A small but vocal group of Weezer fans saw their dreams come true today when the band released a cover of Toto‘s “Africa”, thereby fulfilling the defining demand of the #WeezerCoverAfrica campaign.
Since its emergence in late 2017, the #WeezerCoverAfrica saga has grown into a perfect storm of things that make the Internet tick. By combining Toto’s “Africa” with social media trolling, aggressive 14-year-olds, and a band that only ’90s kids will remember, the whole ordeal has been a delightful reminder of the transformative power of world wide web.
It all started in December when a 14-year-old Weezer fan named Mary created a Twitter account called @WeezerAfrica in the hopes of convincing her favorite band to cover Toto’s beloved 1982 hit. For six months, her efforts were relentless yet unsuccessful, but everything changed last week when Weezer finally responded.
In a supreme act of trolling, Rivers Cuomo and Co. unveiled a cover of Toto’s other beloved 1982 hit “Rosanna”, which they tweeted at the @WeezerAfrica account on Thursday. The reaction from the Internet-at-large was overwhelmingly positive, but the reaction from @WeezerAfrica and her legion #WeezerCoverAfrica was one of confusion. “#WeezerCoverAfrica turned into #WeeerCoveringRosanna ???,” the account tweeted, presumably while coming to terms with Weezer’s—and by extension, the universe’s—cruel ways.
Alas, the story would not end there. After spending five days adrift in a dark world where Weezer was content to cover the wrong Toto song, the #WeezerCoverAfrica got exactly what it wanted this morning. On top of all that, the band used @WeezerAfrica’s first-ever tweet for their new single’s cover art.
Give Weezer’s take on Africa a listen below. And remember, kids: it’s never too late to follow your dreams, or whatever.
Weezer – “Africa” (Toto cover)