With Idras Elba’s recent foray with Skepta’s ‘Shutdown’ and Scarlett Johansson’s team up with Este from pop-rock siblings Haim and XL signee Holly Miranda, we are slowly becoming used to showbiz stars appearing in our playlists. If a little unsettling at first, it can actually provide some pretty surprising results when the right people get involved for the right reasons. Cue the voice Shrek’s side-kick Donkey, Nutty Professor multi-character actor and #10 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time: Eddie Murphy.
The iconic actor and comedian has had an affinity with reggae for some time now. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Murphy’s musical career goes way back to the mid 80’s with two hit singles, ‘Party All the Time‘ (which was produced by Rick James) and ‘Put Your Mouth on Me‘. Following a 20 year hiatus, the comedian is back to put his mark on reggae music once more – and actually, he’s doing a pretty good job.
His new track, ‘Wonna Deez Nites‘, follows reggae chart-topper ‘Oh Jah Jah‘, which peaked at #1 on iTunes Reggae Single Chart and debuted in the Top 5 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Digital Song Chart last month. This new collaboration is the first time in over 20 years since Eddie Murphy has worked with another Jamaican artist musically. In 1993, he paired up with legendary Jamaican dancehall artist Shabba Ranks on his song ‘I Was A King‘.
