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5 Interesting covers of Hip Hop songs.
Wednesday 3rd July 2013 | Matt
Does anyone remember the first time they heard James Morrison singing his acoustic cover of Coolio’s hip hop anthem ‘Gangster’s Paradise’? At the time it was appearing all over hip hop forums on the web and was generally met with positive feedback praising it as an original and unique take on a classic rap track. Recently I was wondering if this was a one off or whether there were more cover versions of classic rap songs out there. It wasn’t long before I found out there were in fact hundreds. I decided to compile a list of the 5 most interesting examples I found.
5. Framing Hanley – Lollipop (Lil’ Wayne) In 2008 Tennessee emo band Framing Hanley decided to record a cover version of Lil’ Wayne’s ‘Lollipop’ retooling the rapper's risqué song with hard-edged vocals and heavy guitars resulting in the band’s most popular song to date.
4. Jenny Owen Youngs – Hot in Herre (Nelly) What makes this so brilliant is hearing the absurdly over the top party/sexual lyrics of Nelly being sang calmly and straight faced by soft voiced Folk singer Jenny Owen Youngs.
3. Vanilla Ice – Too Cold (Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice baby) This is an interesting entry in that it is a cover song by the same artist that did the original. You will notice, however, that apart from the lyrics Ice’s remake bares very little resemblance to his original dance floor anthem. The added rock guitars and shouted lyrics makes for a really interesting aggression filled remake.
2. Insane Clown Posse – Jump Around (House of Pain) The Insane Clown Posse put a typically insane twist on the House of Pain classic ‘Jump Around’. By changing a few lyrics here and there they have somehow managed to make the entire song about mass murder. It is also cool to see how they made a shot for shot remake of the original video.
1. Dynamite Hack – Boyz in the Hood. (Eazy-E) This was probably the most entertaining hip hop remake I came across. The laid back melancholy vocal delivery and acoustic guitar strumming couldn’t be more white and middle class if it tried. That is why it is so hilarious to hear them singing the lyrics to Eazy E’s gritty, gangster and at times downright misogynistic ‘Boyz in the Hood’. Truly a masterpiece.
by
Matt Watkins
