If SaulPaul hadn't come along organically, you wonder who would have come along to fill the void. The Austin, Texas-based singer/songwriter and rapper spent a decade cultivating a personal style. But SaulPaul waited to enter the children's entertainment arena until 2017, delaying his entrance until he could sufficiently present his vision of music and education.
SaulPaul's third collection, BE THE CHANGE, attempts motivation through music, with a bevy of contemporary children's recording artists – the Alphabet Rockers, Lori Henriques, Red Yarn, Mo Phillips, Grammy winner Lucy Kalantari, and Latin Grammy winner 123 Andrés.
There are some selections that ring familiar, because they are reprises of "greatest hits" from the SaulPaul catalog – "Vamanos" with 123 Andrés is a fun tune, but it's like a carbon of "Home," the previous collaboration that appeared on the previous collection. From his signature songs, "Rise," is here with a violin remix featuring JC Stringz. And "Hands in the Sky" gets an acoustic treatment. I don't mean to nitpick, though. With children's music, there's a new audience literally cycling through every few years that may not have heard the earlier versions. Other uptempo songs include the 70's jazzy piano song, "I Am Enough," "Stardust," which answers the question, "Can you rap over ukuele?" and "The Quilt," with Red Yarn, under the supervising eyes of über producer Dean Jones.
SaulPaul recently published his memoir of the same name, "Be the Change." There's some serious stuff in the book and he doesn't dumb it down for kids on the CD, as "Once Upon A Time" is definitely not a fairy tale, referencing "Tammy who wants a family." his own life SaulPaul turned to children's music to use his voice, lessons learned from his journey, and his perspective on modern events. His belief is that children, the next generation, can overcome today's prejudices and injustices, and literally be the change that he sings about.
But wait, there's more! With the release of the album, SaulPaul has launching the "30 Day Be The Change Challenge." Homeschooling parents can do it with their kids and teachers and educators can try it with students. Choose 30 acts of kindness, one for each day, to do with the youths under your supervision. Visit WeDreamIn3D.com for more details.
BE THE CHANGE is available from SaulPaul's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.
Here is the video for SaulPaul's song, "Home," featuring 123 Andrés:
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