James Blunt and Roots Manuva: It's official

Roots confirms the unlikely collaboration is on

Tom Porter, Fri 29 Aug 2008, 11:37 am UTC

James Blunt and Roots Manuva: It's official

James pulls a Blunt Manuva with a Root

When a well-respected rapper such as Roots Manuva casually says: "I wouldn't mind doing something with...what's his name again? [James Blunt]", you might wonder if Roots' tongue could be any further into his cheek. Well, it wasn't. The unlikely combination has been confirmed.

Roots Manuva originally expressed an interest during an interview with The Guardian: "He [James Blunt] is so straight and straightforward. Imagine him on one of these weird beats doing a chorus or something, and being so earnest and sincere. That's beyond abstract. That's beyond avant-garde."

A recent interview with BBC 6Music, asked if he was joking: "No, no, we're sorting that out, he knows", replied Roots.

"I'm a personal friend of his [Blunt's] guitarist and he put the message in, and he's up for it. We'll just get in the studio, have a few wines, eat some cake and go for it".

We're still waiting patiently to hear the results of last month's Tom Waits/Tricky revelation - let's hope these chalk-and-cheese style duets are worth it. Who's next? Daniel Powter and 50 Cent, perhaps?