Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s father, has developed a line of toys directed at kids who love hip music.
The line, titled ‘Baby Jamz’, is comprised of five toys, including the Mixmaster Chair, and one CD, “Baby Jamz Nursery Rhymes, Vol. 1.
Knowles’ daughter Solange is a featured singer on the CD series, and her son Juelz is the face of Baby Jamz. His image appears on all packaging and in all TV and print ads.
Discussions between Knowles and Planet Toys president/CEO David Canner began nearly a year ago. Knowles pointed to a lack of children’s toys that reflect urban society as the main impetus. “There is a real opportunity for us to make a benchmark here, with Planet Toys making the toys and Music World making the music,” Knowles said.
Canner concurred, adding, “With Baby Jamz, we’re going after that hip-hop mom.”
According to Canner, the second Baby Jamz toy collection will arrive next spring. It will include a “drum machine” that attaches to a car seat.
Looking ahead, Knowles said that Beyonce will be involved musically in upcoming Baby Jamz CDs. He also has plans to evolve Baby Jamz into a kids clothing line, linking it to House of Dereon, the high-end fashion line launched by his wife, Tina, and Beyonce, and its sister line, Dereon, helmed by Beyonce and Solange.
Considering that the initial line is the first round of toys that they have ever developed, they did a pretty good job.
Aside from the fact that the Mixmaster chair is pretty basic, the rest of the line appears to be appealing.
Solange’s re-tooling of some of the classic childhood songs works because her voice is so easy to listen to and the lyrics are fun.
It will be interesting to see the second generation of Baby Jamz. They have a good concept that needs to be pushed further to keep a toddler’s attention.
