Paul Simon Taps Chance the Rapper Collaborators for Atmospheric New Song
Paul Simon tapped members of Chance the Rapper‘s frequent collaborators, the Social Experiment, to rework two tracks from his latest album into a wholly unique new song, “Stranger.”
Nico Segal – formerly known as Donnie Trumpet – and Nate Fox produced the new song, which blends elements of “The Werewolf” and “The Clock,” both off Simon’s 2016 LP, Stranger to Stranger. The atmospheric mashup opens with Segal delivering airy trumpet lines over a warped version of the playful “Cock” melody, which transitions seamlessly into a syrupy R&B take on “The Werewolf.”
Simon released Stranger to Stranger in June, marking his first LP since 2011’s So Beautiful or So What. The album finds Simon once again exploring an array of different genres and even collaborating with Italian electronic dance music artist Clap! Clap! on several songs, including “The Werewolf.”
“There are a lot of preconceptions [about my new work] because I have been familiar to the public for 50 years,” Simon told Rolling Stone. “They go, ‘Is it going to be Graceland? Is it going to be ‘Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard?’ Simon and Garfunkel? The Capeman?’ To get people to listen with open ears, you have to really make something that is interesting because people are prepared for it not to be interesting.”
The Social Experiment, meanwhile, have been on tour with Chance the Rapper after contributing extensively to his most recent project, Coloring Book. In 2015, the group put out their own album, Surf.