Bananas Clip: Lil Wayne x Harry Belafonte

Words by Eddie STATS Houghton

If you are on your rap grind you probably hearda this new-brand Weezy track which is burning up the webosphere but we couldn’t let a weird interpolation of Caribbean folk music go un-blogged. In a nice tiki-trap companion piece to Theophilus London’s King Cole impression, Bangladesh chopped up Harry Belafonte’s Coconut Grove classic “Banana Boat Song,” which of course is an authentic Jamaican folk tune, originally sung by dockworkers back in the Banana Republic days. Since Bangladesh is the creator of “A Milli”–another weird patois interpolation–we can expect that a) it will be a hit and b) if it is ‘Desh will make a career out of chopping up odd soundbites of nation language (or imitations thereof).

Stream the track here:

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/lilwaynefeat.corygunz-67-clean.mp3|titles=lilwaynefeat.corygunz-67-clean]

..But if you are a rap-nerd it’s worth checking the youtube version below with Weezy’s lyrics, some of the finest rhyming we’ve seen from the martian in a while (though we’re not mad at the new Mary J collabo either). And if you’re a culture-nerd it’s worth checking out Wayne&Wax’s hand-over-feets scholarly breakdown of the song’s textual history.

Tags: Banana Boat Song Bangladesh Coconut Grove Cory Gunz Harry Belafonte Jamaican King Cole Lil Wayne Mary J Blige Weezy

Recent Posts

  • home-right-news
  • Interview
  • Jesse Serwer
  • Music
  • promote

The LargeUp Interview: Stonebwoy On How Dancehall Conquered Ghana 🇬🇭

Africa's dancehall ambassador on the cultural connections between Ghana and Jamaica.

9 months ago
  • home-left-features
  • Martei Korley
  • promote
  • Sports

Going The Distance with Jamaican Track Star Aisha Praught-Leer 🇯🇲

From Illinois to Kingston, Jamaica, comes a story of fierce determination.

10 months ago
  • home-right-news

Jamaican In New York: Rhea Prendergast Brings Yaad Vibes To The Big Apple

Rhea 'Rheezus' Prendergrast is a young woman from Jamaica, living in New York City, working…

1 year ago
  • events
  • News

EVENT: Island Fever with Omari Banks, Screechy Dan + Friends 🇦🇮 🇯🇲 🇬🇾 🇵🇦

LargeUp is bringing Caribbean sounds to Long Island's North Fork Saturday, July 29.

1 year ago
  • Featured Section
  • home-left-features
  • Jesse Serwer
  • Many Waters
  • promote
  • Travel

Many Waters: Exploring Guyana’s Amerindian Culture at Santa Mission 🇬🇾🇬🇾🇬🇾

Guyana's past meets its present at this Arawak outpost.

2 years ago
  • Audio

Machel Montano Celebrates Trinidad Carnival 2023 with International Soca Anthem “Welcome Home”

Machel, Agent Sasco, Voice and Travis World close out Carnival 2023 with an epic visual.

2 years ago

This website uses cookies.