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"This is really something that you should not do," said Sir Mix-a-Lot Friday night onstage with the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. The rapper was referring specifically to inviting a couple dozen women onstage with him, but some listeners will undoubtedly think the statement could equally well apply to the entire enterprise: presenting a new orchestral arrangement of Mix-a-Lot's notorious-turned-beloved 1992 hit "Baby Got Back."
The arrangement, by composer Gabriel Prokofiev (Sergei's grandson), was presented as part of the Seattle Symphony's Sonic Evolution project, which "creates a bridge between the Symphony and Seattle's storied reputation as launching pad for some of the most creative musicians on the popular music scene." In previous years, the series has featured composers paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Quincy Jones, and other Seattle pop-music luminaries.
Though headlines are saying that Mix-a-Lot "went classical" with this collaboration, in video of the performance released by the Symphony, the orchestra is hardly audible as Mix-a-Lot bumps and grinds with a bevy of women in concert apparel, most of whom look like they're having flashbacks to the last time they shook their booties to what's now become a wedding-reception chestnut — likely much less sober than they were at Benaroya Hall.
You can watch the video below, being warned that the song hasn't been at all edited from the version that inspired one of the original PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT CONTENT badges. If you thought the L.A. Philharmonic's performance of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels — possibly the only composition performed by a major American orchestra last season to feature erotic apparatuses in the score — didn't go far enough, you'll enjoy hearing a full concert hall yell along as Mix-a-Lot declares the conditions under which a prospective partner might pique his interest.
There's been no indication as of yet that Minnesota ensembles are taking note of this collaboration, but just in case, you might want to start preparing yourself for Prof to take the stage with the Minnesota Orchestra — or, better yet, for the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra featuring Riff Raff.
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