Sweepstakes
by Gorillaz (featuring Mos Def)

Album: Plastic Beach (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This track features American rapper Mos Def and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Gorillaz bassist Murdoc said: "The Hypnotic Brass brothers give us that full-on Chicago brass muscle, turning this track out into a 'Quincy Jones' version of hip hop, MC'ed superlatively by Mos Def. An absolute gent. I first met him in The Box club on the Lower East side of NYC. I like his rap work, and I saw him in Be Kind Rewind.
    'Sweepstakes: you're a winner.' Collect your little plastic prize at the counter. There's a lot of rubbish that gets dangled in front of people on this Earth. Making people feel like a winner is one of the best way of hooking them in."
  • Mos Def features on both this track and "Stylo." He told Q magazine March 2010 that he did this song in one take. The American hip hop artist added: "I based the lyrics on a character who runs the arcades on Plastic Beach. Bobby Womack (who also contributes to 'Stylo') listened to it while I was there. When the track finished, he said, 'Somebody call the fire brigade.' I think that meant he liked it."

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