Music

Police departments nationwide are rap battling for winter driving safety

by Jeremy Mersereau

Mix law enforcement social media professionals and freezing cold temperatures and you’ve got a recipe for a country-wide rap cypher, apparently. Well, at least the RCMP already have the Pharrell hats.

When the temperature dipped into the double-negative digits in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, (population: 4,678) the RCMP’s social media manager, Meghan Morochuk, decided the best way to deliver a winter driving warning to residents was in the form of “Ice Ice Baby”:

Morochuk’s tweet sparked a me-too rap frenzy, the likes of which not seen since everyone and their Badu tried to get in on “Hotline Bling.” The Edmonton police were up next, and chose to deliver their ode to winter tires in the cadence of everyone’s favourite song about class mobility:

Not to be outdone, the Calgary police department chose to emulate the venerable Sir Mix-A-Lot, a man whose knighting ceremony must’ve been off the hook.

For a grand finale, CBC’s As It Happens asked the Kindersley and Edmonton social media managers to rap their lyrics live to the music, and for listeners to vote on the winner. You can listen to both versions here. Hopefully the trend continues and we’ll soon get inclement weather warnings in the form of “I Can’t Feel My Face.”