Words by Mitch Tomlinson April 27, 2020

Post Malone live-streaming his nirvana tribute concert last night got us thinking.

Even if it’s bad, it’s always interesting to hear how different musicians interpret music from other genres. Of course, there are diehards who will never accept that a cover is anywhere as good as the original (they’re mostly dirty old rock pigs), but there are plenty of times when the new version fucking rips just as much.

After watching Post Malone take on Nirvana, we thought we’d take a look at a few other instances where rappers/R&B artists have (IMHO) nailed it. Check it below:

Post Malone – Nirvana

I don’t think many of us Nirvana fans held very high hopes for Posty here, but he’s played it pretty safe going for more straight covers rather than “reinterpretations”, and he does pretty damn well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7eaGcIyhPU&feature=youtu.be

Denzel Curry – Rage Against The Machine

With this tune coming in #5 in the Hottest 100 of 2019, there’s no doubting that Aussies have given it the thumbs up, with Curry delivering one of the most memorable Like A Version performances ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY4ywyFXdik&feature=youtu.be

A.B. Original – Paul Kelly

Is it really a cover if the original artist there singing along to it? Whatever, we’re making an exception for his ripping version of Paul Kelly’s classic tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICcewg7fxho&feature=youtu.be

Vic Mensa – Radiohead

If ever there were a group of fans that would hate their favourite act covered by a hip act, it would be Radiohead fans. You’ve gotta give it to Vic Mensa here though, a pretty tasteful rendition of the British outsider rock group’s 1997 classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3yLeqckLc&feature=emb_title

Illy – Silverchair, Paul Kelly, Flume

The cool thing about this Illy LAV is that he kind of plays it like a DJ, switching between tracks and blending them smoothly, with some pretty fire verses in between. Also, pretty ballsy covering multiple artists in one take – it certainly leaves him open for criticism (not that we have any).