Disney, in its endless quest to cash in on all the intellectual property you adored as a child, is preparing to release a live-action remake of Aladdin this week. If you haven’t seen the trailers, it’s basically shaping up to be exactly what you’d expect: a slightly uncanny valley-style remake where nearly everything is CGI and everything else is creepy anyway. In its quest to make Aladdin culturally relevant, Disney is also releasing a bunch of reimagined versions of Aladdin classics like “A Whole New World” (which was redone by Zayn) and, now, “Friend Like Me” which has been given a makeover by DJ Khaled and Will Smith, who will play the genie in the upcoming film.
As one might expect, this new version of “Friend Like Me” is perhaps the most toothless, family-friendly rap song one could ever hear; it basically just takes the overall themes of the original “Friend Like Me” and turns it into a school lunchtime rap track. It's not all bad; Will Smith sounds... better than I remember? Which bodes well, since it'll probably be played on daytime radio every day for the next, I dunno, three years? Listen to “Friend Like Me” above.
