Astronomers now generally agree that the sun will burn out in a mere five to seven billion years, and when that happens, Earth is a goner. Humanity, in all likelihood, will have vanished well before then, since the planet will be devoid of moisture within a billion years. It is incumbent, then, upon all people to use the remaining time wisely and constructively. In that spirit, a Soundcloud user from Melbourne, Australia called Victorylaptop has concocted a brief but sprightly mashup titled “Kendrick Lamario Bros,” which, for 95 fun-filled seconds, joins Koji Kondo’s indelible theme from Super Mario Bros. to Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta” from his acclaimed To Pimp A Butterfly album. The timing of this remix is fortunate, as both the game and its blippy accompanying music just turned 30 back on September 13. Were he real, Mario would likely have fond memories of playing Super Mario Bros. as a kid, memories which would be jogged by this very mashup.
There is no obvious connection between “King Kunta” and the Super Mario Bros. theme, other than the Lamar/Mario pun. One could theorize, however, that both Lamar’s 2015 single and the indestructible Nintendo franchise are built around paradoxes. The very title of Kendrick Lamar’s song is an oxymoron, as it combines a royal title with the name of a fictional slave from Alex Haley’s novel and subsequent miniseries Roots. In this song, Kendrick Lamar is declaring himself to be both a king and a slave. Meanwhile, Mario is a seemingly humble plumber who, while not actually royalty, is an undeniably powerful and influential figure in the strange, pixelated universe he inhabits. Others might guess that some winking double entendre about mushrooms is being made here, but Kendrick Lamar is a noted teetotaler.
In truth, the mashup probably owes its existence to the irresistible title pun. Let that be enough.