The Future of Fairy Tales
Self proclaimed “world’s 579th greatest rapper,” MC Frontalot has gone in a new direction with his sixth release Question Bedtime. Known as a “nerdcore” rapper, Frontalot aims to gain a different demographic into his fan base: children. Question Bedtime takes a twist on 14 different children’s bedtime stories and fables and delivers them in both an entertaining and interesting way. Though younger listeners will enjoy these songs, that’s not to say that it’s strictly a children’s album; there will be no comparison to Kid’s Bop here. Instead, presented are over a dozen songs that are great hip hop tracks that just so happen to center around fictional accounts of make believe events.
On “Start Over,” Frontalot takes on the role of the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, exclaiming such gems as “Gramma, here’s what I’ll do: swallow you whole, your kinfolk for after/ then I’ll keep living, so you don’t have to.’’ Then Frontalot transforms into Papa Bear from The Story of the Three Bears on “Gold Locks,” in which he depicts little girls as crazed, murdering psychopaths.
The Emperor’s New Clothes and Three Billy Goats Gruff also get the Frontalot treatment. The other ten tracks might not contain staples of everyone’s childhoods memories. They range from a Native American story, a Japanese folk tale and some lesser known fables. Frontalot has a knack for story telling and in each track it shows.
Question Bedtime is a unique twist on stories that have been told time and time again. Done not in jest or in attempt at a gimmick, each track comes across as sincere as the children they will appeal too. Not all artists can do what Frontalot did here. With the exception of Green Jelly’s “Little Pig,” this is a topic most artists would flop with. Question Bedtime contains 14 songs that could one day be a generation’s nursery rhymes.
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