Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Kanye West 'Cleveland Show' Preview Pops Up Online

Kanye West 'Cleveland Show' Preview Pops Up Online

'Kenny' West challenges Cleveland Jr. to Auto-Tune-assisted rap-off in upcoming episode.
By Jayson Rodriguez


Kanye West and Cleveland Jr. on "The Cleveland Show"
Photo: FOX

Kanye West by any other name is still not to be messed with. Just ask Cleveland Jr. from "The Cleveland Show."

The animated series' soft-spoken teen puts the move on a classmate in a clip from an unaired episode circulating online. Things get interesting when Cleveland Jr. finds out his crush is dating the Chicago rapper, who voices his own character.

"It's Kenny sippin' Henny/ Rhymes slicker than Teflon," West raps, during a musical confrontation with Cleveland. "The school been high, I'm the black Zac Efron/ And when I meet a shorty, you know we going backwards/ Pulling more tail than my man John Edwards/ Lumpy, chunky, boogie-eating chump, B/ Acting out of place like Hootie singing country/ Leave my girl alone and get your own tenderoni/ Come on, who are we kidding?/ You're used to being lonely."

Earlier this year, it was reported that West would appear in an episode scheduled to air May 2 on Fox. According to show co-creator Rich Appel, West is a longtime fan of "Family Guy," for which Appel was co-executive producer. "The Cleveland Show" writers developed a concept for the rapper and pitched it to him, Appel said. West, to their surprise, agreed.

The multiplatinum artist, however, is less successful in his animated universe than he is in real life. "Kenny" West is still trying to find his way. In the limited preview, after serving Cleveland Jr. in rhyme, Kenny challenges the youngster to an Auto-Tune-enhanced sing-off, only to discover his counterpart can "sound like a robot" — with no aid.

As of press time, the rapper was only scheduled for one guest spot. But Appel told People magazine in March that he would welcome West's return to the show anytime, heaping praise on the MC for his contributions.

"We just recorded him in the booth, and he was fantastic," Appel said. "Once he read it a couple times through, he just owned the character, which I guess isn't hard since he was named Kenny West. He said he'd be glad to [be back]. I said we could write him into the next 21 episodes!"

What do you think about Kanye's animated alter ego? Let us know in the comments!

Related Artists


America Ferrera
Paz Vega

No comments:

Post a Comment