Talib Kweli in the Pacha’s Pajamas Recording Studio

The other day world-famous rapper Talib Kweli recorded an amazing song for Pacha’s Pajamas called “Butterfly Life.” It’s about a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, and once you hear it you’re gonna want to share it with everyone you know.

Kweli arrived at the studio, listened to the beat, pulled up the Wikipedia entry for ‘butterfly,’ and crafted his brilliant lyrics in only 45 minutes (see them below). Then he spent the next hour or two recording the vocals.

He also read the lines for Pebble, a character in the story who helps make the decision to throw the nature festival.

Kweli is truly one of the greatest lyricists of our day. Check to these videos to witness his amazing contributions to Pacha’s Pajamas.

 

BUTTERFLY LIFE LYRICS:

Let me break it down, make it plain
tell you cut and dry
How I get by
living the life of a butterfly
Nature’s OG
I’m a pollen transporter
They call me OT
Original transformer
Cuz I used to be a caterpillar
Till I metamorphized
Used to have 16 legs, 6 pair of eyes
I spent my free time
Dreaming about the sky
I was stuck on the ground wishing I could fly
My only job was to grub
I wipe my plate clean
Living the life of a vegan eating them leafy greens
The flowers bloom I’m breaking out of cocoons
Artists are inspired by I’m making them swoon
But now I put my larvae days behind me
Flying through the air is where you’ll find me
When I was a caterpillar yeah I got grime
Now I take flight and it’s way more exciting

CHORUS:

Fly fly away, stand up for your flights
Fly fly away, stand up for your flights
Fly fly away, stand up for your flights
Fly fly away, stand up for your flights

SECOND VERSE:

It’s that butterfly life
The moth is my cousin
And sometimes we fly alike
As I fly flutter by like a thought running through your mind
I’m proud of my species we got many different kinds
We got moth-butterflies true butterflies and skippers
Watch you plant flowers in your garden and I kiss em
If nature is a painter and our canvas is blank
Then we callin’ it the forest and my colors is the paint
My caterpillars days are still a part of me
Whole kingdoms are named after me, they callin’ it a monarchy
I’m a great subject for photography
In the park little kids follow me
Like the pied piper, except it ain’t the music it’s the colors
Butterfly life you gotta love it
It’s except it ain’t the music it’s the colors
The butterfly life you gotta love it

Giving Thanks this Holiday Season: New Music Available feat. Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Talib Kweli and Talented Youth Selected from National Auditions (Photos)

Aaron Ableman, author of new children’s book and music, Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, and Dave Room, co-founder of BALANCE Edutainment have been hard at work in the studio with Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominated artist and actor, Mos Def (also known as Yasiin Bey), popular lyricist and artist, Talib Kweli and talented youth from around the United States. New songs are now available from the upcoming Pacha’s Pajamas album!

“Now is a critical time in Oakland, New York and around the world. If we want to deeply engage youth, and all people, perhaps the most important space to occupy is pop culture, as expressed in music. At BALANCE Edutainment, we believe music, in its various forms including audio, performance and video is the most viral communication platform. In the last century, music played a pivotal role in many of the world’s most important social movements.” says Room.

“It’s important to impart the message not just to children, but to all human beings, that we have a responsibility to our own humanity and to the one who has created all, to treat this creation with care and respect,” says Def.

The idea that you have to be mindful of the environment, or pay attention to the environment, is something people should grow up with. It’s not something that you should have to convince an adult of,” adds Kweli.

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, a musical story about a little girl named Pacha who saves the environment with the help of the world’s plants and animals, is both a children’s book and hip-hop / pop musical album, designed to bring music and storytelling together to share important messages about the environment and inspire positive action.

Def narrates the fictional story of Pacha, a girl who dreams of uniting the planet via a music festival. Kweli performs an original song he wrote for the album from the perspective of a butterfly.

Def and Kweli have received acclaim for using their artistry, talents and notoriety to raise public awareness about myriad social issues. They are also currently touring nationally as Black Star, and their forthcoming collaborative album is Prisoner of Consciousness.

In addition to Def and Kweli’s participation with Pacha’s Pajamas, the BALANCE team of musicians and social entrepreneurs are in the studio with other soon-to-be-announced musical artists completing the album. They are also performing the story and songs throughout the United States. You can support their crowd-funding campaign, to help complete the Pacha’s Pajamas album and tour. The full album is due out Earth Day, April 22, 2012.

Occupy Pop Culture this holiday season by supporting media with positive messages. The Pacha’s Pajamas book and free new song downloads are available now at www.pachaspajamas.com.

To book an event performance or reading, find out more information or invest in the project, please contact us at info@pachaspajamas.com. Also, connect on Twitter and Facebook.

Rap Stars Mos Def And Talib Kweli Bring Their Voices To Environmental Hip Hop Album, EP Released

Mos Def and Author Aaron Ableman

Rap stars singing about butterflies and saving the environment isn’t something we hear about everyday.

And that’s precisely what BALANCE Edutainment, LLC had in mind when they approached rap stars Mos Def and Talib Kweli to participate in their upcoming children’s hip hop album about the environment, Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature.  The EP, which features Def, Kweli, and others, is available as a free digital download for a limited period starting today at http://www.pachaspajamas.com/music. The full album is due out Spring 2012.

The Pacha’s Pajamas CD features Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe nominated hip hop artist and actor, Def (also known as Yasiin Bey), who narrates the fictional story of Pacha, a girl who dreams of uniting the planet via a music festival starring a host of singing plants and break dancing animals.  Kweli, a popular

lyricist and hip-hop artist wrote and performs an original song on the album from the perspective of a butterfly.  The duo, who previously collaborated on the late ‘90s album Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, have received acclaim for using their artistry, talents and notoriety to raise public awareness about myriad social issues.

“We’re extremely grateful for Mos and Talib’s involvement and truly believe we can influence social, economic, and environmental change in a compelling way through the telling of powerful stories, by creating music people are inspired to listen to and with the help of the world’s children,” said Aaron Ableman, accomplished musician, social entrepreneur and co-founder of BALANCE Edutainment.

“It’s important to impart the message not just to children but to all human beings, that we have a
responsibility to our own humanity and to the one who has created all, to treat this creation with
care and respect,” said actor and hip hop artist, Mos Def.

“The idea that you have to be mindful of the environment, or pay attention to the environment, is
something people should grow up with.  It’s not something that you should have to convince an
adult of,”  added hip hop artist, Talib Kweli.

“The story of Pacha’s Pajamas is spreading the information early (to kids), so it becomes like a
cornerstone or a foundation.”

In addition to Def and Kweli’s participation, the BALANCE team of musicians and social
entrepreneurs are in the studio with other soon-to-be-announced musical artists completing the
album.  The BALANCE Edutainment team will also be making live appearances to perform the
story and songs from Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature throughout the United States
this Fall and in Spring 2012.

For more information, please visit www.pachaspajamas.com.