Viral production company 88 Rising is back at it again. After releasing a hilarious video of Desiigner’s “Panda” with tongue-in-cheek Chinese translations spliced into it, they’re riding the Pokémon Go wave by mashing it up with 21 Savage‘s trap anthem, “Skrrt Skrrt.”
Mark Redito’s reimagined version is a drastic departure from the menacing original video as it’s basically a live performance taking place on the same neon lit stage as 88 Rising’s “Panda” video. The brightly lit club stands in stark contrast to the former Atlanta setting, and the dark, trap production is replaced by a bouncy, Pokémon-sampling beat. 21 Savage raps along to the track surrounded by video vixens as mind-bending images of Squirtle, Pikachu, and Blastoise are sprinkled in throughout the video, along with a brief glimpse of the rapper Rich Chigga of “Dat $tick” fame.
Overall, it’s a strange viewing experience. 21 Savage’s gun violence and drug-slinging lyrics are probably not age appropriate for young Pokémon fans, but his laid-back, drawling flow sort of works with the remixed production. In any case, this mashup is the first installment of 88 Rising’s Beat Fighter video remix series. Future videos will also pair live recordings with beats sampling other popular Asian animated series.
