John Lennon once gave an interview that really stuck with me. The reporter asked him who his musical influences were and after naming a few artists the reporter asked, "So would you say you borrow a few notes from them?"

Without missing a beat John replied, "Borrow? No, we stole from them. Borrowing implies it doesn't belong to you and you must give in back. We steal it and make it our own."

He went on to say, and I'm paraphrasing here, "It's not like we invented the blues or rock music. There are only 12 notes, after all. We just arrange them the way we like."

With that in mind, here is a song written by Stevie Wonder in 1976 that was rearranged by a couple of rap artists years later. Let's start with the original song as it was first written and released.

Artist	Stevie Wonder
Song	Pastime Paradise
Album	Songs in the Key of Life
Year	1976
Wikipedia Link	Pastime Paradise

Artist	Coolio
Song	Gangster's Paradise
Album	Gangsta's Paradise
Year	1995
Wikipedia Link	Gangsta's Paradise

Gangsta's Paradise is a song by American rapper Coolio, featuring singer L.V. The song was released on Coolio's album of the same name, as well as the soundtrack for the 1995 film Dangerous Minds. It samples the chorus and instrumentation of Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise.

The artists co-wrote the song with its producer Doug Rasheed, with Stevie Wonder receiving writing credits for the sampling of his song "Pastime Paradise" from his album Songs in the Key of Life.

The Stevie Wonder sample is the reason why this is one of few Coolio tracks without profanity, as Wonder would not allow it. Coolio said, "I had a few vulgarities...and he wasn't with that. So I changed it. Once he heard it, he thought it was incredible. Wikipedia

Artist	Amish Paradise
Song	Weird Al Yankovic
Album	Amish Paradise
Year	1996
Wikipedia Link	Amish Paradise

Amish Paradise is a 1996 single by parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the hip hop song "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V. (which itself is a reworking of the Stevie Wonder song "Pastime Paradise"). Featured on the album Bad Hair Day, it turns the original "Gangsta's Paradise", in which the narrator laments his dangerous way of life, on its head by presenting an Amish man praising his relatively plain and uncomplicated existence.

Although Yankovic traditionally secures permission from the artists he parodies (even though this is not legally required, as parodies are covered under fair use guidelines), and was told by his record label that Coolio had given permission, Coolio later claimed that he had not given such permission (and in fact publicly expressed disgust saying that Yankovic's parody "desecrated the song"). This created a minor controversy, as speculation surfaced that Coolio had actually given permission but later claimed he had not in the fear that allowing the parody would not be seen as "cool", or that Yankovic's record label had lied to Yankovic in the hopes that the song would become popular. Wikipedia

I once did a show in El Paso, Texas with the weirdest lineup ever. It was a 4th of July gig. We opened followed by The Judds, Weird Al, and B.B. King. I got to hang out with Al and his band after the show and they were the funniest guys imaginable. I was sore from laughing the next day.

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Nowplaying Week 35 --- by @nowplaying-music

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