Do you ever listen to music and think, "Seriously, how do people make these kinds of wonderful sounds?" Me too. And I just did when I checked out Funky Kidz: Kinda lame name, but pretty great album.
Funky Kidz features a collection of nostalgic favorites with yummy Crescent City flavor that’s all perfectly suited to children. Songs like You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Hokey Pokey, Yellow Submarine, and my personal theme, If I Only Had a Brain. I guarantee you’ll know 80% of the songs on there by heart (listen for yourself), but you’ve never heard them like this before. That is, unless you grew up in New Orleans with extremely talented parents.
How did this brilliant mash-up come about? It’s not super surprising when you consider the backstory. Exec producer and mother of two Lauren Busch Singer is the brainchild behind this beauty, and frankly, anyone who thanks Popeye’s Chicken in the credits section is A-okay with me. She managed to bring together NOLA artists like Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Papa Grows Funk, Bonerama, Ivan Neville and George Porter Jr. who bring such authenticity to the tracks, you can practically smell the beignets and chicory coffee.
A portion of the proceeds go to fostering music education for New Orleans children. So if you heart NOLA and you heart music, you should check this bad boy out. I’m certainly glad I did, because oh how I want to be in that number. –Laura
