Chris Rock Spoofs 'Hey Ya!': 'It's Like Public Enemy But Funny'
Chris Rock holds the crown.
Yes, he is considered by many to be the funniest man on the planet, but the Brooklyn native was literally holding a crown in his hands while sitting on the set of "Crackers," his latest music video. In the clip, which was shot in his hometown about two weeks ago, Rock not only jacks the music and melody of Outkast's "Hey Ya!," he also re-creates the video, adding his own irreverent stamp.
The song presents a satirical observation of racism against blacks over the centuries, all sung to the happy-go-lucky melody of Andre 3000's hit.
"It's like a Public Enemy record but funny," Rock said, later clarifying to say that although the subject matter is serious, the song is a send-up. Some of the lyrics include, "You raped my grandma/ Ooh, you raped my grandma/ My grandma and great-grandma/ You kept raping them/ Aah, AH, ah, AH-aaaal!"
"There's nothing funny about rape, but there's something funny about it in the context of the song," he said. "The song 'Hey Ya!' just seems so happy, so any depressing lyric with that same melody seemed funny to me."
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