Comedian, actor and budding hip hop artist Hannibal Buress has teamed up with producer Chrome Sparks on the new single, ‘Judge Judy’.
Buress starts by toasting the eminent family court judge atop samples from the TV show. “Everybody gotta story, you know? Fifty-two hundred episodes.” Judge Judy (full name Judy Sheindlin) has been welcoming cameras into her small claims courtroom since 1996. But while Buress initially gives credit where it’s due, the first verse is delivered from the perspective of a disgruntled former defendant.
“Judge Judy, remember me? I was on an episode in 2003,” raps Buress. “Yeah, I was the defendant and you doubted me. ‘Cos they said I didn’t pay rent for a thousand weeks (20 years).” The track also features Ron Lamont, who backed Buress up on ‘We’re Playing Basketball’, his first single for 2020.
Watch: Hannibal Buress – We’re Playing Basketball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ncX5zitDo
The antagonism doesn’t last, though. Buress returns to singing Sheindlin’s praises in the subsequent verses. “Judge Mathis is one of the people, but he is not Judge Judy.” Mathis is another daytime TV judge who’s been on the air since the 1990s. However, he’s never equally Judy’s ratings. Buress saves the biggest compliment for the final verse:
“They all look up to you, financially, but they cannot get on the floor. ‘Cos even if they are double digit millionaires, compared to Judge Judy they’re poor.”
Listen: Hannibal Buress, Chrome Sparks, Ron Lamont – Judge Judy
Buress told Pitchfork of his affection for Chrome Sparks in a 2018 interview. He singled out the New York producer’s track ‘Marijuana’. “[I found ‘Marijuana’] on Flying Lotus’ Pandora station and listened to it a bunch and eventually used it as my walk-out song for my stand-up sets,” he said.
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Keep your eyes and ears peeled for a full length Buress and Sparks collaboration.
