Dinosaurs and hip-hop teach kids life lessons from Brooklyn, New York, to Stockton, California.
Orlando Molina aka MC Zeps, author and creator of “Rhymosaurs,” mixes dinosaurs and hip-hop in his children’s book series to teach lessons based on aspects of his own life and that of his children.
The Brooklyn born and raised hip-hop MC’s first book called “Brush Your Teeth Rex” was created in New York. The story follows Tommy Rex as he finds a way to brush his teeth with his little arms.
A book inspired by Molina’s own life when he neglected to go to the dentist for many years, which resulted in surgery and a lot of dental work.
“I said ‘Let me write a book about keeping your teeth clean so other kids don’t have to go through that,'” Molina said.
The inspiration for the children’s book series came when Molina’s wife became pregnant with his daughter Sultana, now 5 years old. He wanted to find a new way to work with hip-hop and integrate it into his new life as a father.
“I felt like I had to do hip-hop for my soon-to-be daughter…” Molina said. “So, that’s how I came up with the concept of writing a children’s book, and mixing it with dinosaurs was when my wife was pregnant.”
Before Dinosaurs, Molina tried using characters like aliens, robots and monsters, but none of them made sense to Molina.
“I felt like kids like dinosaurs,” he said.
The rest of the series, books two, three and four, came from Stockton.
His second book, “Tara Takes Flight,” was also inspired by Molina’s life. Molina recalls that his mother sent him and his brother to Puerto Rico to visit their father. They would travel alone and the housewives would take care of them until they landed.
“It’s kind of a young me that’s afraid to fly,” Molina said.
“Try, Sarah Tops,” the third book in the series, is about a picky eater. Molina, who was a picky eater as a child, tries to teach his children not to be fussy eaters.
The new book, book four of the series, “Tyler Rex the…Two-O-Ninosaur,” is a reference to the 209 area code and his own move from Brooklyn to Stockton. This book was funded by the local nonprofit Tuleberg Press.
Molina and his wife moved to Stockton to raise their family closer to his wife’s family. Molina wanted to include San Joaquin County in his book for two reasons, he said.
It’s a good message for kids whose parents travel a lot or move and they have to start over in a new town and because he loves Stockton and raising his family here, he wanted to shine a positive light on Stockton to counteract what the community hears. or seen in the news or media, he said.
When “creative juices are flowing” it only takes Molina and illustrator and artistic director Charles Brian Ugas “oOge” just a few weeks to create a new book.
Molina said he writes his books “like songs” with hip-hop beats that he writes like a rap. He records a demo, shares the rhymes with Ugas so he can listen and read the rhymes, and gives him no direction for illustrations.
“Although he missed the bagels and pizza
His family found taco trucks in Manteca
Superhero moms in Lodi without the capes
Lovely shops and farms with a thousand grapes”
– Orlando Molina, aka MC Zeps, “Tyler Rex the…Two-O-Ninosaur”
The graphic artist for “Tyler Rex the…Two-O-Ninosaur” is a local graphic artist who can be found on Instagram under the name vbrnt.tm.
“Each book has a different (graphic) designer. It’s all friends of mine who helped me on the journey…” said Molina. “That’s how we published the book rhymes, illustration, graphic design, .”
All the books have a black and white pages section called “graffiti place” where children can be creative.
“It is intended to strengthen literacy in both aspects to read the story, but then write your own. Remix the book,” said Molina.
Not only is “Rhymosaurs” a children’s book series, but it is also an “educational platform.” Molina hosts family-friendly events with MCs, DJs, graffiti artists, and dancers, and conducts creative writing workshops.
Many of the artists are friends who volunteer their time to participate in community events, while Molina pays DJs and others to be part of paid events.
Molina also spends part of his time teaching the “4 Elements of Hip-Hop” at after-school programs. The four elements are MC, DJ, break-dancing and graffiti.
His upcoming events include teaching graffiti bubble letters, flow, and rhyme writing at Elevate Dance Company owned by his sister Edith Sumaquial, from July 25th to July 29th. To sign up, visit: https://www.elevatedancecompany.com /Calendar
He also has a book tour and will be in Galt on August 6th, and in Oakland on August 13th. For upcoming events and information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/Rhymosaurs/
Molina has two children, daughter Sultana and son Leo, who will soon be 3. His daughter raps and freestyles during story time on the microphone with him at events.
“My children, they are my inspiration,…” said Molina. “They are my everything and they make me do this for the rest of the kids in the community because I know if they like it, the other kids will like it.”
Rhymosaurs books series can be found at these local shops:
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
