The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do ‘The Snizzle’: Rapper teaches kids to sneeze into their elbows
PHILADELPHIA — Raj Haldar has to laugh, but he’s not kidding about “The Snizzle.”
“There’s a chance it’s the most consequential thing I’ve ever recorded,” says the Philly rapper-producer, who records as Lushlife.
“The Snizzle” is a dance-rap jam that Haldar — a man of many talents who is also a children’s book author and Lincoln Financial Field D J on Eagles game days — wrote and produced last year for Nick Jr., the children’s TV channel and Nickelodeon spin-off.
With an 81-second video featuring Dora the Explorer and her canine Paw Patrol friends, “The Snizzle” aims to teach kids proper hygiene.
That means following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that have become deadly serious during the COVID19 pandemic, leading Nick Jr. to relaunch “The Snizzle” on social media last week.
The song is a musical reminder that when you have to cough or sneeze, think about protecting others, and do it as Dora does: into your elbow!
“When you sneeze, take care The germs go everywhere Even if you can’t see them They floating through the air They’re sharing your cold Your cough and your sniffles The only way to stop them from spreading is ...
THE SNIZZLE!” Creating cultural content for children wasn’t the plan for Haldar, 38, who grew up in northern New Jersey. He studied classical piano and played drums in his high school jazz band.
Nineties’ rap changed Haldar’s life. In 2006, his love for the hiphop band the Roots drew him to Philadelphia, “where my creative life blossomed,” he says.
He has recorded seven albums as Lushlife. In 2017, a Nickelodeon music supervisor familiar with Halder’s brainy rap approached him about the channel’s Supersonic Science videos.
What’s challenging about “The Snizzle” and other Nick Jr. songs, Haldar says, is that “it requires me to think lyrically about explaining some pretty complex concepts in a hyper-simple way that kids can understand and engage with.”
The song was partly inspired by the 2015 face-in-your-elbow hiphop dance craze the Dab. “It’s a brand new dance where you sneeze in your sleeve / That’s the place for your face / Kid, I’m begging you please!”
When he was recording it, Haldar says, the song’s potential impact was an afterthought.
“But now we’re talking abut how exponential the spread of this thing is,” he says. “Maybe the one silver lining is that kids aren’t being impacted by the virus in the same way that adults are. But the fact that they can still be carriers is an enormous public health issue to tackle. And suddenly, this song that we created has an opportunity to play a small part in stemming that. So I would love to see it get out there, far and wide.”