Can I get a “TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNE“?
For this morning’s triple j Like A Version rap god A$AP Rocky paid tribute to the father of soul, Otis Redding, with a straight-down-the-line rendition of ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay‘.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv9bWV6DdPM
The sax player sitting in the front is the definition of groovy. The police tape a possible reference to Skepta‘s ‘Ghost Ride‘, featuring Rocky and A$AP Nast. A$AP’s actions, his whistle, his smiley face watch, his pink Sex Pistols scarf matched to his trousers, it all amounts to something gentle and lovely, that’ll just ease you into the weekend.
It’s smooth 1960s soul from one of today’s absolute giants of of rap. The type of song you listen to when you’re sitting by the bay/harbour/river/ocean yourself, hanging out with buds, maybe cracking a few brewskis, not really thinking about anything. Just chill.
Still, the song is not without its significance: Redding recorded the track just days before he died in a plane crash in 1967. It became the first posthumous single to top the US charts. It’s thought of as semi-autobiographical, talking about his move from Georgia to California in search of opportunity.
A$AP Rocky is in Aus at the moment for Listen Out festival, which hits Sydney tomorrow, and Brisbane Sunday. Last night he came out for an extra special appearance at collaborator Skepta‘s show at the Sydney Opera House.
At the end of the footage of A$AP Rocky and Skepta preforming ‘Praise the Lord (Da Shine)‘, Rocky says straight-to-camera:
I just wanna say this was a crazy experience. I had mad fun today. Skepta made it even twice as fun. I can’t wait to come back out here to Australia, it’s just gifts and video games and just good energy and stuff like that. You can’t really ask for more. Well you can ask for more, you can ask for a Humpty Dumpty teddy bear…
Which is how we ended up with this blessed image:
Image Source: triple j
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmqbyfLaZEw
