At 28 seasons, The Simpsons has rightfully earned its position as America's longest running sitcom. However, with so many episodes under its belt, it's easy to imagine that the task of churning out new and inspired content might present itself as a hurdle for the show's writers. They're clearly up for the task, though, as the show recently announced that they'll be airing an hour-long hip hop-inspired episode – a definite first for The Simpsons.
Entertainment Weekly recently reported that not only will it draw inspiration from the world of hip hop, but that the episode, titled “The Great Phatsby,” will also take its cues from F Scott Fitzgerald's celebrated novel The Great Gatsby. The episode will feature guest voice acting performances from Keegan-Michael Key and Taraji P. Henson.
The episode was originally announced on Monday during the TCA Summer Press Tour when Fox executives announced that the story would revolve around the ”destruction of a friendship between [Mr.] Burns and an enigmatic hip-hop mogul named Jay G (aka Jay Gatsby).”
“This was just going to be a regular episode, but the table read went so well, in a fit of passion and excitement and ambition and excess, we decided to supersize it,” said executive produce Matt Selman. “And we haven’t done a huge amount of stories in the world of hip-hop and rap culture, so we just went for it.”
“Burns is an old school Gatsby and Jay G is a new school Gatsby,” said Selman. Apparently, a bond forms between the two, and Jay G manages to lure Mr. Burns into an extravagant hip hop lifestyle, which results in Mr. Burns losing his fortune and his nuclear power plant.
Henson will voice a character, loosely based on Empire's Cookie, named Praline, and Key will play the role of Jazzy James, a rapper seeking revenge against Jay G. The episode will air in January of next year.
By Ryan Donberg for RAPstation.com
