May 12, 2007 - Race relations are very much in the public mind of late, especially as they pertain to Hip-Hop. Addressing that very subject is David Banner's new Adult Swim cartoon That Crook'd Sipp. Airing its first episode this Sunday night at 12:15AM EST, the cartoon is set in Banner's home state of Mississippi and focuses on the Beauregards, a white family who are mentally stuck in the 1800's, trying to navigate in today's racially integrated world.

Banner himself plays the main character, Virgil; entrepreneur and restaurateur, whose day-to-day life in the little town of Sweet Tea, Mississippi make up the cartoon's story lines. Virgil owns all of the town's hottest restaurants and is seen as a very progressive, young black man, but, he also manages the most controversial group in the South; the Sweet Tea Monsters, who will actually be dropping an album in the near future. All of the show's story lines are loosely based on Banner's own life experiences. Music being Banner's first love, David is also responsible for all of the beats in the cartoon which he assures will be hard and super bangin'. In fact, David tells us that "the more hood the cartoon becomes, the harder the beats are going to be."

Banner hooked up with Cartoon Network after meeting now-close-friend and partner Nick Weidenfeld, at Ludacris' Red Light District party. Nick is a big fan of David's music and had made a cartoon based on Banner's first album Mississippi. That cartoon, and their resulting friendship developed into That Crook'd Sipp. "I have always loved Adult Swim cartoons, especially The Boondocks. There are messages to be heard within the humorous storylines of series like these and this one will be no different. " Banner says. "There are things that need to be talked about in our communities and when you are dealing with alot of young, black males, they're angry. I felt that by addressing some of the issues whilst making them laugh, might get the point across more effectively."

That Crook'd Sipp may be an animated series, but it was certainly not made with a children's audience in mind. "Around the rest of the world, cartoons are definitely not just for children and I think that is slowly becoming the case in the US as well. This cartoon contains very adult themes, which is why it is airing so late at night, and on Adult Swim. In fact, Pimp C is slated to be on Episode 2." Illuminates Banner. "I expect the usual critics to have something to say about some of the content or language in the show. To them I say........'children shouldn't be up that late anyway and I feel that people always want to lay the blame for their inability to raise their children elsewhere. America is the most lustful and violent nation on earth but are always looking to point fingers at somebody else when their kids act out. That's the thing I love about Mississippi. We are honest about what we love and hate. If you can't raise your kids, admit that that's the problem; just be honest about it."