It’s been two months since Weezer fulfilled a year-long fan-driven campaign to cover Toto’s “Africa” — after trolling everyone with a great take on “Rosanna” first, of course. The song has gone on to become one of the band’s biggest hits, and now Toto is looking to return the favor. The classic rockers have revealed they’ve recorded their own version of Weezer’s smash “Hash Pipe” and will release it on August 10th. Update – July 31st: You can watch fan footage of Toto performing the cover live during a recent concert in Vancouver.
Toto’s Steve Lukather and Steve Porcaro announced the cover during an appearance on Los Angeles’ KROQ on Friday. Asked why they decided to go with the Green Album cut, Porcaro said they originally wanted to do “Beverly Hills”. “I thought ‘Hash Pipe’ had a better melody,” Lukather continued. “I love the message, you know what I mean?… And we wanted to do it justice. We wanted to do our thing to it, but still pay respect to it. And we added a couple of our kitschy little things to it, which I hope that they laugh [at]. We wish we could be in the room when they hear it.”
The pair also discussed Weezer’s rendition of “Africa”, giving it a “B++” and saying the band “kicked ass on it.” “Our music has such little nuance. We spent so much meticulous time,” said Lukather. “These guys stood this shit up in an afternoon.”
KROQ debuted Toto’s cover following the interview, but we’ll all be able to hear it when it officially drops on next week. Listen to their discussion below and revisit Weezer’s video for “Hash Pipe”.
