If the critical adulation poured upon Lonerism by international press, local media, and Tone Deaf readers alike proved anything, it’s that everybody loves Tame Impala. Similarly, as the controversial media circus surrounding Kanye West’s Yeezus demonstrated, everybody loves to talk about Kanye West.
An enterprising producer has put two and two together and capitalised on both the Perth psych-rockers and the self-described rap god by mashing Tame Impala’s ‘Elephant’ with Kanye West’s ‘Black Skinhead’, as HypeTrak points out, and the results are definitely worth checking out.
Following on from the Brooklyn DJ who paired Depeche Mode with ‘Black Skinhead’ to make ‘Personal Yeezus’, Washington, DC’s Nate Belasco, “producer, composeer, songwriter, and sound engineer with serious musical ADD” according to his Soundcloud profile, is the clever cookie behind the ‘Black Elephant’ mash-up.
Belasco, who’s worked with hip hop group Mammox and the soundtrack to iPhone game Cube Runner, has already racked up more than 60,000 plays for his cross-cutting track. While the lyrics of ‘Elephant’ could very well be about the titanic ego-toting hip hop star (“he talks like his opinion is a simple fact”), the mash-up deftly mixes Kevin Parker’s Lennon-esque vocals and chugging guitars with West’s braggadocio rhymes, vitriolic spits, and aggressive drum rolls.
Curiously it’s not the first time that Tame Impala has overlapped with the world of hip-hop, The Hood Internet spliced non-Lonerism track ‘Led Zeppelin’ with Action Bronson for another winning mashup; controversial Odd Future ringleader Tyler, The Creator is a well-noted fan of the band, name-dropping them both in his raps and regularly on twitter; while A$AP Rocky recently told FasterLouder he’d love to work with the band.
Meanwhile, Tame Impala themselves continue to tour the world in support of their all-conquering Lonerism, most recently checking into the UK’s Glastonbury Festival following headlining Modular’s new Croatian island party-come-music festival FOR, and the departure of long-term bassist Nick Allbrook to “screw his head back on,” and focus on his duties with sister band Pond ahead of their new album Hobo Rocket.
Meanwhile, Kanye West’s American Psycho-styled promotional duties for the ARIA Charts-altering Yeezus has kept him firmly in music headlines, even as his fellow blockbuster rapper Jay-Z attempts to steal the limelight with the release of his own album – the Samsung-backed Magna Carta Holy Grail, which leaked online just after the music and business mogul debuted the album art in an exhibit with the real life Magna Carta.
Regardless, Yeezus has been gaining much acclaim from the critical fraternity, including our Tone Deaf reviewer’s 9/10 write-up, and – bizarrely – Lou Reed, the curmudgeonly Velvet Underground icon writing the only 1,800 word album review on Yeezus you’ll ever need.
