While Living Colour never really regained the widespread popularity they had following the release of their debut album, Vivid, despite a five year hiatus, they never really went away. The African-American rock band haven’t been particularly prolific, releasing just two albums since their 2000 reunion, but have been working on their sixth album, Shade, which is due out next year. They’ve also been playing some live shows as well. In the interim, they’ve released an EP, Who Shot Ya, that was released digitally today (9). As could be imagined, the title track is a cover of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya.” Biggie’s song hasn’t lost any of its urgency in the 22 years since it came out, and it doesn’t even need the sobering statistics about gunshots being the leading cause of death for black men under 35. The band’s take on the song is crunchier than the original, but still has the swagger of the original.
The EP also features a few new songs from the sessions for their forthcoming album, including a song called “Regrets” and “This Place Hotel,” which is described as “Michael Jackson cover aka Heartbreak Hotel”). There are also three remixes of “Who Shot Ya”
You can pick the EP up here.
