Words by Jesse Serwer—
The last time we heard Eddie Murphy sing reggae, he was instructing the members of a VFW Hall to “kill all the white people,” in one of the most memorable skits from his run at SNL. More than three decades later, we’re still laughing at that one.
Well we’re laughing again, but this time not for the same reasons. Reviving a spotty music career that includes “Party All the Time” with Rick James, a not-exactly reggae link-up with Shabba Ranks, and the super-colossal clash of the titans that no one seems to remember, “What’s Up With You” with Michael Jackson, the one-time funniest man in the world has just turned up in a mysterious new music video that’s got us going, “Woy!”
We’d thought Eddie had resigned himself to singing only in movie roles like Dreamgirls these days so we’re surprised to see that he’s back… and playing guitar… and reggae. In what is only too fitting, his sidekick for the track, called “RedLight,” is another larger-than-life figure known for his perplexing foray into yaad business, Snoop Lion.
As ridiculous as this all sounds, the tune is actually… not bad… for Eddie Murphy doing a straight-faced Bob Marley impression. Eddie’s a decent singer, which already puts him ahead of a lot of other folks who are making reggae these days.
At press time, the clip only had 800-something views and three comments, all in Cyrillic. Based on the distorted colors, we’re going to guess this was bootlegged in some fashion from its original intended source. But, supposedly, “RedLight” is the first single from a new album by Eddie. Details thus far are sketchy. So enjoy while you can, lest this gift disappear.
If nothing else, this should make for quite the amusing way to end your day.