Last month, actress and COVID-19 survivor Rita Wilson impressed fans with her quarantined rendition of the Naughty by Nature classic “Hip Hop Hooray,” which she rapped bar-for-bar on Instagram. Today, it was announced that she and the New Jersey rap legends will be joining forces on a remix of the song in order to help musicians affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, April 10, “Hip Hop Hooray (Remix)” will be released on digital and streaming platforms, and the profits of the recording will go directly to the MusiCares Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. MusiCares announced the relief fund will benefit people in the music industry who have been affected by the illness, as well as aid for those dealing with the “subsequent cancellation of thousands of music events.”
In a statement about the remix, Naughty by Nature gave props to Wilson for embracing their music and said that fans kept “inboxing” them on Instagram about her now-viral post.
“We are honored to be part of the remix of our classic song to raise awareness and help fight the coronavirus,” they said. “Thanks again to Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks for embracing us, and for helping us take the unexpected viral moment further for such a great cause.”
Wilson explains in a statement that she first learned the song—which she calls “modern-day Shakespeare”—several years ago while working on the film Boy Genius. While she and her husband Tom Hanks were quarantined in Australia while recovering from COVID-19, she wanted to see if she could still remember it. She says she’s “grateful” for her new collaboration with “legends of the Hip-Hop world.”
Elsewhere in America, Wilson’s son Chet Hanks is likely grieving the memory of his own rap career while weeping into a plate of homemade Toto cake.