Andre 3000
The hip-hop superstar finds eternal youth through cartoons.
by Gwynne Watkins
July 23, 2007
So what messages do you want kids to take away from the stuff that your production company is doing for them?
Fun, music, friends. The kids on the show all get along, and even when they don't get along, they do get along. Tamika, she wants to punch people all the time. But you do have people in life like that. And it's funny, you meet kids on the street, and they'll sit and talk for hours about their favorite characters. They know it's just a cartoon, but they ask, like, "Why don't they ever change their clothes?"
What do you think is a good way for parents to teach their kids about music and about art?
Let them try everything. When I was growing up, my mom, she put me in everything. Piano lessons,
I know that even when I'm eighty years old, Sunny will always be around. tennis lessons — you know, because you never know what you'll like. And usually, when you become an adult, you'll think back, and something that you used to do will help you in your career that you're doing now.
Is your son interested in music?
Yeah, he tinkers around with everything. He actually has perfect pitch in singing. Crazy.
Would you want him to go into the music business?
That's his choice. You know, it is a crazy business, and it's not the most profitable business right now, you know? It's kind of going through a bad little time. But whatever he wants to do — be an actor, who knows? I'm not pushing him in that way. I know if he goes into music, people are going to judge him in a certain kind of way.
Do you ever get recognized by kids because of the show?
Oh, yeah. Because a lot of the kids, they're eight, they're nine, so they don't know anything about Outkast, they don't know anything about Four Brothers, or the movies — none of that. So they see me on the street, and I wear my favorite hat, which is the straw hat that they designed the character with. And whenever I wear the hat and I'm out in public, a kid may turn to his mom, like "Hey, hey, that's Sunny! Sunny Bridges!" It's amazing, I can tell you. Because it's a new generation, and I know that even when I'm eighty years old, Sunny will always be around. He never grows old.
©2007 Gwynne Watkins and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Gwynne Watkins was Babble's founding Senior Editor. She has written for a variety of web and print publications, and her theatrical work has been produced throughout the New York area. Her new family musical, Tea with Chachaji, will premiere in early 2010. |
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