Shy Ronnie vs. Boston Public Schools
via educationalrap:
In case you you missed it, the most recent Digital Short on SNL, “Shy Ronnie” (feat. Rihanna), is pretty funny.
It struck a chord because it reminded me of the workshops RRR did with Boston Public Schools this past summer. We worked with three groups of middle school students to help them write and record a song about summer, including their own verses and a joint chorus.
Thing is, we lucked out: there were hardly any Shy Ronnies!
Here’s the results of the student’s work. (Thanks to The Arcitype and Tommy Boots, who provided and helped us with music, recording, lyrics, and workshop leadership.)
Here’s one of the videos of the kids recording (skip to around 4:05):
For everyone surfing the Web at home this holiday break, enjoy this: RRR MC and beatboxer extraordinaire, Tony Chin-Quee, holding it down on Millionaire two years ago.
Here’s a list of his RRR songs.
Sick as a dolphin.
I really can’t overstate how much I love macros.
#preparing the new RRR website
RRR + JamLegend = free fun
We’re always surprised by what songs catch on in certain forums or at certain times of year. Never would have predicted Declaration of Independence would be the top hit here.
This summer we heard about a free web application called JamLegend that’s sort of like Rock Band but on the computer. The kicker: any artist can upload their music and have it turned into a game. Count us in! Intrigued, we uploaded a few songs in every subject area to see what happened, and the results surprised us: our social studies songs took off.
Try it yourself here with Declaration of Independence or visit JamLegend to see the full edition.
The RRR science album is selling like whoa right now—mostly due to the popularity of “Lab Safety!“—so I threw together this audio promo and am temporarily featuring it on the homepage.
If you haven’t heard Tony and Grant go at it on Lab Safety, seriously, give the whole thing a listen.
UPDATE: Thanks to @tessap who, upon hearing the first version, reminded me to smile when I record.
Rhythm Rhyme Results - Regulation (rough mix, revision 1)
This isn’t nearly finished, but I’m so excited by where this is going that I couldn’t resist posting a clip. Ben’s lyrics are sick, Chin-Quee’s delivery killed it in the studio as usual, and O’Malley’s music on this is bringing it home with a combination of dirty south and Lady Gaga.
This is part of the economics album we’re producing for Flat World Knowledge, a leading educational startup that provides free online college textbooks. We plan to release it next month!
Doing RRR research and stumbled upon this winner of an album.
Pro tip: when your album Popularity looks like this in iTunes, it means no one buys any singles.
Anatomy of Educational Rap
Ever wondered how RRR (“Triple R”) makes educational rap? Here’s a rare behind-the-scenes look at the building process of “Layers of the Earth”, with audio excerpts at each step of development.
Bonus: you get to hear me rap.
Behind the Scenes
Another promo, another 10 minutes of recording to get a couple sentences down. It’s easier to pull a Jack Donaghy when you have the luxury of unlimited takes in your room. Also, the third cut here sounds a little like I’m doing a Borat impersonation when I say my name.
You can hear the final promo and—you guessed it—learn more about the Reading Month Collection over on RRR’s site.
