DOWNLOAD: Kyle Rapps Feat. Joell Ortiz – Hard Knock Children (Prod. By Kev Brown)
PR:
Re-Edutainment, the upcoming debut EP from Kyle Rapps, is the New Jersey native’s own take on Edutainment, the highly regarded Boogie Down Productions classic released over 20 years ago. Bringing his own lyrical and thematic touches to this eight-track EP, Kyle enlisted the production efforts of Kev Brown for the entire project. Brown produced a reinterpretation of his own; he researched and only used the dusty loops, chops, and breaks that were sampled on the BDP original. Fittingly, the EP features KRS-One, on “Rent Remix,” in addition to Cali crew U-N-I, and Brooklyn’s own Joell Ortiz, who is one-fourth of the recently Shady Records-signed group Slaughterhouse, and is also featured on the EP’s first single, “Hard Knock Children.”
On “Hard Knock Children,” Kyle Rapps brings you back to the good ol’ days of grade school. The lyrics conjure up images of all your favorite parts of those forgotten times: recess, trikes, Lite Bright’s, and candy cigarettes. Kyle Rapps credits these often fleeting memories, and the revisiting of these memories with engineer and long-time friend Nate Greenberg, to what made the song so much fun to create, “The most enjoyable part of the song was reminiscing with my dude Nate G about our childhood experiences that made us who we are today.”
But nostalgia aside, the lyrical content of “Hard Knock Children” also has a greater meaning. Beyond the superficial reflections, it offers Kyle Rapps, who performs throughout the year at high schools, universities, and juvenile detention centers, the chance to reach out to today’s youth, offering his support. “Overall, its clear to me that although technology is different, the inner-struggles of coming of age remain similar,” says Kyle. “I want today’s youth to know that I see them, respect them, and believe in them even during times when they don’t believe in themselves.”
Kyle Rapps’ debut EP, Re-Edutainment, will be dropping March 29th.
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