Our initial reactions to the 2010 “We Are the World†reboot were those of confusion and disdain. We had yet to hear a single note of the song, but something about the session just didn’t sit well with us (Vince Vaughn’s inclusion notwithstanding). When we heard a few bars of the song on Good Morning America the other morning, we didn’t have too much trouble with the distinct addition of bass-heavy drumbeats to this version, nor did we find anything to grumble about when we learned that Celine Dion would be taking on the Cyndi Lauper verse from the original. However, the proverbial shit just hit the proverbial fan when we read an interview that Nipsey Hussle gave to XXL about the production. Namely, there’s a rap verse!
For those of you who thought it was gimmicky enough that Paul Haggis shot the music video for the song in 3-D, we bring you news that LL Cool J allegedly wrote a brand-new rap verse for the unholy 2010 incarnation of the charity song. “Everybody rapped the same verse, we stacked our vocals and then after, LL, will.i.am went in, then Jamie Foxx, Snoop [Dogg], myself,†Hussle told XXL. He continued:
It was a 12-bar verse. I think LL wrote it and it was just talking about the disaster, similar to how everybody need to come together, it was you know uplifting lyrics. It wasn’t nothing corny.
Thank you, Nipsey Hussle, for assuaging our deepest fears that adding a rap verse to Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and Lionel Richie’s classic would turn out to be corny. With the storied likes of Will.i.am and Jamie Foxx rapping the lyrics, we should’ve known better.
’We Are the World’ Rapping Part Described [Ace Showbiz]