The mash-up merchandise culture that has become inescapable in the past decade or so is pretty stupid. There’s rarely much thematic purpose to most mash-ups beyond simple cuteness. But, sometimes something so bizarre stands out amongst all the Star Wars-meets-[insert other geek property here] t-shirts that it deserves some mention.
Joshua Chaplinsky, managing editor over at LitReactor, is releasing a novella titled Kanye West – Reanimator, and it’s exactly what you think it is. Check out this cover inspired by the poster for the nigh classic Stuart Gordon film:
That’s Kanye standing in for Jeffrey Combs and Jay-Z performing as the Man in the Pan (a.k.a. David Gale). I do get a chuckle out of all the movie credits at the bottom being filled by Kanye West. According to the author, the book will blend elements of Lovecraftian horror (including some of the same text from Lovecraft’s original story, “Herbert West-Reanimator’) and hip hop history. The synopsis states that, “Kanye attempts to reanimate a moribund hip-hop scene, only to come to the conclusion that his music is so powerful, it should be used to reanimate the dead. And who better to reanimate than those two legendary titans gone before their time—Biggie and Tupac?”
I don’t think I’ll be putting this into my reading schedule (I’m currently trying to read every Stephen King novel in chronological order, and I need to pick up Joe R. Landsdale’s The Drive-In thanks to a recommendation from Justin Waddell on the latest CHUD Show Podcast), but I’m sure some of you Chewers might be interested in this unbelievably silly concept. The book goes on sale on September 1st and will be available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and you’ll also be able to check it out at the Miskatonic University library.
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