4:22:00 PM EDT
Feeling Happy
Hearing "Beep" by The Pussycat Dolls featuring will.i.am
Guess Who's B(l)ack
By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
Your eyes aren't deceiving you.
And this is no joke.
"Weird Al" Yankovic -- one of the biggest culture vultures known to pop music-- has struck again.
This time, the 47-year-old satirist is taking on rap music (again) in the form of his new single "White & Nerdy," which is a parody of "Ridin' (Dirty)" by platinum-selling hip-hop star Chamillionaire.
See the video here.
Yankovic has made a career of these antics.
And it's been quite a successful run, too.
In 1984, he released "Eat It," a spoof of Michael Jackson's hit song "Beat It." The track garnered Yankovic a Grammy Award (for Best Comedy Album).
Bolstered by the immense popularity of his imitative music videos, gold and platinum selling certifications befell the southern California native.
Another Jackson parody, "Fat" ("Bad"), netted another Grammy Award win. Spoofs of Madonna ("Like A Surgeon"), James Brown ("Living With A Hernia"), Eminem ("Couch Potato") and Los Lobos ("Lasagna") are also a part of his vast repertoire.
But with the good comes the bad.
"Amish Paradise," his spoof of Coolio's 1995 Grammy Award winning anthem (from the film 'Dangerous Minds') was met with controversy. While the west coast rapper's record label gave Yankovic their blessings to ape the song, Coolio (who at the time was larger than life) took offense to it. The gospel-inflected song (which sampled Stevie Wonder's classic "Pastime Paradise") had a very inspirational message.
A lawsuit never materialized and the two artists didn't make-up until earlier this year -- more than a decade later. "I don’t remember what we said to each other exactly, but it was all very friendly," Yankovic reportedly wrote on his website. "I doubt I’ll be invited to Coolio’s next birthday party, but at least I can stop wearing that bulletproof vest to the mall."
He also recently attempted to satirize James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" --with a song called "You're Pitiful"-- but Atlantic Records (Blunt's label) put the kibosh on that.
Chamillionaire, on the other hand, who was nominated for an American Music Award in the "Favorite New Breakthrough Artist" category yesterday, is with the program.
"[This] parody definitely gives 'Ridin' the mega-record status," he told The BV Newswire. "Weird Al has done parodies for the biggest mega-stars in the game and to put me in that category is crazy when you think about the fact that less than a year ago I was a new artist to the mainstream. The song made history when it became the first rap record to ever hit 3 million ringtones sold.... and its still hard to believe the record has become that big."
Written by bvnewswire Blog about this entry
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THEY SEE ME ROLLINNNNNNNNNNN...THEY HATINNNNNNNNNNNN..PATROLINNNN
...TRYIN TO CATCH ME RIDIN DIRTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.THANKS WEIRD AL,AND THE REST OF THE WORLD FOR EMBRACING THE LONG STAR STATE[houston tx.]AND OUR STYLE,AND WAY OF LIFE.A BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE EAST AND WEST COAST,AND OTHER RAPPERS AROUND THE WORLD.NO MATTER WHAT HOOD OR STATE YOU SPITTIN HOT 16'S FOR OR REPPIN.ITS ALL ENTERTAINMENT........BIRDMAN JR. -
Dang! I thought my comment was cheesy! but from saying
"yo homie keep doing anti rap" which it's not and it's seems
that you're anti-I can't write a complete sentence, to Weird Al being somebodys "nigger" which btw though I don't use the word, but it's "nigga" with an "a" not an "er" some of you people need to light a spliff or pop a pill or something. Life is too short and too interesting to have all these silly hang ups on just one man. -
Weird Al is a freaking joke and a disgrace to all forms of music.Its time for him to retire and quit making a fool of himself
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I grew up listening to Weird Al's parody songs and this one is my favorite! Chamillionaire's song is my favorite song out right now, but Weird Al's version is a close second. This is his best parody yet! I can't wait for the next one.
10/25/06 3:55 AM