This has been a great week in the coverage of family music artists who would typically go unnoticed. We applaud media outlets and our contemporaries for featuring the diverse and talented artists of family music. Here are a few articles that you don't want to miss featuring great artists such as 123 Andres, SaulPaul, Elena Moon Park, Ants On A Log, Pierce Freelon, Asheba, Alphabet Rockers, Kuumba Kids, Rissi Palmer, our very own Uncle Devin and many more...
7 Albums for Kids That Adults Will Want to Hear, Too
From infectious hip-hop and big-band songs to a mix for transgender and nonbinary children, releases during the pandemic have something for everyone.
By Laurel Graeber January 27, 2021
Photo courtesy of SaulPaul
Music for children is often dismissed as either simple and silly or simple and soporific. It doesn’t have to be. A whole world exists beyond “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and it has expanded during the pandemic, as musicians found themselves at home with ample recording time. One artist released an album offering a vicarious global voyage, while others undertook projects with their own housebound families. Click here to continue reading...
5 artists of color to celebrate in kids music after Grammys controversy
After criticism of all-white Grammys, songwriter Pierce Freelon and Minnesota's Okee Dokee Brothers help us spotlight artists of color in children's music.
By Chris Riemenschneider January 25, 2021
Photo courtesy of Star Tribune
Pierce Freelon said he got "a pretty good foreshadow" of this year's Grammy Award nominations debacle from a family event staged in the Twin Cities last summer.
"It was inexcusably all-white," the Durham, N.C.-based singer/rapper said of the 11-act kids-music lineup of St. Louis Park's Common Sound Festival, staged virtually in June. Click here to continue reading...
These Black artists make music catering to our children and the culture.
January 24, 2021
Photo courtesy of Mater Mea
“Mommy, I want that one!”
My 4-year-old daughter pointed to a blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll on the shelf at our local big box store. The doll was smiling inside her box, wearing the same cheery blue dress as the smiling brown-skinned, curly-haired doll in the box next to her.
“How about this one?” I pointed at the brown doll. “She’s very pretty, don’t you think?”
“But I want this one.”
My heart broke a little. Not my baby. We are a proud Black family. My husband and I are both educators. We watch TV shows with Black characters, we buy Black toys and books for our kids. So what gives? How had white beauty standards seeped into my household despite our best efforts?
Later, in the car, I heard my daughter sing “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor. My first thought was that I am not a fan because, hello, appropriation. My second thought was that I had to find some cutesy, catchy songs she could sing by a Black children’s music artist. Click here to Continue reading...
Commentaires