Big Don's Brand New Beat - Big Don

Artist: Big Don

Album: Big Don's Brand New Beat

Age Range: Ages 3 through 7

Description: The Austin-based hip-hop Don Robinson comes back with a second album of kid hip-hop targeted at older pre-schoolers and younger elementary school listeners.  The beats are OK, but compared to, say, KBC Kids, Big Don's vocals are much more the focus.  He's more of a storyteller ("The Tortoise and the Hare") and as a result the songs are a shade slower, so your kids might do less bouncing on their feet and more bouncing on their couch cushions.

Milk Money - KBC Kids

Artist: KBC Kids

Album: Milk Money

Age Range: Ages 3 through 7

Description: There have been more than a handful attempts at hip-hop for kids, but, oddly enough, few relatively successful ones.  Not sure exactly why that is, because getting kids to dance while playing with words should be a natural.  Lyrically, the 24-minute Milk Money is pretty bland ("Kids Mean the World" is about as prosaic as the title), but the beats and loops are definitely a step up from most kid-hop and some of the tracks like "I Like Summer" and "Good Time" are very catchy.  Stream the entire album below.