Monday, April 02, 2007

"Excuse Me Miss, I Speak Jive"

As part of a lawsuit against Outkast's record label, Rosa Parks' lawyers submitted to the court a "translation" of the band's song "Rosa Parks" from the hiphop language into standard English. The result? Hilarity!

For just a taste, here's how the lawyers translated the song's chorus. Compare and contrast.
Ah ha, hush that fuss
Be quiet and stop the commotion
Everybody move to the back of the bus
OutKast is coming back out [with new music] so all other MCs [mic checkers, rappers, Master of Ceremonies] step aside.
Do you wanna bump and slump with us
Do you want to ride and hang out with us?
We the type of people make the club get crunk
OutKast is the type of group to make the clubs get hyped-up/excited
Be sure to check out the rest of the Andre-English translation and look on in despair.

A tip of my big pimpin' hat to Gorilla Mask for uncovering this gem.

7 comments:

Mike said...

I cry.

Translation: Mike can't believe this is happening.

Noah said...

Oh sweet Jesus. You. Must. See. This.

Believe me, it is somewhat related to this post. Brilliant satire.

Wes said...

Smitty, I wept openly. That was a thing of beauty.

And of course, mad propz (note youthful, hip spelling) must be given to Jonathan Coulton.

WF

Wes said...

Also, let us not forget Nina Gordon.

WF

Otto Man said...

Anyone else remember the Jon Lovitz and Nora Dunn SNL sketch where they sang "Send in the Clowns" as it had been "translated from English into French, and then back into English"?

As far as whitebread rap covers, the list goes on and on. Dynamite Hack's "Boyz in the Hood" is a nice one.

Wes said...

Not quite the same, but in a similar vein:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Paul Anka.

WF

Tom Hilton said...

Does anyone else remember the Pretty Woman litigation between Roy Orbison and 2 Live Crew? The appellate court's ruling in that case included a synopsis of both songs that was truly hilarious.