EARWORM: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo: The Blue GrassHopper

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a kid's hip hop artist.  His lyrics are funny, his message is awesome, and to use the vernacular that belies my 50 year old New England white self, his stuff is wicked groovy.  He was recently nominated for a Grammy (rightfully so) and his website says that he serves up family hip hop with a solid gold soul.  Not so sure about that (not my area of expertise, that solid gold stuff) but I can tell you, he's a very good artist, and worth listening to by young and old alike.

I love a lot of his songs, but the one that gave me chills of delight when I first heard it is The Blue GrassHopper.  It tells the story about the ants and the grasshopper.  You know in the traditional story, the grasshopper sits around all summer playing music, while the ants work their antennae off.  Come winter, the ants are eating and the grasshopper starves to death.  It's a Puritanical fable designed to make sure that your children are not slackers.

I very much like his sartorial display! Esp. the hat!

Except in Skidoo's version, the grasshopper is working on his creative song all week/season/year, and when winter comes, the ants rescue him and ask to PLEASE trade his song for food, because while they are alive, they are BORED OUT OF THEIR EXOSKELETONS in their warm den.

This story, in its very simple way, reinforces that art is work, not play, that the work of artists has value, and that in our life the metaphysical is as important as the physical.  Yes, you have to eat to live, but if that's all that you are doing, is it really living?   All in a 4 minute hip hop song.

Chills, I tell you.

He's got other songs that I'm sure to feature in the future on EARWORM, but that's the one you should immediately go out and listen to.  PRONTO.