Just as the plot of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is predicated around an innocuous object, like a puzzle box, that has the power to unleash untold pain on the world, so too has the podcast Serial proved to be a font, but for hilarious and diverting Internet content instead. Previously this corner of the Internet has covered several Serial parodies, a mashup of its opening Mail Chimp advertisement, and a version imagining the show’s intro using clips from Seinfeld, even going as far as producing its own podcast dissecting the show. But few things have been as alluring to would-be producers as Nick Thorburn’s now iconic Serial theme song. It’s been thoughtfully rapped over and provided backing for Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” But now Soundcloud user Fafu has posted what might be the definitive creation with his “Life After Serial,” combining an uptempo version of the aforementioned theme, as well as clips from the show, with Notorious B.I.G.’s “Somebody’s Gotta Die” off of Biggie’s posthumous album Life After Death. With the Notorious B.I.G. original being a song about seeking revenge, just as the State of Maryland’s case against Adnan Syed wished to suggest was his modus operandi, the mashup takes on additional, if slight, thematic depth otherwise missing from previous productions. If nothing else it serves two purposes, acting as a reminder of just how unrivaled Biggie Smalls’ lyrical storytelling abilities were, and as a reminder that after today we’ll be living in a dystopic, post-Serial world.
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