Children of Tomorrow

Frankie Smith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 1994)
• Original Release Date: May 17, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hot Productions
• ASIN: B000001QUU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,679 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Double Dutch Bus

2. Slang Thang

3. Handbone

4. Children of Tomorrow

5. The Auction

6. Double Dutch

7. Teeny-Bopper Lady

8. Triple Dutch

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars short on ideas, are we?, February 11, 2005

By 

Dave "missing person" (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Children of Tomorrow (Audio CD)

On "Slang Thang", Frankie Smith tells us how to talk slang by slipping in the nonsense syllable "izz", something that strikingly brings to mind '90s and 2000s rappers such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Jay-Z. There's no need for a parental advisory sticker though for Frankie Smith's "Children of Tomorrow" album--quite frankly, it's more like the total opposite.

Frankie Smith received major commercial success in 1980/ 1981 with the dance/ rap tune "Double Dutch Bus"--it was released in 12" and 7" single versions, EACH of which went gold, for a combined total of at least 2 million copies moved. The song's birth is really interesting. Using spare session time, the late drummer "Fat" Larry James, who was working with Smith, layed down a drum part that Smith and his writing and producing parter Bill Bloom worked with to develop the track. Smith then recorded a cuss-laden rap about not being hired for a job he attempted to get as a bus driver. It was decided to make the song cuss-free, so Smith re-recorded the vocal. The song ended up being not just cuss-free, but practically a full-blown kid's song--they slip in a snippet of the melody from "Ring Around the Rosie", and Smith had kids from the neighborhood add vocals to the track, plus it's got a bunch of pig-Latin style stuff going on which was also something of a craze with kids at the time.

The rest of the album was clearly slapped together, attempting to cash in on "Double Dutch Bus", and the result is an album that's so thin and slight, it's beyond all belief. In general, the grooves are bare-bones, underdeveloped, and ultra-repetitive--in other words, merely a vehicle for Smith's cartoonishness. Add to this that the lyrics typically lean towards just plain dumb as opposed to amusingly dumb, plus Smith's froggy vocal schtick on track after track, and the overall effect is like beating a dead horse.

Admittedly, Frankie's rap on "Double Dutch Bus" is catchy and fun, and the groove is nice, even if it is extremely minimal. Just in case you can't get enough, we also get the 'continuations' "Double Dutch" and the 8+ minute "Triple Dutch".

There is one solidly grooving tune that's NOT a "Double Dutch Bus" rehash, the aforementioned "Slang Thang"--Smith's totally over-the-top slang-packed vocals that arrive at 3:25 of the track are hilarious at first, but the way they beat this schtick into the ground, chanted group vocals included, it's simply overkill.

Although there is the occasional suggestive lyric, the lyrics are mostly aimed at a fifth-grade level mentality such as "Teeny-Bopper Lady" which, again, has the same tempo, key, and feel of "Double Dutch Bus".

The album's one blatant change of pace is the title track, a horrendously sappy ballad where Smith dispenses with his typical "frog" voice in favor of a shockingly on-target imitation of Larry Graham's "One In A Million You" vocal style.

This is certainly a head-scratchingly bizarre album. Unfortunately, it's very much a headache to get through. There is a certain interest in the sense that all the fluff on here does stand in stark contrast to the merciless, miserably excessive gangsta rap of the '90s and later. Overall though, you'd have to really be an apologist of late-'70s/ early-'80s funk/ R&B/ disco to love, or even particularly like, this album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frankie "Double Dutch Bus" Smith, the Grandfather of Rap !, May 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Children of Tomorrow (Audio CD)

If your a mobile DJ, you know there are a few records that will guarentee to get your crowd jumpin'. Double Dutch Bus is that secret weapon. This record was an inspiration to such artist as "Ice Cube", "Tone Loc" (as reported on MTV). If you never caught Frankies show, the energy and stage performance can make the dead rise. I seen him perform with "Morris Day and the Time" in Baton Rouge, La, and let me tell you that the town is still buzzin' bout it !! He will always be the creator of "Pop Rap" !!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad, if you like this kind of music, February 9, 2010

By 

starbase129 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Children of Tomorrow (Audio CD)

First, it should be noted that most of the songs in this album sound similar. In fact, the final track ("Triple Dutch"), sounds like snipets from "Double Dutch Bus" cobbled together with a few transitional chords. The one exception to this rule is the title track, where you hear the singer in what one might call a normal singing voice.

That having been said, if you like this style of music, "Children of Tomorrow" is a decent album. Most of the songs have a nice beat. Needless to say, "Double Dutch Bus" is the best song on the album.