna need a minute.

rob said...

happy waldo's day to all who celebrate