When Bill Cosby first introduced Fat Albert to Saturday morning viewers in early ’70s he said that the now iconic cartoon was based on a crew of North Philly kids that he ran with as a youth. But even though Fat Albert, Mushmouth, Dumb Donald and the rest of the Junkyard Gang were rockin’ out in slums, the show always maintained Cosby kid-friendly cleanliness. But two self-described “intellectual idiots” have changed all of that.
Dallas-based funk duo Awkquarius have taken Cosby’s classic cartoon and hooded it out. Splicing original Fat Albert footage with their own uncensored voice-overs, Pikahsso and Tahiti have given the iconic cartoon new story lines and a new grimy appeal. The result was an instant following on YouTube and multiple plugs from the likes of the Roots’ ?uestlove and Q-Tip via Twitter.
The series is already 8 episodes deep but for the uninitiated the first episode, “Who Shot Mudfoot,” starts with cops responding to a house burglary where Rudy is the suspect and ends with the Junkyard Gang in prison getting their backsides threatened by a long-haired inmate. Yeah it’s an 180 from the original. Check it out below:
- Pharoh Martin
