Baby Loves Hip Hop (Prince Paul and Dino 5)

(l-r) Prince Paul, Scratch, Wordsworth, Mec, and Chali 2Na

April 1st sees the release of an album by an astounding hip hop supergroup consisting of Prince Paul (De La Soul, Stetsasonic, Handsome Boy Modeling School, etc.), Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets), Scratch (The Roots), Chali 2Na (J5, Ozomatli), and Wordsworth (eMC). Wow. Wow. Some of my all-time favorite artists from some of my all-time favorite hip hop groups. And get this -- the supergroup, billed as "Dino 5," front as cute cartoon dinosaurs targeted to the all-important pre-school demographic.

If any part of that sounds like an April Fools joke, it's not.

The Baby Loves Music label hooked-up with the legendary Prince Paul to produce an inaugural Baby Loves Hip Hop release. Paul gathered Mec, Scratch, Wordsworth, and Chali 2Na to take on cartoon dinosaur personae and join together as Dino 5, "the first prehistoric hip hop supergroup" (take that rappin' Barney Rubble!)

the Dino 5 crew

Parents. Teach your children hip hop! What a thrill and relief it must be for moms and dads to put pick up Dino 5 and put down the sickeningly cute Barney -- whose insipid "I Love You" song could drive any parent insane. And while Baby Loves Hip Hop is great for what it is, it's not like Dino 5 is your father's legendary Roots crew. Or your mother's De La. Or your uncle's Jurassic 5. Er, wait. Actually it is. Well, sorta.

The Dino 5 website claims the Baby Loves Hip Hop release is "3 Feet High and Rising for the next generation." I'd say that's a Tyrannosaurus stretch. And yet, who better than Prince "3 is the Magic Number" Paul to produce a hip hop for toddlers album? Hell, Paul even corrals cameos from De La Plugs One and Two, Posdnuos and Trugoy (but not Plug 3 -- Hey Paul, where was Mase?)

Prince Paul is DJ Stegosaurus
Plug Tunin' for the under six set! The album tells the story of five dinosaur friends who come together to perform as Dino 5 for a school talent show. Along the way, they learn all sorts of important lessons that dino-boys and dino-girls must learn to be better dino-pals in dino-land. Prince Paul is "DJ Stegosaurus." Chali 2Na is "MC T-Rex." Wordsworth is "Billy Brontosaurus." Ladybug Mecca is "Tracy Triceratops." And Scratch is "Teo the Beatboxing Pterodactyl."

Baby Loves Hip Hop has made one track, "What About 10?" (Paul's retort to 3 is the Magic Number?) available for free download. Oh, and here's the infectious intro to the "Dino 5 Theme," courtesy of Pitchfork last week:

What About 10? -- Dino 5: Baby Loves Hip Hop

Dino 5 Theme (Intro) -- " . . . " (2008)

I'm a Billy Brontosaurus with four big feet
I eat lots of plants, but I don't eat meat
I'm one cool dino, no matter what they say
So when I say "fossil," jump up and say "hey"!

Ahhh. Pure genius. As great as this may be for hip hop loving parents, a part of me cringed, over and over, at Baby Loves Hip Hop. Prince Paul and Ladybug Mecca are absolute heroes of mine. So when I click on Mec's "Tracy Triceratops" page on the Dino 5 website and read: "Tracy didn't learn how to use potty until she was four years old and now she speaks to dino-kids across dino-land about the benefits of early potty training!" I, you know, cringe. Say it ain't so Mec. (Oh, it be so).


BONUS: Dino-cuteness antidote. Here's a couple of remixes of De La's "Magic Number": Chad Jackson's "1-2-3 mix" from the UK release of the "Magic Number" / "Buddy" single, and the "Too Mad mix" from a De La Rarities and Remixes album released in the UK in 1996. Enjoy these semi-rare remixes of a childhood-recalling track from 3 Feet High and Rising, one of the best hip hop albums of all time.

The Magic Number (1-2-3 Mix): De La Soul (1989)

The Magic Number (Too Mad Mix): De La Soul

Preorder Baby Loves Hip Hop from Amazon.

p.s. "How high's the water mama?"
p.p.s. "Anybody in the audience ever get hit by a car?"
. . .