Goldie Lookin Chain are attempting to defend their status as Newport's top rappers by hitting out at spoof music video Newport State of Mind. GLC claim London-based director MJ Delaney - whose parody of Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind became a YouTube sensation - knows little of their city. They have responded with their own version, highlighting their rivals' alleged lack of local knowledge. "We were writing songs about Newport 10 years ago," said Rhys of GLC.
The rappers found fame with original songs which simultaneously celebrated and parodied life in their home city - including Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do and You Knows I Love You. They've also recorded a song with a male voice choir to celebrate the Ryder Cup golf tournament coming to Newport. Rhys admits that their response to Newport State of Mind is intended as a bit of gentle rivalry.
"Of course it's quite flattering to us and the people of Newport that people from Swindon or wherever are showing us affection," he said. "It's nice to see that we are held dearly in people's thoughts - they parodied us and now we're parodying a parody back." Newport State of Mind became an overnight sensation when it was posted on the internet in July, viewed more than two million times in its first two weeks. The original song by rapper Jay-Z with guest singer Alicia Keys extols the virtues of living in New York.
The spoof version features actors singing about their love of Newport, although Goldie Lookin Chain points out that celebrities mentioned like Shirley Bassey and Gavin Henson don't come from the city. Rhys says he was annoyed that the sudden fame of video stars Alex Warren and Terema Wainwright won them an invitation to the reopening of the Newport Transporter Bridge. But he accepted that the affectionate tribute had helped put the city in the spotlight. "Anything that brings attention to the city is good for Newport and the people of Newport," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment