Cracker Island

Trugoy Posthumously Leads The Way On De La Soul And Gorillaz’s New Collaboration, ‘Crocadillaz’

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De La Soul member Trugoy The Dove (real name David Jolicoeur) died on February 12 at just 54 years old. The week before, De La Soul had been part of the 10-minute performance commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop at the 2023 Grammys. Collective disbelief and grief permeated the internet once the news hit, from his bandmates Maseo and Posdnuos to Common and Nas.

Gorillaz honored Trugoy more formally today, February 27. The famed animated band dropped a deluxe version of their new album, Cracker Island. One of the new tracks is “Crocadillaz” featuring Dawn Penn and De La Soul, and the first voice heard is Trugoy’s.

“Send a sentiment / Taste a destruction,” he raps over an upbeat loop. Elsewhere, Trugoy intricately balances the benefits of his hard-earned position (“Life is intoxicating, I need a beer”) with the potential pitfalls (“Hypnotized by the crocodile smiles / The exchange is brief but watch for the teeth”).

Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn first acknowledged Trugoy’s passing with an Instagram video on February 13. “A loop for Dave. I love you,” he wrote in the caption.

De La Soul was previously featured on Gorillaz’s Grammy-winning, ubiquitous track “Feel Good Inc.” in 2005.

An official cause of death has not been publicly identified, but as noted in Uproxx’s obituary for Trugoy, he shared he was suffering from congestive heart failure in 2018 and was hospitalized in 2020.

Listen to “Crocadillaz” above.

Gorillaz And Bad Bunny’s ‘Tormenta’ Is A Brewing Storm Of Emotion On ‘Cracker Island’

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Cracker Island, the eighth studio from Gorillaz, is out now. Although leader Damon Albarn is open to the idea of eventually stepping down from the mantle for the right person, for the time being, the group is going to celebrate its latest release by dropping a new single, “Tormenta.”

The reggaeton and indie fusion track, whose title translates to “storm,” features one of Latin music’s biggest stars in Bad Bunny. On the outside, the credit for the crossover track belongs to Albarn’s daughter Missy and her friend Salima who introduced him to reggaeton. During an interview with The Sun’s Simon Cosyns, Albarn shared, “[Missy and Salima] grew up together and went to the Spanish school at the top of our road. So they’re attuned to Latin music and into reggaeton.”

The song chronicles the pre- and post-emotional dealings of deep romantic love. Bunny is a fierce rapper, but on “Tormenta,” his vocal abilities are the central focus as he sings, roughly translated roughly translates to, “And make the most of me today, because tomorrow I’m gone / And I don’t know when I’ll get back, if I get lost in your eyes / And make the most of mе today, because tomorrow I’m gone / And I don’t know whеn I’ll get back, if I get lost in your eyes.”

Albarn was overwhelmingly impressed by the music star’s talents, saying in the aforementioned interview, “Bad Bunny’s the real deal. He’s got one of those annoying voices, which is exactly right every time. So accurate and so consistent, it’s amazing,” before jokingly adding, “If I could sing like that, I would be the biggest artist in the world, but I can’t, so I’m not!’”

Take a listen for yourself. The full track is embedded above.

Cracker Island is out now via Parlophone. Get it here.

Gorillaz is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Gorillaz Drops New Album “Cracker Island”

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Gorillaz has just dropped Cracker Island, marking the band’s eighth studio album. The English band has been hinting at this project since August and has teased its release with a few singles from the album. With 10 tracks in total, the collective work further solidify’s Gorillaz’s indescribably unique take on music that blends genres together seamlessly. The album itself boasts a wide range of featured artists, including Latin singer Bad Bunny, rock icon Stevie Nicks, and psychedelic-inspired producer Tame Impala.

Cracker Island also includes the band’s recent release of “Silent Running,” in which they collaborated with vocalist Adeleye Omotayo. Prior to the drop of the album, band members expressed their anticipation for their first large project since 2020’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez in a press release. Guitarist Noodle stated, “Cracker Island is the sound of change and the chorus of the collective,” with bassist Murdoc Niccals adding, “the hallowed tones of Cracker Island will soundtrack our collective ascension into the new dimension!”

Gorillaz’s “Cracker Island” Defies Genre Expectations

Niccals and Noodle both hit the nail on the head with their descriptions of Cracker Island. In all, Gorillaz has again showcased its incredible skills in versatility and fearlessness in experimentation. From the groovy and deep beats of “Cracker Island” featuring Thundercat to the band’s unlikely take on alternative reggeaton in their Bad Bunny collaboration “Tormenta,” Cracker Island takes listeners on an unmatched journey through contemplative sounds and danceable tunes.

Of course, the album cover features the iconic cartoons of the band, illustrated by co-founder Jamie Hewlett. The release of Cracker Island follows the unfortunate news of Gorillaz’s Netflix movie being canceled. But, Hewlett has still found a way to bring unique animations to the screen in the debut music video for the latest project. Be sure to check out Cracker Island, now streaming on all platforms, and let us know what you think in the comments below. For the latest news about hip-hop and pop culture, keep in touch with HNHH.

Cracker Island Tracklist:

  1. Cracker Island (feat. Thundercat)
  2. Oil (feat. Stevie Nicks)
  3. The Tired Influencer
  4. Silent Running (feat. Adeleye Omotayo)
  5. New Gold (feat. Tame Impala and Bootie Brown)
  6. Baby Queen
  7. Tarantula
  8. Tormenta (feat. Bad Bunny)
  9. Skinny Ape
  10. Possession Island (feat. Beck)

[Via]

Who Is Opening Gorillaz’s Tour In North America?

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Gorillaz Cracker Island 2022
Gorillaz

While we have to wait until next year for Gorillaz to drop their eighth album, Cracker Island, the band is heading out on a North America 2022 tour starting in September. Cracker Island will feature appearances from Thundercat, Beck, Bad Bunny, Tame Impala, and others, but the slate of openers for their concert tour is different from the album’s guests.

Who Is Opening Gorillaz’s Tour In North America?

The Gorillaz North America tour begins on September 10th at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena and ends on October 23rd at Miami’s FTX Arena. The two opening acts on the tour are EarthGang and Jungle. Credit to Gorillaz for choosing two vastly different-sounding acts to support them on tour, but who both fit perfectly within the scope of the Gorillaz musical universe.

EarthGang are the hip-hop duo from Atlanta consisting of Olu and Wow Gr8. They’ve drawn comparisons to fellow ATLiens Outkast with their funky, eccentric style and dropped their most recent album, Ghetto Gods, earlier this year on J.Cole’s Dreamville label.

Jungle are an electronic-leaning band from London led by the duo of Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. They’ve stood out with their vocally-charged songs that feel more like being on the West Coast than in the UK. Their latest album, Loving In Stereo, came out in 2021 via their own Caiola label and AWAL.

Check out the full list of Gorillaz’s tour dates with EarthGang and Jungle below and get tickets here.

09/11 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
09/12 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
09/14 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
09/17 – Las Vegas, NV @ Life is Beautiful Festival
09/19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
09/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
09/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
09/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
09/28 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
09/30 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
10/01 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
10/03 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
10/05 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
10/06 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
10/08 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
10/11 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
10/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
10/17 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
10/19 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheater
10/21 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
10/23 – Miami, FL @ FTX Arena

Gorillaz Link Up With Thundercat For The Punchy And Funky Single ‘Cracker Island’

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Back in April, Gorillaz kicked off their tour and made a splash by debuting some new music. One of the songs was a Thundercat collaboration called “Cracker Island,” and now they’ve gone ahead and shared the studio version of the track.

Thundercat’s influence on the tune is clear, as it’s a funky, punchy number, on which his rhythm and backing vocals mesh so well with the Gorillaz sound that’s always been so open to guest influence. Gorillaz also produced the song alongside Greg Kurstin and Remi Kabaka Jr.

Virtual band member 2D says of “Cracker Island,” “It’s nice to be back, I’m well into our new tune, it brings back weird and scary memories of stuff that hasn’t happened yet.”

As for the narrative behind the tune, a press release notes, “The world’s biggest virtual band have relocated to Silverlake, California where it turns out that the answer to life’s question — the one truth to fix the world — is to invite fans to join ‘The Last Cult,’ with Murdoc as its self-appointed Great Leader.”

The new song is the latest in a long line of collaborations for Thundercat, who has recently worked with Kehlani, Flying Lotus, Kaytranada, and others.

Listen to “Cracker Island” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Gorillaz Debuted Two New Songs At Their Tour Opener, Including A Thundercat Collaboration

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The Gorillaz are very well-known at this point for collaborating with some of the best and brightest artists around, so it’s never any surprise when they add another joint track to their already impressive discography. All these frequent collabs also make for a great live show when Gorillaz do perform, because a lot of times, different artists will come out and perform their hits alongside the band. Well, that wasn’t quite the case last night, but fans did get the chance to catch a new track for the first time — this one a collaboration with renowned bassist and R&B star Thundercat.

During a set at the Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, the band performed the new song and projected footage of Thundercat playing alongside them. Last night was the kick off for Gorillaz’ new world tour, and they played another new song as well, this one called “Silent Running.” Check out footage of the Thundercat collab both up top and down below, as well as some clips of “Silent Running.”

In other Gorillaz news, Damon Albarn has been a divisive force in pop lately, drawing the ire of Taylor Swift fans for questioning her songwriting in an interview, and praising Billie Eilish in the same breath. The latter led to a Coachella appearance for him, so at least some of those interview comments worked out.