Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is the alter ego of Joel Sullivan, who injects rapid-fire hip-hop rhymes over a variety of grooves to deliver positive messages to kids. Inspired by the experiences of his daughter, Saki, Sullivan brings clever wordplay and sophisticated musical arrangements to the often watered-down genre of family music. Make Believers represents his third effort in the kid-hop genre, and with each release he explores more complex themes that reflect the kinds of issues his child is facing.
Skidoo gets plenty of help from his musical compadres in his home base of Asheville, N.C., including the Firecracker Jazz Band, Mad Tea Party, and Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, who lay down a wide variety of beats, from organ-grinder mayhem to deep funk grooves. A parade of guest vocalists layer jazz, funk and swing vibes under Skidoo’s irresistible rhymes and indelible sentiments.
On the opening track, “Magic Beans,” YMBFBB lays down a propulsive beat as Skidoo uses the classic tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” to praise those who take chances and embrace adventure:
“No one believes in magic beans
Til you climb up the beanstalk and grab your dreams
Keep looking if you haven’t seen
That life is magical as it seems”
Like any worthy kid’s musician, Skidoo and his crew can get silly. “Space Cadet” floats on a tuba-driven, carnival-like ditty sung by Skidoo’s wife, Brooke “Bootysattva” Sullivan, who fondly describes her child staring into space with “eyes like doughnuts, big and warm and glazed.” Daughter Saki, aka MC Fireworks, plays the role of Space Cadet, firing off a barrage of the kind of loopy questions that parents will certainly recognize. A child faces her fears in the bouncy “Hi-5 for the Hi-Dive,” highlighted by Amy Worthen’s Betty Boop vocals. “Hot Sauce” rides a percussive Caribbean salsa groove underpinned by Marisa Blake’s picante vocals en espanol that compares the challenges in life to that first taste of salsa.
Beneath all the fun, however, are some powerful messages. “Rocketfuel” is a soulful groove with a serious lesson about trusting yourself: “What are you doing when you really feel awesome?/What lines feel wrong when you cross ’em?” “Make the Future” is a Jamaican Dance Hall-style empowerment anthem urging kids to make their future even when it seems that they have little to contribute.
The theme of the record is perhaps best summed up in “Gotta Be You.” MC Fireworks, Adam Strange and Skidoo take turns at the mic, sharing their experiences of being a bit different growing up. They learned to love themselves, though, and not let what others think bother them. As Skidoo says, “I made a decision back then, I’m a fan of me, I’m my best friend.” I’m a fan of you, too, Skidoo.
Available at www.secretagent23skidoo.com/ or on Amazon.
(Disclosure: Atomic Family is an Amazon Associate.)
