The Very Good Agency

Here come the Dino 5!

Fresh new all-star hip hop release, for kids!!

Prince Paul, the super-producer behind classic De La Soul albums 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul is Dead, has formed a new supergroup to release Baby Loves Hip Hop, a hip hop album for kids. Named The Dino 5, the group consists of Prince Paul, Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, Scratch from The Roots, Wordsworth from EMC, and Lady Bug Mecca from Digable Planets. Their album is a concept hip hop album for children, and in typical Prince Paul fashion, the album tells a story. A group of Dino kids (Rahzel as Teo Pterodactyl, Wordsworth as Billy Brontosaurus, Lady Bug Mecca as Tracey Triceratops, and Prince Paul as DJ Stegosaurus) encounter a very scary T-rex (Chali 2na as MC T-Rex) on the playground. Naturally they are terrified, and treat him poorly because of this. However, MC T-rex turns out to actually be a misunderstood giant, who only wants to play with other Dino kids. In the end, they reconcile, and get together to form the Dino 5 group to perform in the “Dino-school” talent show.

The album is full of positive messages and morals, and is a fantastic idea at a time when hip hop gets a bad name more often than it deserves. I myself am proof that the album can be enjoyed by hip hop fans young and old, with the storyline approach (narrated by grammy winning poet Ursula Rucker) and catchy songs being a huge hit with kids, and typical Prince Paul banging beats keeping the older more accomplished hip hop fans satisfied. At times the beats leave you wishing they weren’t wasted on a kids album. Although, He’s being doing it for so long now that you can be sure it won’t be the last you hear from him. The lyrics and storyline on the album are enjoyable, and 2nafish and the crew are as tight as ever on the mic. However, due to the kiddie-focus, it probably won’t rate highly on the replay scale. Unless you have kids, that is, who will want to hear it endlessly no doubt.

Check out the interactive website at www.dino5.com for more info, and keep your eyes (or your kids’ eyes) peeled for a possible cartoon series too!

You can watch the video for the group’s theme song, The Dino 5 Theme, below.

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