Popular stand up comic Hannibal Buress is planning on crossing over to music with a new album, according to his DJ and friend. Buress will team up with his Handsome Rambler podcast co-host DJ Tony Trimm for a new record with original songs (as opposed to his standup albums). Details are scarce at the moment, but it is expected to be released later on in the year.
“We already have a few [songs] in mind,” DJ Tony Trimm said in an interview, announcing the project. “We already have half of a Juke song. It’s just a matter of sitting down and crafting it.”
Trimm, who will be handling the production, said they are trying to create a “quality album” but also said it would feature Buress’s sense of humor.
While Trimm didn’t explicitly say it will be a full-fledged hip-hop record, it’s likely he will be mostly be rapping on the project if his past is any indicator. Here are some of Hannibal’s most hip-hop moments of his career:
1. That time Hannibal went to a Riff Raff show
On one of Hannibal’s best bits from his Live From Chicago stand up special, he addresses one of hip-hop’s most significant crimes – rappers performing over their vocals. In the bit, the Chicago-born comedian describes attending a RiFF RAFF show in Montreal – he also clarifies, he too had a show in Montreal.
“His DJ just played his music with the vocals, and he was just up there with a beer, chilling, listening to his songs,” Buress says in the joke. “And every now and then he’d come in, say two words and he’d go back. He got paid to vibe out to his own music on stage, which is good work if you can get it.”
He closes out the bit out by practicing RiFF RAFF’s technique for his own jokes. He has DJ Tony Trimm play a recording of a joke, during which he paces the stage and throws in some ad-libs, like Jody Highroller himself.
2. Hannibal’s bromance with Chance the Rapper
Hannibal Buress is one of the top comics from the Chicago scene, so it makes sense that he’s bonded with one of the city’s best young rappers. Back in 2013, when the two were starting to emerge nationally as some of the most exciting performers in the respective fields, Hannibal and Chance collaborated on the rapper’s music video for “NaNa.” Before the release of Acid Rap, a YouTube account called JASH gave Chance and Buress $5,000 to make a music video.
Instead of spending the money on sets or props, Chance and Hannibal shot “NaNa” guerilla style and kept the money. In the clip, the two explore Chicago, eat deep dish pizza and go chain shopping. (A young Donald Glover/Childish Gambino makes a brief cameo and snags a slice of pizza as well.)
Since then, Chance and Hannibal have become good friends and have worked together several times. Hannibal has also appeared on Chance and Jeremih’s Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama mixtape and the Re-Wrapped second disc.
3. Hannibal gives life advice with Open Mike Eagle
Hannibal Buress first met indie rapper Open Mike Eagle at Southern Illinois University, where Mike was Hannibal’s resident advisor. The two built a friendship that would eventually lead to Mike giving the comedian his first rap feature. Hannibal drops a comically clunky 16 on Open Mike’s “Doug Stamper,” off of his excellent 2014 LP, Dark Comedy.
On the verse, Buress gives life advice about proper hygiene (“Wash your hands when you touch your little dirty dick”), not paying for porn site memberships (though he encourages you to pay for his comedy), and good dietary habits (“Eat your fruit fiber bitch or get constipated”).
4. Handsome Rambler’s best hip-hop guests
The Handsome Rambler podcast is an endlessly entertaining listen, from Buress’s hilarious non-sequiturs to the duo’s advertisements in the form of a heavily autotuned, improvised songs. The duo have also had some in-depth chats with excellent hip-hop artists including Run the Jewels, Jean Grae, Saba, The Cool Kids, DJ Premier and several others.
5. The time Hannibal pissed off JAY-Z and Beyoncé
Forging friendships with some of Chicago’s most well-known and well-connected rappers has benefited Buress in many ways. One of the most notable benefits of his friendships with Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa is getting the opportunity to meet Beyoncé and JAY-Z.
While at a Vic Mensa album release party, Hannibal took a photo of Vic, Chance, JAY-Z, and Beyoncé, who were all posing for photographers. While attempting to take the picture, JAY-Z told him to be cool, Buress explained in a clip for a digitally animated series called Storyville.
“The situation with a club is that it’s too loud to say what you want to say. Like, ‘nah, I don’t want to be cool,” Buress said in the clip. “This is a great picture. This is two friends of mine from Chicago doing well, and they’re hanging out with you, one of the biggest rappers in the world and your wife, one of the biggest stars in the world. I’m not gonna be cool.’”
“But I couldn’t say that because it was too loud,” Buress continued. “It would have been weird to yell that at JAY-Z. So I just took it… In my picture, you can see Beyoncé angrily pointing at me.”
6. Hannibal trades bars with indie rap’s power couple
Two of underground hip-hop’s most respected veterans Jean Grae and Quelle Chris announced in December 2017 that they were engaged. A month later, the two announced a collaborative LP, titled Everything’s Fine, and they released a single called “OhSh” featuring the lyrical stylings of none other than Hannibal Buress.
Buress’s appearance on “OhSh” is less laugh-out-loud funny than his verse on the previously mentioned Open Mike Eagle song, but his choppy flow sounds more at home on the trippy Quelle Chris beat.
“I ain’t got no fur coat, but I got a bookbag fulla Merlot,” Buress raps on the song. “I’m lyin, I ain’t got no f—— Merlot. I drink whiskey, but I do want a fur coat.”
