Watch the baby who prefers rap to lullabies

Jessica Rapana

December 15, 2016 - 12.51am

This baby prefers the sweet sounds of rappers like Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z to any old-fashioned lullabye.

A video has emerged of three-month-old Rachel, from Connecticut, being soothed by the hit rap song ‘Hypnotise’ by American rapper Notorious BIG (‘Biggie Smalls’).

And, the internet has gone gaga for it. The viral footage posted to YouTube has already been viewed more than 5 million times.

In the video, baby Rachel is crying and her dad is bouncing her on his lap, trying to soothe her. Then, he plays the song and she immediately becomes calm. When he turns it off, the tears come again. "Ok, Ok Biggie is coming back," her dad says. Then, she's a happy bub again.

"She is our first child, and we had no idea how to get her to stop crying at the time," her dad tells 9Honey.

"This was not the first time it happened, but after we realised that certain rap songs would calm Rachel down, we decided to make the video. Other songs that worked well were 'H to the Izzo' by Jay-Z and 'Just a Friend' by Biz Markie."

As it turns out, the toddler doesn't quite have the same appetite for classical hits.

"No other music genres worked as well as rap, and before trying rap, we attempted classical music, jazz, blues, reggae and rock. We used this song frequently, however, as it had the best effect on Rachel. The fact that the song is called 'Hypnotize' made its effects even funnier to us!"

The video, posted in 2011, is going viral but Rachel is now a little more grown up. Today is her seventh birthday, which means she is no longer allowed to listen to the explicit song, her dad says.

"She's seven now and can understand the lyrics, so there is no way we let her hear it right now. When she's older, who knows. Time will tell."

Her dad adds she is “doing wonderfully in second grade” and still loves her music.

"She loves dance and reading," he says.

Watch the baby who prefers rap to lullabies

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