Kanye West, Weird Al Enthusiast

By now you know Kanye West is totally a hipster – which is so awesome. Dude is getting Peter Bjorn and John to be his backing band, which is about 100x cooler than, say, Jay-Z and Linkin Park. And ironically, the bearded, mysterious indie-folk hero Will Oldham – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, among other names – is totally a pop guy, covering R. Kelly’s “Ignition” (but not the remix, unfortunately) and Mariah Carey’s “Can’t Take That Away” in the occasional live show. Actually, it’s probably not even ironic – doing an album of schmaltzy country covers of his own songs with a straight face might be, but I have a feeling that in this case the guy is just a fan.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – “Ignition” (R. Kelly cover): mp3

I don’t think ‘Ye and everybody’s favorite beard-folkie know each other, or even know of each other – it sounds like Oldham’s appearance in West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” video was pure chance – but nonetheless, it’s pretty much a hipster wet dream. Then again, so is the rapper’s relationship with Jon Brion, which led to this incredible video in the first place; in yet another case of all roads leading to Largo, Brion pal Fiona Apple knows also-bearded comedian Zach Galifianakis, and thus a video was born. The greatest irony of all is not the tractor-driving video’s satire of blinged-out, booty-shaking rap videos, but the fact that it’s kind of an unintentional tribute to Weird Al, who already did this shit on “Amish Paradise” 11 years ago. FULL CIRCLE, BABY.

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