Gorillaz - 'Stylo' ft. Mos Def & Bobby Womack (video) + L.A. Times Story About

One of the first sounds heard on the new Gorillaz album, due March 9, is the relaxed drawl of Snoop Dogg. "Welcome to the world of the plastic beach," the rapper sings, referencing the album's title ("Plastic Beach") and greeting the listener with Blaxploitation-era brass notes and jazzed-up hip-hop beats.

It's at once familiar but far from routine, as notes are stretched and digitzed while the animated band, led be Blur's Damon Albarn, harmonizes behind Snoop Doog's fairy-tale-referencing lyrics. "It's like Wonderland," he sings, as the band relaxes into a trance-inducing groove of hip-hop and vintage soul.

The video for the first single, "Stylo," is a bit more violent, albeit featuring a similar psychedelic mix of old-school sounds. Actor Bruce Willis makes a cameo, chasing the cartoon desperadoes around a "Smokey and the Bandit"-like setting. Sadly, it is not embeddable (sigh), as EMI-released content is still shamefully sparse on Vevo, but we can show you a teaser below (video above).

At the very least, here's hoping that this is inducive of the kind of video content the act is kicking up for its Coachella appearance. The mix of noirish live action and animation not only cures this writer's need for a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" fix, but it also will look great when screened over the desert landscape. (source)