In 1982, Toto‘s song “Africa” helped the resurgent band reach its greatest level of success. Thirty-five years later, “Africa” is still among the most popular songs from the era, and its been endlessly covered by musicians online. We’ve seen a lot of great takes on the song over the past few years, like when Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard recreated the video, and earlier this month, 8 Bit Universe made their mark on Toto’s signature tune with their decidedly retro video game take.
8 Bit Universe does a lot covers on their YouTube channel, including music from TV, films, and video games. Their version of “Africa” makes us long for a 8-bit treatment for the whole video–audio and visuals. It’s hard to watch this and not immediately think about how this song could have been used as a theme on the old NES or Sega Master System.
For comparison’s sake, here’s the actual music video that Toto recorded for “Africa.” It’s interesting to see what a music video from that era looked like, as the band gave us one of the songs for the ages. Here’s hoping that we’ll still be singing “Africa” 35 years from now!
What did you think about 8 Bit Universe’s take on “Africa”? Are you gonna take some time to do the things we never had? Tell us in the comments below.
Image: Toto/Columbia Records
Treat your ears to more covers!
- The Muppets sing “Rainbow Connection.”
- Game of Thrones actors perform “Yellow Bird.”
- Lindsey Stirling covers “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”
