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.

Hip Hop Musical with an Environmental Twist to Take the Stage at Bioneers Conference

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature To Be Performed At Popular Environmental Event

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, a hip-hop musical story about a little girl named Pacha who saves the environment with the help of the world’s plants and animals, will take to the stage this Sunday, October 16, in a groundbreaking Rights of Nature Youth Workshop at the Youth Unity Stage at The Marin Center in San Rafael, Calif., from 2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m. The live storytelling and musical youth workshop event is part of the Bioneers 2011 environmental conference and will be led by Pacha’s Pajamas creators BALANCE Edutainment as well as Global Exchange and the Rights of Mother Earth Signature Campaign. For more information, please visit www.bioneers.org.

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature is both a children’s book (www.amazon.com and www.pachaspajamas.com) and an upcoming hip-hop musical designed to bring music and storytelling together to share important messages about the environment and inspire positive action. The hip-hop album will feature well-known, soon-to-be-announced musical artists as well as Bay area and national youth.

“We believe that catalyzing change can happen in a fun way through socially-conscious music, stories about interdependence and by amplifying the voices of children,” said Aaron Ableman, musician, educator and co-founder of BALANCE Edutainment, the creator of Pacha’s Pajamas.

“Nature’s Rights is an issue that Pacha’s Pajamas aims to popularize through a message of unity across species, honoring the planet upon which humanity depends. We are thrilled to share Pacha’s story with the Bioneers conference and all the youth movements around the world!”

Bioneers is a nonprofit educational organization that highlights breakthrough solutions for restoring people and planet. Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. A celebration of the genius of nature and human creativity, Bioneers connects people with solutions and each other. Its acclaimed annual national and local conferences are complemented by extensive media outreach including an award-winning radio series, book series, and a role in media projects such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s film The 11th Hour.

In addition to the Bioneers performance, the BALANCE Edutainment team will 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 through 2012.  For more information, please visit www.pachaspajamas.com or www.balanceedutainment.com.