Don't tell Aubrey Logan that jazz and pop don't mix -- the singer-songwriter and talented trombone player has heard it before, and she's proving naysayers wrong with cross-genre tracks that bridge the sounds of Herbie Hancock and Bruno Mars. For her latest offering, premiering today (Aug 23) on Billboard, Logan throws it back to none other than MC Hammer's 1990 "U Can't Touch This."
Logan hits every note and rapid-fire rap lyric of the hip-hop classic with her jazzy, four-octave vocal range, accompanied by swing-tinged musicianship, scatting and of course, her own trombone playing. But she chose the MC Hammer hit for a jazzy restyling may be even more entertaining than her applause-worthy makeover.
"I was determined to make a classic hip-hop song in my jazz style, but had the hardest time scouring the '80s and ’90s hip hop Billboard charts to find one I connected with. But one day in the supermarket, I heard MC Hammer’s 'U Can’t Touch This' playing in the produce aisle," Logan tells Billboard of her song choice. "I immediately jumped for joy; started singing along and thinking of ways to re-harmonize the track."