yes who are you yo yes man my yes man yes man i love music
that's the most generic thing someone can say but it's true a lot of cartoons growing up helped
introduce me to new genres of music or artists that i still listen to today sometimes it helps
expand my knowledge of an artist giving me the interest to dig deeper into their discography
sometimes it's just a vibe while i work on my hey arnold video regarding something similar
about music i wanted to re-watch a show that brought me into the music world even further
while growing up a show that would expand my musical interest palette and give me the drive
to truly appreciate what would become one of my more favorite artists out there and
i don't want something this special lost to time and overlooked due to how the show ended
after 28 episodes we're gonna get into it all now so sit back drop a like and
get ready to get funky this is why you barely remember class of three thousand one two three
the two thousands were a time for many entertainment companies of creative growth
and experimentation especially in the world of cartoons animation companies were clamoring for
the next unique venture original ideas that broke away from the traditional formulaic plot concepts
and art styles that the public had grown used to resulting in the time being a treasure trove
of cleverly original and often strange shows that lasted for maybe a season before fizzling
out leaving nothing behind but a faint memory on your childhood the musically imbued animated show
class of 3000 was one of those strange quirky shows that came out during this era seemingly
out of nowhere ran for a tragically short amount of time and disappeared amongst the overwhelming
sea of content that was being produced by these companies it was a show amongst dozen that by
that justification should have barely made a blink on most of our childhoods but something
about class of 3000 sticks with you though whether that be the music or the visuals or the concept or
the care that you can tell that was put into this show even years later you can feel its influence
class of 3000 was a cartoon network original series that aired between november of 2006
and may of 2008 the series follows jazz and blue superstar sunny bridges voiced by andre 3000 as
he disillusioned to the music industry returns to his old neighborhood in atlanta georgia to retire
from music this retirement is short-lived though when lil d a sunny bridges super fan and music
student at wesley school of the performing arts convinces sunny to return to music by becoming the
school's new music teacher and during the span of the show's 28 episodes sunny helps wesley 7
music students grow both creatively and as people while rediscovering his own love for
music the show was created by veteran producer thomas w lynch and andre 3000 and this was the
last cartoon network series to be greenlit by cartoon network vp of programming mike lazzo
before he transitioned over to adult swim each episode involved the kids of sunny bridge's
class being faced with a strange and wacky situation that the kids more often than not
created themselves the situation would always be neatly tied up by the end of the 22-minute episode
through the learning of a life lesson and more importantly an original song written by andre 3000
this neighborhood got keratin andre 3000 also known as andre benjamin is a rapper
singer songwriter producer actor and a member of the southern hip-hop duo outcast among a
million other titles that you could give him i like to just put creative genius on there born
in atlanta to a single mother andre 3000 grew up in bankhead while going to a school on the
other side of town in the wealthy bunkhead it was this time in his life along andre's experience
at the performing arts school where he first met other outcast member antoine big boy patton that
truly shaped the show in a 2017 interview about class of 3000's 10-year anniversary
andre reminisced on this fact saying i know these kids i grew up with these kids my childhood was
put in those characters i was little bee i grew up in bankhead and i went to school in bunkhead so i
know that world i had to ride the bus through the projects and through these rich houses i was that
kid i knew both sides of it and that's something that the show really highlights that little d
has a lot of the characteristics of andre 3000 from having a single mother parent as well as
his school life and where he grew up he really put himself in this show andre and big boy formed
outcast while in high school and were signed shortly after graduating to atlanta-based label
la face their first album went platinum marking the beginning of andre's renounced career as
a musician in artiste the source awards named outcast's best new rap group of the year 1995
and both billboard and showbiz cheat sheet have cited andre 3000 as one of the top 10
rappers of all time both separately and together andre 3000 and big boy have received praise and
recognition for their creative works not just in the music industry but also for their work in film
and television including andre's performance and all is by my side a biographical film about jimi
hendrix for which he received an independent spirit award nomination for best male lead you
really want to change things when the power of love takes over the love of power that's when
things don't change in 2003 outcasts released their double album speaker box the love below
the former being created by big boy in the latter by andre it was the second album that spoke to
mike lazzo who upon hearing it wanted to make it into an animated form somehow and then reached
out to andre originally the show was going to be more mature more edgy and made for adults swim
but as time went on andre realized he wanted to make something separate from the love below
something new to generate ideas andre and lazzo took a trip around atlanta visiting andre's old
neighborhood and middle school and the idea of the show really started taking form it was also
during this time that it was decided that the show would be better geared towards kids andre
was inspired by the music of the peanut cartoons in shows like fat albert and the cosby kids which
during andre's childhood were known for having great music involved he wanted to make something
that would introduce the next generation to music different from what they were normally exposed to
and that's what he did for two full seasons andre 3000 created unique original music geared towards
kids so different from anything out there on radio disney or other kid focused stations
the class of 3000 soundtrack encompassed hip hop jazz funksol and pop while introducing kids to the
passion one can have for music and highlighting andre's hometown of atlanta class of 3000 elevated
how deep art can be portrayed in the guise of a kids show bringing a cast of kids with multiple
different backgrounds coming together over their love of music led by one of the most
prolific artists of all time andre 3000 the music was consistently changing giving you a mix of
different genres to explore additionally with some psychedelic-esque visuals to entrance you
into the emotions expressed behind said music it expressed the importance of environments you
grew up in and showed you a look into atlanta through andre's mind while the show received
predominantly positive reviews the soundtrack was even ranked 4.5 out of 5 stars on amazon the show
was eventually and heartbreakingly cancelled the exact reason for the cancellation has truly never
been confirmed by the network but a few theories have been tossed around as strong contenders
one theory was that the show was cancelled because it had such a high production budget
the need to write and record an original song for each episode along with the unique art style
of the show added up making it more expensive to produce than a lot of other shows another
theory was because of the lawsuit yes lawsuit according to the boston herald in 2008 former
art student timothy mcgee filed for plagiarism breach of contract and misappropriation of trade
secrets against cartoon network for the show mcgee claimed that in 1997 he proposed a similar show to
at the time vp of operations for cartoon network mike lazzo called the music factory of the 90s u.s
district judge douglas woodlock dismissed the case in boston on the grounds that the general feel and
themes of the two works are so different that no ordinary observer would consider them sustainably
similar along with that judge woodlock stated that the mood and tone of the series are very different
class of 3000 is a children's cartoon that is fast paced whimsical and laden with traditional
cartoon slapstick comedy by contrast music factory is aimed at an adult audience serious in tone and
not intentionally made to be comedic moreover class of 3000 is full of fantasy and magic
whereas music factory is grounded in reality despite the lawsuit being dismissed cartoon
network moved forward with canceling the show and removed all reference to it existing excluding a
small 2019 cameo of sunny in the final episode of okko let's be heroes whether it was the lawsuit
that finally convinced cartoon network to pull the plug or simply the fact that class of 3000
was created in a time of flux for cartoon network where shows like dexter's lab and powerpuff girls
were all being phased out and seemingly already being forgotten reruns of these shows were not
airing anymore or at least less frequently we may never know what happened truly what can be known
was that class of 3000 was an ambitious passion project born from a deep love for music and the
culture of atlanta it was homage to andre 3000's childhood and experiences told with whimsy and
charm that stuck with you years later of course it was truly a tragedy that it ended so soon
but it was also a gift to have it while we did i love when a show specifically a cartoon aimed
for kids can invoke something deeper than baseline entertainment and deeper than your average lesson
learning by not widening its horizons to things outside of the arts it was able to hone in on
the messages and stories it wanted to tell music is very important and not just to me but to life
it creates moods it can conjure feelings attach itself to a moment in time and bring back memories
life without music will never have a tempo or rhythm for you to follow we all have a beat
inside of us that drives our day-to-day life your internal metronome so never
ever be afraid to get funky let's crank this thing up bring the fun i will show you how to put the k
on
i truly hope you enjoyed this video it was a bit deeper than your average why you barely remember
videos i've done in the past but i had a lot of fun putting this one together if you couldn't tell
music is deeply rooted into who i am and since i talk about how this show really helped propel
genre exploration and music appreciation for me i wanted to share that with you and get
your experiences as well i will soon speak on hey arnold another show that while great on its
own merits was brought to new heights based on the jazzy undertones it set a mood like no other
show could but that video is still in the works and i plan to get it done sometime in july so
look out for that if you enjoyed this video make sure to leave a like as it truly helps
help the video and i would truly appreciate it subscribe to be a part of my journey through
movies and television and how these films and shows affected my life from the past
and present as well as your lives i would love to hear from you guys in the comments and your
thoughts on class of 3000 did it affect you as much as it did myself let me know and as always
i will see you later this week with another video but until then later
you