Culture
09 Aug 18

WATCH: ‘Africa’ Covers Continue with Collab from Weezer and Weird Al Yankovic

Last night, August 8, at a live-show at the Forum in Los Angeles, Weezer and Weird Al Yankovic performed a cover of ‘Africa’ by Toto.

There is a story behind the cover. In December of 2017 a 14-year-old named Mary set up a Twitter account called @weezerafrica, the sole purpose of which was to convince the indie-rock group Weezer to cover ‘Africa’ by Toto. Through a campaign of constant tweeting and increasing support across the internet, eventually she got the band’s attention and they covered ‘Rosanna’ by Toto. Many were shocked by this twist, but admired Weezer's prank. A week later (May 30), they lived up to the dreams of many and covered ‘Africa’.

The cover soared to Number 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, becoming an overnight sensation. Reaching Number 89 on the overall Billboard Charts, the cover became the biggest hit the band has had since their 2009 single ‘(If You’re Wondering If I Want To) I Want You To’ reached Number 81.

Very soon, the lead-guitarist and Toto founder, Steve Lukather, promised to return the favour. And return it they did! The iconic ‘80s band are releasing a cover of the Weezer song ‘Hash Pipe’ on August 10, which they have already incorporated into their live-shows. Steve Lukather said to Variety “This is like the weirdest and coolest thing ever. Even if Weezer is poking fun at us. We’ve always had a sense of humour- look at our name. But this is a real win-win for both of us.”

Now, the most recent cover has appeared on the Weezer live stage. This time though, they have upped the ante again by introducing an accordion solo from none other than Weird Al Yankovic. This continuing story has led some people to dub this the “Summer of Africa”.

All the covers mentioned in this article can be watched below.