The school bell is ringing! For most of the states on the eastern seaboard, school starts back on September 4, the day after Labor Day. But, in some states, kids have been back in school for nearly a month.
AllHipHop.com caught up with our little friend, Karma Bridges, daughter of rapper/actor Ludacris on her first day of school to talk about some back to school essentials. Then we scoured the Internet for some of the coolest and most outrageous school supplies for Karma and for your kids, too.
And check out our story about Karma’s dad’s big event, LudaDay Weekend.
AllHipHop.com: So, what are some of the things you just have to have for back to school?
Karma Bridges: Pencils. They might have some pencils there, but you need extra pencils so if you lose your pencils, you always have another one.
The pencil came to America from Europe in the 1700s. The world’s most expensive pencil is the Graf von Faber-Castell Limited Edition Perfect Pencil. Made from 240-year-old olive wood; it also has an endpiece and extender with a built-in eraser and sharpener made of 18-karat white gold. The pencil also has three diamonds in the cap. With only 99 of these expensive pencils in the world, it’s no wonder they retail at $13,000. Can’t afford the Graf von Faber-Castell “Perfect” pencil? Check your local office supply store; most are retailing a pack of 10 pencils for one cent.
AllHipHop.com: What else do you need, Karma?
Karma Bridges: A backpack. To hold all of your homework, all of the stuff you need to take home and come back with.
Known first as a rucksack or knapsack, backpacks come in all sorts of varieties and, like Karma said, are handy for carrying things to and fro. In hip-hop culture, “Backpackers” became a common term to describe the fans of “conscious” Hip-Hop music. The most expensive backpack we could find was The Row Alligator Skin Backpack. Seen on the arms of some celebrities, this hand-crafted bag retails at over $30,000. Need something a little more reasonable? Check out a SwissGear backpack. Retailing for less than a hundred bucks, a SwissGear backpack is super sturdy and are guaranteed to last for years.
AllHipHop.com: What do you have right now in your backpack?
Karma Bridges: Oh, a lunchbox. It holds my lunch. There are a lot of things I like to take for lunch.
When I was a tyke, the coolest lunchboxes were made of tin with a thermos bottle inside. Now, most lunchboxes are insulated to keep food fresh and cool. The Oscheriyori Lunch Box served at Takashimaya Restaurant in New York features a sushi lunch worth almost 70 grand served in a gold box valued at over $150K. Check almost any superstore to find a great lunchbox for your kid (or for yourself), make sure the box includes a freezer pack to help keep their food cool and fresh which can cut down on foodborne illness.
AllHipHop.com: What else? What else do kids need for school?
Karma’s friend Halima: Markers. So you can draw nice, colorful pictures, and crayons.
Karma Bridges: And binders.
AllHipHop.com: And, we forgot about paper. What’s your favorite subject?
Karma Bridges: Reading and writing.
Halima: Science.
AllHipHop.com: That’s great! I hope you have a great school year, young ladies.
Check out Karma’s educational website, KarmasWorld.com, which features dozens of educational songs and games for kids. Follow her on Twitter (@itsKarmasWorld).