The Gorillaz song that almost featured Dave Chappelle
The number one rule of any Gorillaz project is to leave any preconceived notions of a hit at the door. From day one, Damon Albarn was looking to take the band into bold new directions completely different from the artificial sounds of pop music at the time, with virtual images used as the subsequent band members. Although Albarn would work with whoever suited the song, fans were robbed of one of the strangest collaborations of all time for the album Humanz.
After a few years off from Gorillaz, Albarn had already gone through a fantastic renaissance when putting Blur back together. Informed by the new experience, Humanz was meant to bring positivity back into the world in light of a bleak future. Though projects like Plastic Beach reflected on the sad state of the world and what could come of it due to waste, the 2017 album would be a step in a new direction — a party to soundtrack the apocalypse.
Then again, Albarn did go through his fair share of hangups when putting the project together. When working on the album about an apocalyptical future, Albarn thought he would reference Donald Trump as president, thinking the possibility was an unwelcome thought experiment.
Once it came true, though, the frontman went back to the drawing board with a handful of songs, with certain lines of verses being edited out of the final mix. Despite the various guest stars popping in and out of the studio, fans were delighted to see De La Soul back on a track with the band for the song ‘Momentz’.
Having served time on their trademark hit ‘Feel Good Inc.’, the rap collective was known as the perfect zany counterpart to what Albarn was doing, understanding immediately what any of the tracks needed to work effectively. While the song would be a highlight from the album while the band were touring, Albarn said that Dave Chappelle was originally going to be playing on the track.
When working on the song, Albarn said that Chappelle was slated to feature on the track before the group took the song in a different direction, recalling, “I didn’t hear De La Soul for that. Posdnous shows up. He said, ‘I want to do something.’ We were trying to get Dave Chappelle to do that. But he knows Pos, and somehow, that’s how that happened”.
Even though Chappelle may have seemed like an odd fit, his impressive musical chops have crept up in the music world now and again. Outside of working with the animated alternative outfit, Chappelle was also known at the time for joining Foo Fighters onstage to play a version of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’.
Once Posdnous started adding his own layer to the song, though, he turned what was originally meant to be a ska song into the massive party Albarn was hoping for, with a booming kick drum that sounds like the world is slowly falling apart around you. While Albarn may have had other ideas, he felt that what made it onto the record was what the album needed, explaining, “I let people listen to loads of different tunes, then they choose the one they’re into. You’re never going to get the best out of people if you tell them, ‘No, you have to do this”.
