Tame Impala has become one of Australia’s most well-known artists of late. The multi-instrumentalist project from Kevin Parker is known for its psychedelic sound that has gained enough fame to secure headlining spots at both Coachella and Lollapalooza in 2019.
This year, ‘The Less I Know The Better’ claimed triple j’s Hottest 100 Track of the Decade, fans were treated to the release of ‘The Slow Rush’ album, and even a Tiny Desk performance filmed in accordance with social distancing practices.
However, it is the man behind this project, Kevin Parker, who has proven his talents go further than just the iconic music the sound system is known for. As an avid fan of both Tame Impala and hip hop, I have seen the magic of when these two worlds collide, leading me to say that Kevin Parker should most definitely work on more hip hop music.
Here’s why:
ONE
First, we take a look back at Rihanna’s 2016 ANTI (also her latest album to date, please Riri we want more). You may know ‘Same Ol’ Mistakes’ as a cover from Tame Impala’s 2015 release Currents.Although a slight variation from the original title of ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’, it is still infused with groove and does not stray too far from its predecessor.
KP revealed in a 2018 interview with Billboard that when writing this song, he “imagined a female R&B voice singing it”. His vision came true, verifying that he is capable of creating music for this genre. Might I add, Ms. Fenty kills it on this one.
TWO
In 2018, there was another intersection of worlds when A$AP Rocky sampled Tame Impala’s ‘Why Won’t You Make Your Mind?’ in his hit ‘Sundress’. The inspiration came from the polymath’s first record InnerSpeaker going all the way back to 2010.
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The same was seen in Kanye West’s 2018 track ‘Violent Crimes’ from the studio album ye. Yeezy was looking to incorporate some psychedelic beats and the Perth native was the right guy for this. It is these psych-rock melodies that artists from the hip-hop world have found to be the perfect ingredient in giving their music extra flavour.
THREE
The final reason is taken from a piece of work that Parker had direct involvement in writing and producing. In one of the more underrated numbers of the cultural phenomenon that is Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD, ‘Skeletons’ welcomes a collaboration of some of hip hop finest names with The Weeknd and Pharrell Williams also jumping on this tune.
When listening to this one, you instantly recognise the synth-infused rhythms that permeate Tame Impala’s discography. This added another dimension to La Flame’s #1 album on the Billboard charts, and even saw the Aussie perform alongside Scott as he promoted it. You can even catch some vocals from the man himself in the last ten seconds of the song.
To top things off, the singer, songwriter, and producer has mentioned meeting with Kendrick Lamar and SZA. In uncertain times such a now, there is only one thing to be sure about: we need more hip hop from Kevin Parker.
Check out Tame Impala’s clip for ‘Lost In Yesterday’:
