Very few people are probably thinking about the song “DK Rap” in 2024. If you need a refresher, it’s the simple and endearingly cheesy rap song from Donkey Kong 64 (1999), written by legendary video game composer Grant Kirkhope, who you probably know better as the man behind the cult Goldeneye Pause music (among other things other things). The 1999 version of the song, sung by George Andreas and Chris Sutherland, featured a classic AABB rhyme scheme with questionable scandal and slant rhymes (“well” and “tail”, “tune” and “you” – you get the idea). . I’ve been fascinated by this song since I first heard it – mostly because of the song’s bad-but-good nature, mind you – and apparently its composer has never stopped thinking about it either. Because now it’s back and better than ever.
In one Post on Bluesky Today Kirkhope shared a brand new version of rap with rapper Substantial. It has new lyrics and some are very funny Wah-wah pedal Guitar work in the backing track. I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly good this new version of the song is. The new lyrics obviously help a lot, but the backing track also helps. I never expected this to happen. And I’m pretty excited about it.
This is a shockingly good redemption arc for a song that was, in Kirkhope’s words, “the worst rap track in the history of rap tracks.” It’s also nice to see Kirkhope seeing some personal hype around his (now much improved) song, as it was used in the 2023 animated Mario film I didn’t even acknowledge him.
