Hip-Hop Harry: From Hip Hop central to the pyramids of Giza, shout out to Genius and my new friend Delisa.
We're here to spread awareness and state the
truth, show lots of love and motivate the youth.
DELISA: Over the past month clips from an early 2000s
kids television show, Hip Hop Harry, took
over the internet and became the latest viral
sensation.
DELISA: So, Genius News talked to Hip Hop Harry himself.
HIP-HOP HARRY: I teach kids life lessons through rhyme and dance.
DELISA: And rounded up as many kids as possible to
see how they are responding to their viral
moment. When it was your turn to freestyle
and do your thing, did you have a go to move?
SOPHINA: Oh, I was always go big or go home, since
I'm a gymnast I always threw in flips, so
that's my signature.
JAKE: When you see someone do the butterfly it makes
you want to do the butterfly. So I just added
in a little spice on that and then ended it
with a little pose and walked off.
MERCI: It was the face, huh? It was that face I made.
I didn't come to play. That's what it was.
DAVIDE: I've always been a big popper and locker.
I would say more so isolation work. That was
my go to move.
ELIZABETH: The pop, lock it thing was my signature. I
used to be obsessed with the Groovaloos.
You got this, let's go.
TYLER: As long as I can throw at least one back spin
or even a couple windmills here or there I was
definitely okay.
SCOTT: When it came to actually freestyles, okay,
this is the time where we can put all that
aside and just let loose.
KARLY: I went out there and I was feeling a triple
turn to the splits, so that's what I did.
DELISA: What was the first thing you thought of when
you saw Hip Hop Harry trending?
TYLER: It was messages on messages, on messages,
just blowing me up. Like, "Yo, is that you?"
JAKE: I was like, "Wait, this is the reason why
I'm trending? This exact video?"
SCOTT: I didn't see it. I heard the music. Somebody
was watching I'm like, "Wait, what?"
KARLY: That was one of the jobs I did where people
were like, "Hip Hop Harry?"
MERCI: My first reaction, I was like, "Oh my gosh,
they're going to see me dancing. I'm embarrassed,"
but then I'm like, "no, that was my childhood.
Okay. I was 11 years old and I was hitting
my moves."
DELISA: The infectious track produced by the show's
production team actually features their kid
voices.
ELIZABETH: We all recorded together. Got in the booth,
they were like, "Scream go a bunch of times,"
we're like, "okay."
SOPHINA: So we were just like, "Go, go," and fed off
each other's energy and it was super loud
and super awesome.
TYLER: Other shows, kid shows like that, they would
have really calm, smoothing tones. And it's
like, "If anyone can vibe with it, you can
vibe it with it." So when hip hop was evolved
into a show like that, it's a rap.
DELISA: So what is it about the song that makes everybody go crazy?
SCOTT: I mean, just that, bump, dun, dun. It's hype.
SOPHINA: It continuously builds, and builds, and builds,
and gets you just so hyped.
DAVIDE: Things like that stick in our heads. You listen
to it a couple of times and you're probably
thinking all day, "Go, go."
SCOTT: You could take that song, give it to any regular
rapper that was out in 2006 and would be a hit.
JAKE: I could think of a good couple of DJs that'll
remix that and add it in with some big bass
beats or something like that, some 808s or
some high hats.
SCOTT: It's dope to see that. It's gone beyond just A
children's television show.
MERCI: In a sense I do like it's bringing some laughter
and joy back into the world.
SOPHINA: I feel like it obviously captured more audience
and in a different unique way that's fun,
but also deep.
JAKE: The go, go, go is being used as a movement
of change and saying, "These things need to
happen." Go, go, go. We need to work on this
and we all need to come together to make this
happen.
SCOTT: It's a sign of our generation. When I
actually saw that clip was being used to defund
the police, arrest the cops who brutally murdered
Breonna Taylor, somewhere down the line with
all this, Hip Hop Harry is going to be
one of those little side pictures in the history books.
ELIZABETH: It's pointing a finger at what's really going
on. Matthew A. Cherry using it to address
what was going on with the whole BLM movement.
I was like, "It makes sense."
DAVIDE: It's spreading a big message in general, whether
it's for the dancing or if it's for social
change. If it's getting people's attention,
why not?
HIP-HOP HARRY: I'm hoping that Hip Hop Harry's role in hip-hop and culture is showing that hip-hop can
be used as a teaching tool.
SOPHINA: Every episode had a message and I love that.
JAKE: There's literally one song that I can never
get out of my head. And it was when we were
doing the Shape's episode. We were like, "Triangles,
rectangles, circles and squares. These are
the shapes we see everywhere."
Triangles, rectangles, circles and squares.
The shapes of life are seen everywhere.
JAKE: That has never left my head. I think it's
hilarious. But at the same time, it's like,
"The show was really doing it's thing."
MERCI: We had so many songs on that show, which even
right now, if you blast it in the car, it
would go up. I'm not gonna even front.
SOPHINA: It was a big family, a blast. I would go redo
that over and over again because it was just
so much fun.
DELISA: I'm Delisa with Genius News bringing you the
meaning and the knowledge behind the music
at home.
We indefinitely strive for excellency.
It's your destiny to be the very best you
can be. So big thanks to Genius. Delisa, you're
the best. It's a Hip Hop Harry freestyle.
Who's next? Yeah.
