Will New Hip-Hop CD Really Help Kids Learn Math?

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What do you think? In some OH news…[Since OH is my home state]

The brainchild of creators Alex Nesmith, a longtime music producer and Christine Smith, a former school teacher, the CD is a compilation of songs covering multiplication facts from 0 to 12 using the back beats of radio hits by some of today’s most popular music artists including Chris Brown, T-Pain, Soulja Boy, Akon, and Cassie, to name a few.

The songs are performed by students who were chosen after they met the challenge of successfully learning their multiplication facts and displaying the ability to write lyrics.

Smith and Nesmith met while Smith was teaching inner city children grades 4th - 6th in Toledo , Ohio . She approached Nesmith, known for producing hit records for a diverse group of artists ranging from Akon and Outkast to Keith Sweat and Charlotte Church, about turning her math lessons into songs to help her students memorize their facts.

Hip Hop and R&B into an innovative collection of hook laden tunes geared to teach kids of all ages their multiplication facts will be released April 22, 2008 via

So, will it work?

Yes, the beats are catchy and well known, but how long will kids want to hear it?

You’d have to hear the CD more than a few times to get the math message.

Will parents HONESTLY play this CD over the real CD’s by the the real artists like Soulja Boy and Akon?

Can we instill multiplication basics into students by rapping multiplication tables over their favorite rap beats?

As long as hip hop music serves a positive purpose…We hope for the best!