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Rita Wilson Officially Hops on a Remix of Naughty by Nature's 'Hip Hop Hooray'

Marcus Jones
·3-min read

The multi-talented Rita Wilson can now add “rapper” to her list of professions.

The actress/musician just released a remix of Naughty by Nature’s classic rap anthem “Hip Hop Hooray” to raise money for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

It all started when Wilson herself contracted coronavirus while in Australia performing at the Sydney Opera House, and accompanying her husband, Tom Hanks, while he was filming the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann.

While in quarantine, the singer-songwriter posted a video of her in bed listening to the original version of “Hip Hop Hooray” and flawlessly matching the rap group bar for bar, to the surprise of her followers.

Wilson had learned all the lyrics for the 1992 hit for film she did called Boy Genius that was released last year. She revealed in an Instagram caption promoting the remix that it originally took her a month to learn the song.

“When I was quarantined and recovering from COVID-19 I wanted to see if I still remembered it, kind of like a brain exercise,” the star explained. “To my surprise I did. I thought it would be fun to put it on my Instagram to show people I was doing okay and to make them smile.”

RELATED: Rita Wilson Celebrates Being a ‘COVID-19 Survivor’ and ‘Five Years Cancer Free’ on March 29

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Hip Hop Hooray is like modern day Shakespeare. I originally learned the song for one of the most fun roles I ever played in the film Boy Genius. It took me a month to learn because it’s so complex and nuanced; it was like training for a marathon. The rhythms and tempos are so unique and creative. When I was quarantined and recovering from COVID-19 I wanted to see if I still remembered it, kind of like a brain exercise. To my surprise I did. I thought it would be fun to put it on my Instagram to show people I was doing okay and to make them smile. When @naughtybynature4ever commented about it, I couldn’t believe it. What a joy to be doing this remix with legends of the Hip-Hop world. I’m forever grateful for their generosity of spirit and for being able to raise money together for @musicares COVID-19 Relief Fund. Hit the link in my bio to listen to it and donate on YouTube! Available on all music platforms 4/10 👑

A post shared by Rita Wilson (@ritawilson) on Apr 6, 2020 at 10:06am PDT

For their part, Naughty by Nature say they were shocked to see how well Wilson knew their song. “We are honored to be part of the remix of our classic song to raise awareness and help fight the coronavirus,” they said in an announcement of the remix. “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.”

“Hip Hop Hooray” (Remix) featuring Rita Wilson is currently available on YouTube exclusively, but will be released on all digital/streaming platforms starting Friday. Hear the song above.

Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images; Bennett Raglin/Getty Images Rita Wilson; Naughty by Nature