26 Feb 18: Hey Ya (Interpretation) - KAMAU

Song: Hey Ya (Interpretation)

Artist: KAMAU

Album (Year): Hey Ya (Single) (2016)

Notable Lyric: "But who lives in my heart"

Have you ever found a cover or remix of a song that’s better than the original? This is not one of those situations but KAMAU’s interpretation of Outkast’s Hey Ya is a thing of beauty.

Many artists get their break from doing covers, mash-ups, or recreations of an already-famous song. There are some cover / mash-up groups like Boyce Avenue, Pentatonix and Walk off the Earth, who – as well as their original songs – find a niche in their field by reproducing their own versions of well-known songs.

There is a bit of a crossover with how sampling is used in order to create a different interpretation of a song; and that’s what it is, simply another interpretation. We see similar story lines continuously reproduced in movies just with different context and characters.

I really enjoy KAMAU’s take on this song. Despite not changing the lyrics of the first two verses, the slower manner of provides a different experience to the same song. It changes from a fast-paced dance song to a more emotional, passionate and sincere song. After a bit of research I found out that that was Andre 3000's original idea about the song: A heart-breaking love song disguised in an up-beat dance anthem.

"Y'all don't want to hear me, you just wanna dance"

The familiarity of a song that’s being sampled or covered probably makes it easier to appreciate the new version. Again, touching on the limitless creativity of artists and the realm of music in which they exist makes it near impossible to get bored.

I’m really looking forward to the day he releases a song with Chance The Rapper. I believe their complementary rapping and singing styles combined with their poetic word-choice would merge so naturally.

Make sure you've got your bass turned up & enjoy!

Hey Ya is the epitome of absolute duality between the energy and content within one song. It's, sonically, the happiest song, with the saddest content that we can all relate to, a breaking heart...a sinking romance. Andre 3000, almost prophetically, foresees the fact that nobody will pay attention or even notice that he's in pain "Yall don't wanna hear me, you just wanna dance."

KAMAU (2015)