The biggest asset and biggest criticism of
mc chris over the years are one in the same - a distinctively
high pitched and arguable UBER-nerdy vocal tone. It certainly
lends itself well to doing voiceover work for cartoons, but it causes
his detractors to overlook the dope rhyme writing ability and a
flow he's spent years polishing to a professional level. That's not
the only problem though - when you have a voice that sounds like
a pre-pubescent boy and you DO work in cartoons, you
tend to attract an audience of children whether you like it or not.
I've seen it first hand. Even though Aqua Teen Hunger Force is
rated M for mature, tons of tots show up for his concerts and rap
along word for word as he takes us all to 6-1-2 Wharf Avenue.
I'm sure all of the children in the audience had parental supervision,
but whether he wanted to or not, mc chris couldn't change up the lyrics
of his songs to be age appropriate to a minority of his audience at the
club that night. He may have a youthful voice, but the majority of his
paying audience is adults who relate to his topics - Star Wars,
Tarantino movies, Harry Potter, et cetera. It's worth noting that we
addressed in the "Race Wars"
review that a lot of these topics USED to be considered nerdy, but as
they've gone mainstream so has the appeal of mc chris' music, leading
to songs like "Hoodie Ninja" being featured in car commercials. Back
to subject at hand though, and that's the conundrum an artist like
mc chris has - a small but noticeable part of his audience is very young,
yet the topics of his raps are far from age appropriate - drinking and
sex being frequent topics. What's a guy to do?
"Marshmellow Playground" is the answer. Since he already sounds
child-like to begin with, it's actually a natural fit for him to rap about
things a kid would relate to, on a drug and profanity free album. In
fact the most dangerous thing about this CD is that the protagonist
he portrays is visiting a playground that's NOT made out of
soft fluffy marshmallows. A series of linking skits between songs
feature him and a friend talking about whether or not it's safe for them
to be playing there, even though it seems their parents may be
unnecessarily nervous-nellies. Getting the occasional cut, scrape or
bruise from playing on "The Jungle Gym" as a kid wasn't that bad:
"Well your dad's got a point
but I certainly do like climbing up on them
and like, climbing down, the jungle gym
And sometimes I pretend that I'm a monkey!"
Even though there are eight tracks on "Marshmellow Playground,"
the entire thing clocks in at only 13:30, and thanks to the aforementioned
skits there are only four full length songs. There's an amusing and
charming innocence to the songs on this album, particularly if you're
a devoted mc chris fan who recognizes how un-PG many of his songs
are, but if you like hearing him rap about smoking 40's and drinking
blunts then a track like "Best Day Ever" might not be your thing:
"Too many options it's a problem for chris
Mix Trix with Cookie Crisp cause I'm a scientist
My mind's on the prize at the bottom of the box
Fetch me the funnies I like Fox Trot a lot
Bloom County, Far Side, Charlie Brown if I'm down
sleeping bag on the sofa, watchin Bozo the Clown
I'm watching Gummy Bears and the Rescue Rangers
Darkwing Duck cause I love me some danger
Transformers, G.I. Joe, cause I love me some lasers
Wash my dishes won't leave it for later"
Parents will appreciate the advice chris doles out to young listeners
on songs like "Halloween," where he explains that not brushing your
teeth leads to something far scarier than ghosts and goblins - a trip
to the dentist to fill your cavities. Kids will appreciate "Mac and
Cheese and Cut Up Hot Dogs," a sincere ode to something that even
adults will admit to craving from time to time. The only problems
with "Marshmellow Playground," if indeed you can call them a
problem, are that you don't get a lot of value if you buy the album
as a whole (buying the actual songs individually saves you $4) and
that the album is so dedicated to being wholesome that it doesn't
have the often times bawdy and cynical wit of more familiar
mc chris hits. The good news though is that the next time his
young fans show up at a concert, he'll have some age appropriate
music to perform, and an album their parents can buy without fear.
I have to rate the album for the replay value of adults like me,
but if I had kids I could see them enjoying this one repeatedly.
Music Vibes: 6 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 6 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 6 of 10
![[Marshmellow Playground]](../coverart/mcchris-playground.jpg)
The biggest asset and biggest criticism of
mc chris over the years are one in the same - a distinctively
high pitched and arguable UBER-nerdy vocal tone. It certainly
lends itself well to doing voiceover work for cartoons, but it causes
his detractors to overlook the dope rhyme writing ability and a
flow he's spent years polishing to a professional level. That's not
the only problem though - when you have a voice that sounds like
a pre-pubescent boy and you DO work in cartoons, you
tend to attract an audience of children whether you like it or not.
I've seen it first hand. Even though Aqua Teen Hunger Force is
rated M for mature, tons of tots show up for his concerts and rap
along word for word as he takes us all to 6-1-2 Wharf Avenue.