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Baba Bomani's BeatBox Basement

by Baba Bomani

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1.
INTRO (Daddy, can you play the grow today song) W’zup y'all. This is Baba Bomani broadcasting to you from Baba Bomani’s BeatBox Basement. Here’s what I need. At the count of three I need everyone to say peace and throw up the deuces. 1, 2, 3, PEACE. I’m here with Mama Iya and Salaam to make sure everyone has a wonderful day of learning and growing. BRIDGE We’re going to learn and grow with friends And I love all of the time that we spend CHORUS A new day to learn and play Discover new ways, let’s grow today A new day to learn and play Mistakes are okay, let’s grow today A new day to learn and play Let’s all say “yay!” Let’s grow today BRIDGE VERSE New day y’all, here we go again I get to grow some more, let the good times begin Even if tumble i give it a positive spin As long as I learn i win Feeling good as I’m stepping out I feel my body and my brain stretching out I got to learn today so check it out Listen to the teacher, see what they talkin’ bout And get time to spend with my buddies I learn from them, and they learn something from me Feeling lovely, old games new discoveries I love learning and i love me BRIDGE CHORUS BRIDGE
2.
CHORUS Why do we practice? So, we can learn the way How oftenoften do we practice? We practice everyday We make mistakes when we practice. Yea, but that’s okay. We’ll get better at what we do in school and at play. So, we practice. Yea we practice Keep doing it again, until we got this Yea we practice. Yea we practice. Keep doing it again, until we got this VERSE 1 In order to get better, you really gotta do it Mistakes are a ok I haven’t done this rhyme yet so it’s not coming out right Relax and don’t worry, we’re gonna help you through it! Training is important. Ummm (you got it) Something and something, learn how to walk you (you got it) I made a mistake, but uhhhh (don’t even worry about it) If you fail and don’t succeed, try try again VERSE 2 In order to get better, you really gotta do it Mistakes are a path on the road to improvement Challenges make you better. It depends on how you view it Relax and don’t worry, we’re gonna help you through it! Training is important. You shoulda dabba dabba do Aww man, I messed up Now let’s see if we can improve on the next verse (aight let’s go, we’ve got this) If you fail and don’t succeed, try try again CHORUS VERSE 3 In order to get better, you really gotta do it Mistakes are a path on the road to improvement Challenges make you better. It depends on how you view it Relax and don’t worry, we’re gonna help you through it! Training is important. You should do it a lot Do one step at a time until you learn how to walk Everybody makes mistakes, but that’s not where it ends If you fail and don’t succeed, try try again
3.
INTRO Y’all hear this beat? I want you to clap with me to this beat. Y’all ready to try this? Here we go! It goes Clap! Yeah, you got it. This beat is bouncing. It feels like it’s bouncing like a ball. A big rubbery bounce ball. Have you ever played with a big bouncing ball? One that bounces of the ground, bounces off the wall, bounces on the ceiling? i want you to imagine yourself as a big bouncing ball. What would that feel like? I want you ball up yourself into a big ball. Now I want you to bounce like you’re a ball. Aight, I’m going to do it with you. If you can hear this song i need you bouncing like a ball. You ready to try this? Here we go. CHORUS 3x Bounce like a ball, bounce like a ball Bounce bounce like a ball, bounce like ball Bounce bounce like a ball, bounce like ball Bounce bounce…wait a minute! VERSE 1 Aight, y’all know how to bounce a ball. Now let’s see if you can kick a soccer ball. Do you know what a soccer ball looks like? Let me see you put a soccer ball on the ground and kick it. Y’all ready? Here we go. (you’ve got to kick it). Kick the ball, kick kick the ball Kick the ball, kick kick the ball Kick the ball, kick kick the ball Kick the…wait a minute (you’ve got to kick it) Kick with your left, kick with your right Kick with your left, kick with your right Kick left, kick right, kick left, kick right Kick left, kick right… wait a minute VERSE 2 Aight. Let’s try a baseball. Have you ever seen a baseball? It’s a small ball that fits in the palm of your hand. When you throw a baseball, it’s called “pitching” the ball. Let’s try to pitch the ball (you’ve got to pitch it). Pitch the ball, pitch pitch the ball Pitch the ball, pitch pitch the ball Pitch the ball, pitch pitch the ball Pitch the…wait a minute (you’ve got to pitch it) Pitch with your left, pitch with your right Pitch with your left, pitch with your right Pitch left pitch right, pitch left, pitch right Pitch left, pitch right… wait a minute VERSE 3 Next, we’re going to hit a tennis ball. When you do that, you have to have a tennis racket in your hand, and you swing it at the ball and hit the ball. Are y’all ready to hit the ball? Let’s do this (you’ve got to hit it). Hit the ball, hit hit the ball Hit the ball, hit hit the ball hit the ball, hit hit the ball Hit the…wait a minute (you’ve got to kick it) Hit with your left, hit with your right Hit with your left, hit with your right Hit left pitch right, hit left, hit right Hit left, pitch right… wait a minute VERSE 4 Okay. Now let’s do a basketball. A basketball is a big ball that you bounce. When you bounce the ball that is called dribbling the ball. Can you dribble the ball? Let’s try to dribble the ball (you’ve got to dribble it). Dribble the ball, dribble dribble the ball Dribble the ball, dribble dribble the ball Dribble the ball, dribble dribble the ball Dribble the…wait a minute (you’ve got to kick it) Dribble with your left, dribble with your right Dribble with your left, dribble with your right Dribble left pitch right, dribble left, dribble right Dribble left, dribble right… wait a minute Great job! You have kicked a soccer ball, pitched a baseball, hit a tennis ball, and dribbled a basketball. One last time I want everyone to bounce like a ball. Here we go. CHORUS
4.
Puddles 02:01
CHORUS Puddles, puddles, puddles, Puddles, puddles, puddles, Puddles, puddles, puddles, Puddles, puddles VERSE I am a toddler walking, rhotacism talking Off the jungle gym busy rain puddle stalking Living life like a firecracker barely over two Mom still dresses me in pink or baby boy blue old or young, boy or girl, it just don't matter When I see puddle guaranteed it gets splattered can’t let a puddle go by, that’s why I'm never dry CHORUS VERSE 2 I’m too young for school I don’t need no pool Even though I know I shouldn’t, I make messes out of pudding And if I see a puddle, I just put my foot in My life is messy but messy is life A puddle is like a Pied Piper on his pipe Some puddles are big, some puddles are small They all look big to me because I’m two feet tall I love it when it rains because look what I’ve got A bunch off muddy water in what was a dirt spot I’m a duck that don’t quack, my mother stands back When I’m done stomping puddles, we go home for a snack Madness, insanity, oh the humanity A muddy, dripping mess is what I plan to be I’m loving this world that I live in Best of luck if you’re babysitting CHORUS
5.
INTRO I’m known for hardcore yet clean songs. Ha…let’s do this… VERSE 1 The reason for this recital Is to be like a disease and go viral Hand washing is our biggest weapon here’s your hand washing lesson Do the whole thing there’s no half steppin It should take about 20 seconds Turn the water on yeah Put some soap all in your palms yeah Make sure you get a good lather hands are where bacteria gather mucus splatter, fecal matter Soap and water make virus scatter Help you fight disease yeah Intertwine your fingers like you’re saying please yeah Same thing to the back of each hand like this Then you wipe down both of your wrists Wash each finger make sure you don’t miss Then give each thumb a twist Rinse your hands off yeah Dry With a towel, hopefully soft yeah Do this every time you eat, handle vegetables or meat come in off the street, take shoes off your feet come near a toilet seat, Wash rinse repeat CHORUS You never know what viruses you might have From the many things that you might grab When you sneeze or when you cough make sure you dab And when you can wash sure your hands Wash your hands, wash rinse repeat (8x) VERSE 2 Wash your hands several times each day It works best if you do it that way For at least 20 seconds that’s what experts say Let’s do it right now while the breakdown plays… Turn the water on yeah Put some soap all in your palms yeah Make sure you get a good lather Intertwine your fingers like you’re saying please yeah Same thing to the back of each hand like this Then you wipe down both of your wrists Wash each finger make sure you don’t miss Then give each thumb a twist Rinse your hands off yeah It should take about 20 seconds CHORUS
6.
Cab Calloway 04:03
INTRO let me tell jazz story from back in the day about a great band leader named cab Calloway a time when, sad to say, black and white children couldn’t play and from certain parts of town, they were told to stay away and people would wonder why black people act a certain way but Cab loved black music and words black people say cab toured the USA, and was all over the airwaves He made changes in the culture that still stand today scooba dooba dooby day CHORUS let me tell jazz story from back in the day about a great band leader named Cab Calloway he loved black music and words black people say Scooba dooba dooby day VERSE 1 Christmas day, 1907, the first time anyone heard the famous voice of Cabell Calloway the III Way back in America’s segregated past In the world where black people created jazz his father was a lawyer, his mother was a teacher and he grew to be a singer and a jazz band leader he would direct the band while he sang his song like Fats Waller, Count Bassie, and Louis Armstrong wherever black people were that’s where it was at and he taught the whole world how to do the scat “The scat? what’s that?” it’s when you make up words they don’t have to be nouns, adjectives, or verbs just sounds you make that go to the song as the band plays you can scat along CHORUS VERSE 2 Born in Rochester NY, moved to Druid Hill A black neighborhood in Baltimore where people had skills Went to college in the south side of Chicago his sister Blanch led a band Cab decided to follow then he got a chance to make the music he loved in Harlem NY playing at The Cotton Club every city he was in was always segregated blacks and whites were separated, culture highly concentrated and musicians for sure can be cultural ambassador when it comes to black culture Cab wasn’t an amateur he proved that jazz music could be for everybody first black recording artists to sell a million copies loved the dance, the dress, the music, and vocabulary he spread it to the world he even wrote a hepster dictionary on recordings, in books and on stage live cab Calloway made sure you were hip to the jive CHORUS
7.
8.
CHORUS (2X) H-I-P H-O-P I’ve got a DJ and a MC Plus some breakers so we got all three That we need for this Hip Hop Party VERSE If I need head nodding drums and bass lines to rock me I go find a DJ, that’s short for Disc Jockey South Bronx, New York City, early 1970’s A kid, Kool Herc, influenced the culture heavily South Bronx was going through a lot at the time Rising arson, drug use, gang wars and crime But being Hip Hop is making the most of what you have Since Herc played his sound system on Sedgwick Ave known as a no faker, no stuff taker, dope party maker like they did in his home of Jamaica To do his block parties he’d hack the streetlights Or his basement jams would bring the people each night all of New York came for Kool Herc’s spinnin And most say that this was Hip Hop’s beginning These parties in the South Bronx are why we say The first element of Hip Hop is the DJ CHORUS (2X)
9.
CHORUS (2X) H-I-P H-O-P I’ve got a DJ and a MC Plus some breakers so we got all three That we need for this Hip Hop Party VERSE To understand the dances and the style they were portraying You must understand the DJ’s and the music they were playing The hottest funk records were in heavy rotation As Parliament Funkadelic toured the nation Plus, James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, that’s right man With the JB’s, you should’ve seen him at his height man bass, guitar, keys, a drummer on his left and right hand 4 horns, 3 singers, 3 dancers, and a hype man One part made the party go wild and the ground shake When they all stopped but the drummer, this was called the break grandmaster flash developed new techniques To make sure they gave the people their beats He would get two copies of the same record On two record players, a turntable double decker He put a mixer between each record player Which includes many buttons including a crossfader He would line up the records to the same place Where the break beat started and put on his game face The records going at the same rate he’d let the first rotate Switch at the right time, release the record with style and grace He did this for as long as he wanted the break to last The dancers went crazy, they really had a blast They’d break into James Brown inspired moves Groups of kids would get together and be dance crews Created B-Boy and B-Girl stances, the Freeze, and footwork With some acrobatic moves, if you fail it could hurt But this was all history in the making The style they created is now called Breaking! CHORUS (2X)
10.
CHORUS (2X) H-I-P H-O-P I’ve got a DJ and a MC Plus some breakers so we got all three That we need for this Hip Hop Party VERSE 1 The master of ceremony is on the microphone At events like graduations or where people might perform In Hip Hop, while the DJ moves the groove around MC means “microphone controller” or “move the crowd” Before their lyrical recitals or battling their rivals Their role was really vital as the DJ flipped his vinyl turntables aren’t like cd players or iPod You can’t make a playlist, these days that seems quite odd Not a problem, until you wanna go from one song to the next At a party, but you don’t want the crowd to get vexed They used “Call and Response” a very old tradition giving “shout outs”, or “toasting”, was part of their mission They would make the crowd move to what he or she say use their microphone skills to promote the DJ They changed music as we know it, it’s easy to see my favorite element of Hip Hop is the MC CHORUS 2X BRIDGE CHORUS 2X
11.
CHORUS (2X) H-I-P H-O-P I’ve got a DJ and a MC Plus some breakers so we got all three But can’t forget about Graffiti VERSE 1 We’re persistent, painting on walls since dawn of human existence So, no need for resistance when Hip Hop has its instance The kids doing Hip Hop were using spray cans On everything they can, giving the Bronx a spray tan Weren’t born with silver spoons, so instead they used they use their brains The city was their gallery the building and the trains Graff writers would leave their mark, call them “burners” or “tags” Dope pieces gave you swag, puff out your chest and brag the whole city would see it, be enraged, or impressed Writers would be pressed to see who tagged the best A graffiti epidemic took over New York city’ art can be witty but breaking laws isn’t pretty Vandalism isn’t legal so only try this stuff at home But since the early days of Hip Hop this art has grown The bombers and the galleries have made a peace treaty Modern art recognizes the skill and talent of graffiti CHORUS (2X)
12.
Speak for Me 04:55
INTRO This is Baba Bomani, and you know you I like to teach Through storytelling, let me tell you about a speech By Frederick Douglass, it’s the first he ever made One of the reasons America is what it is to day He told the story in his book, this is the Hip Hop version I rap as Frederick Douglass, that means first person Douglass said he was scared, but he was prepared He knew slavery was wrong and he wanted people aware CHORUS (2X) Imma speak for me Imma tell you how it is and how it’s supposed to be Imma speak up for myself and for my community Until everyone is free, Imma speak for me VERSE 1 Before the tours of Europe with the reviews that were flattering Before all the fresh pictures ‘cause I’m posing for the camera men I was a laborer, digging, cutting, hauling, hammering Before my first time on stage st st st stammering REWIND! 1841 New Bedford Massachusetts newly runaway slave, I stayed muted and secluded I had an opportunity that was exclusive You see I read the Liberator about slavery’s abuses An abolition paper by William Lloyd Garrison ‘cause you can’t fight the problems until people are aware of them He argued that slavery was immoral and embarrassing Against everything that it meant to be American Went to see him at a convention in Nantucket Before he poured wisdom in our bucket, they asked me to share a nugget As the only black man there I couldn’t duck it I was nervous and afraid but, in the end, I said…sure I’m an expert on the subject, I fought through the hesitating my hands full of perspiration, the way my limbs were shaking they found me fascinating ‘cause I was self-advocating I’m different than Garrisons, I say this without hating no matter the years of fighting slavery under his belt Or the words he could speak in ways that could make your heart melt A white man never dealt with what I dealt He’ll never feel what I felt so I will speak for myself CHORUS 2X Before my first article and first book I became an Advocate for abolition for my fellow African Before I went out there, I made sure I had a Game plan Wrote down all my ideas like I was doing a Brain scan I’d pick up book after book and keep reading it and reading it My appetite for knowledge I kept feeding it and feeding it Throughout my life I kept believing it and achieving it People around world were receiving it changing how they were perceiving it It was easy for me I spoke about my passion I want people to feel compassion for my people taking lashings Living in impoverished fashion, living off meager rations Ending slavery would be my ultimate satisfaction After I do this reading and research I need an audience of peers to try it with first my safe space on earth, where I could rehearse My speaking career was birthed in the Sunday school of the AME church AME stands for African Methodist Episcopal Founded by Richard Allen based on a basic principle A church for Blacks who to white churches were inadmissible a foundation for blacks both spiritual and political Here I found my safe space to brainstorm and practice I hope you feel the same in all your writing classes You’ll get better with each repetition over time passes To write a short passage, or speak out to the masses CHORUS 2X
13.
CHORUS You really need to practice (repetition) Whether an actress or gymnastics (competition) Or to be ready for your math quiz (long division) Best tactic be proactive (position for your mission) You really need to practice (repetition) Like a fanatic, don’t get distracted (pay attention) Stay on point just like a cactus (condition) Best tactic be proactive (position for your mission) VERSE 1 If you really want to be number one (1st pick) Or make your favorite hobby more fun (here’s the trick) Used by sprinters when they run and singers when they’ve sung It adds up to getting the job done (arithmetic) To be the best you must be prepared (ready) So, when it goes down, you’re never scared (cool, calm, and steady) Nothing catches you unaware, you feel like you’ve been there Opponents will think it isn’t fair (nervous and sweaty) CHORUS VERSE 2 If there’s a goal and you gotta have it (y’all listen) Prep for it every day and make it a habit (it’s a system) You must refine your talent so reaction can be rapid So, when opportunity comes you can grab it (you won’t miss’em) So, ask yourself what your goal is worth (what do you love) To get your harvest get your hands in the dirt (get it out the mud) It’s hard but it won’t hurt if you really want the perks The dictionary the only place success comes before work (that we know of CHORUS VERSE 3 Improving is not coincidental (let’s be greater) There’s a formula to this, it ain’t a riddle (this is major) You master fundamentals, it’s boring just a little, No quitting in the middle because you’re programing your mental (second nature) Yeah, it’s gone taking some time (like counting stars)) But you know how to grind (it’s who you are) Repetition makes your mind, and your body combine It intertwines and comes out fine, that’s how i made this rhyme (baba got bars)
14.
Go Getter 02:53
CHORUS They say if you believe then you will achieve But if it at first you don’t succeed, do you pack up your bag and leave Scratched elbows and skinned knees with your hands empty Do you really have what it takes to be a go getter? I’m brilliant (go getter) I’m resilient (go getter) My will to learn is on a billion (go getter) I blaze a trail (go getter) Then tell the tale (go getter) I’m ready to get it because I’m not afraid to fail (go getter) VERSE The things you build are a combination of skill and strength of will to never stand still and keep on climbing up that hill You won’t like everything that you make, some things will fail somethings will break, you’ll come up short when the games at stake you’ll miss all the shots you don’t take The gains you earn, you feel the burn, be an intern waiting your turn win or lose you always learn Get rid of the worries you have that it will be bad Or people will laugh one word at a time becomes a paragraph Go ahead and write that bad first draft CHORUS VERSE

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EducationalHiphop that goes from Kindergarten to 12th grade (and some tracks for the grand parents)

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released August 6, 2022

Written, produced, recorded, mixed, mastered, and graphic design by Bomani Armah

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Baba Bomani Washington, D.C.

Baba Bomani, aka the Watermelon man has been using hip-hop, poetry and multi-media disciplines to teach fun and informative workshops with all ages from kindergarteners to graduate students for well over 15 years Bomani . Here you can find his hip-hop music for kids as well as teaching materials showing students the writing process through hip-hop! ... more

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