GOOD COVER
Gangsta's Paradise
Coolio
covers
Past-time Paradise
Stevie Wonder
Everybody on the goddamn planet remembers this. More iconic than Hitler's moustache, this song propelled Coolio's Twiglet-shaped cornrows into nauseatingly dizzy heights. Though never again able to muster up an equally rousing hit, the last time we saw him was appearing in the theme tune to Nickelodeon's Kenan & Kel. Which is a shame, cause Coolio was awesome.
Around that time hip-hop started to transform into bullcack vanity projects, Coolio was the shimmering light who could bring it all back. Even the Pachelbel-robbing "C U When U Get There" was alright, when artists still cared about the backing-tracks and not just a platform to talk about how much money they make, how many hookers' bum-cracks they snorted cocaine from and how many people they've pretended to kill.
Just a shame that few actually know the original. Stevie Wonder's 'Songs In The Key of Life' is arguably the greatest album ever made. A glorious masterpiece with a track-listing that has been covered more times than Rudolph Hess's grave; you've heard Will Smith's "Wild Wild West", George Michael's "As" and S Club 7's "Another Star" right? (I'm not actually joking about the S Club reference...)
"Past-time Paradise" is equally as dark as Coolio's reworking, and seems to have Stevie's seal of approval as the video below proves, where he joins Coolio onstage for a live mash-up of both songs. I just feel sorry for him after the song is over having to stand next to those two bozos yapping utter radge for ten minutes.
BAD COVER
Livin' It Up
Ja Rule
obliterates
Do I Do
Stevie Wonder
Staying in the Stevie vein, do we all remember Ja Rule? You know, the guy who's voice is so dull and gravelly that New York City council used to play his songs through megaphones during the winter months just to de-ice the roads.
It's for this reason this is getting filed under 'Bad Cover'. The song alone is alright, it's produced well, stays true to the original sample, hell it even uses Stevie's vocal sample, but Ja Rule's actual voice is simply inadequate. Tonally poor and has no delivery; it's just boring. He even makes 50 Cent sound like Captain Charisma.
I almost feel quite bad for slating him, but there's enough people who don't seem to care about anal stuff such as that and will always fund whatever the hell he does these days.
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