Questlove & Black Thought Link With Disney For New Animated Series “Rise Up, Sing Out”

Questlove and Black Thought have linked with Disney for a new animated musical series aimed at empowering kids, “Rise Up, Sing Out.”  

The show will celebrate cultural differences, and touch on themes of diversity, inclusion, kindness, and self-expression. The series aims to highlight issues Black kids face, with episodes that celebrate Black hair and the effect of mispronouncing or stigmatizing children’s names. 

Questlove announced “Rise Up, Sing Out,” on his Instagram and revealed his pride in being a part of something so needed.  

“#NewJobAlert!! Growing up in the #SchoolHouseRock generation in the 70s was something special to me. So believe you me—being asked to be a part of a project that could have major impact —-dealing with issues no tv program from my childhood even thought to deal with made getting involved even MORE exciting. Presenting a brand new #Disney Jr series called “Rise Up, Sing Out” that will premier on @disneyplus and channel TOMORROW February 2nd!!” 

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The short-form animated musical series will be broadcast on Disney Plus starting Wednesday, February 2. The first of the eight-episode series will debut on Disney Channel and Disney Junior. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” produced the music for the show and featured as characters in the animation. The multitalented artists also executive produced the series. Walt Disney Records will release the music created by Questlove and Black Thought in “Rise Up, Sing Out” on Friday, Feb. 4. 

“Rise Up Sing Out” Touches On Real-World Issues

Questlove and Black Thought revealed why the series is so valuable, particularly for Black children.  

“The ‘Rise Up, Sing Out’ shorts touch on a lot of real-world issues, especially for young Black kids, that just weren’t talked about when we were growing up. The beautiful thing about these shorts is that not only are they going to provide young kids the proper language to talk to their friends and family about some of the things that might be bothering them, but it’s also going to give parents the tools on how to respond,” they said in a joint statement. “We feel this is the perfect moment and the perfect time for us to put this project out into the world to plant a seed about kindness that will hopefully have a lasting impact for generations to come.”