Black Thought and Questlove of The Roots have joined forces with Disney to executive produce Rise Up, Sing Out, an 8-episode animated series according to Variety. The series debuted on Disney+ on February 2nd and promises to “Provide an inspiring and empowering message about race, culture and community, celebrate differences and provide a framework for conversation.” The Black Thought and Questlove-produced soundtrack will be released on Walt Disney Records on February 4th. Black Thought and Questlove also appear as characters in the series.

Questlove recently posted to Instagram “#New Job Alert!! Growing up in the #SchoolHouseRock generation in the 70’s was something special to me. 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.”

The duo also shared a joint statement revealing their hopes of making a positive impact on the next generation of kids. “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.”