"Slum Village" song about CPSafety with Chevy

http://www.usa.safekids.org/skbu/cpsweek2007/tweens.html

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Detroit duo, Slum Village, has announced that they will team up with Chevrolet and Safe Kids Worldwide, a national program developed to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of properly restraining children on every ride, to develop a song to send an important safety message.

Slum Village will create an original song targeted at 8-10 year-olds, urging them to ride in a backseat and use a booster seat when necessary.

"Our partnership with Slum Village is a perfect way for Chevrolet to help Safe Kids do some really important work," said Chevy General Manager Ed Peper. "The Slum Village guys are clever and hip and if we can reach kids by teaching them good safety habits through music the kids understand and enjoy, we have really made an important difference in their lives."

The song, titled "4 Steps," will be made available by Chevy through web downloads as well as CDs distributed by Safe Kids. Both members of the Duo say it's a project they think is important and that they're happy to help.

"It's good to take a safety message and put it into a hip-hop song, because hip-hop is youthful," said Slum Village member, Elzhi. "Hip-hop holds a lot of influence over kids. Some kids even want to be like us -- to do what we do -- so we hope they will listen to our message."

On the song, Slum Village urges kids to "sit, pull, cross, click," as well as tells kids that they "shouldn't hop in a ride without assist." Before going into the studio to create the song, T3 and Elzhi met with members of Chevrolet and Safe Kids to discuss what needed to be communicated.

According to Safe Kids, most parents are doing a great job when their children are infants and toddlers. But as kids get older, many are missing an important step when they move from toddler seats directly into an adult safety belt in a vehicle. Most kids less than 4'9" in height and 80 to 100 pounds do not fit in a safety belt properly without a booster seat. The combination of the booster and safety belt will provide "tweens" in this height and weight range with the best protection in the event of a crash.

Safe Kids recommends that parents take a simple "Safety Belt Fit Test" to
determine whether their child is a booster seat candidate.

"The idea of sitting on a booster seat up to fifth grade is a hard sell -- we realize that," says Lorrie Walker, child passenger safety technical advisor for Safe Kids Worldwide. "But we've looked at the science and know that it's worth the effort to change kid's attitudes toward booster seats. They prevent injuries and save lives every day. We never want parents to wish they could have done something differently to protect their kids."

To view a "making of the 4 Steps video," log on to Chevy.com and click on safety solutions. To download the song and take the "Safety Belt Fit Test," visit Usa.SafeKids.org and click on Safe Kids Buckle Up.

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