THE STORY

How did a singer/songwriter from Toronto decide to cover one of the biggest hits of LL Cool J's career? Well, it came after quite a long deliberation... not really. With the inspiration of numerous hip-hop covers from the past, including the most innovative of them all, Ben Folds' cover of Dr. Dre's "Bitches ain't shit", Matt united the nostalgia of his childhood with his brand of piano-pop.

The result is available now, after a solid debut at C'est What on November 8th. But preparation began long ago. Matt has been playing the track live for almost a year, testing it out on audiences across the province, either solo or with the band. The reactions have been mixed – either people have no idea what he's doing, or they dig it SO MUCH they want some Humphreys lovin'. The preview performance at this fall's premiere arts event, Nuit Blanche was no exception. Matt performed to a capacity crowd at the Gladstone Hotel for the marathon-telethon edition of Eyes on Toronto. Stephen Eyes, host, commented:

"I've always thought in the back of my mind when listening to that song that hey, it would sound great sung with a melody by a white guy playing the piano..."

The song was recorded at Session 101 studios in Pickering with master engineer Kelly J. Pederson. The Occasionals layed down the tracks, and mixing was undertaken by Kelly and Matt.

And what's a single without a video? The video production of Mama Said Knock You Out was undertaken by Toronto-based videographer Del Paquette. Watch it now on YouTube.

By coincidence, Matt's dream of seeing LL Cool J live in concert came true on a recent September night. As an opening act for Janet Jackson at the ACC, LL sang his biggest hits, including the one and only Mama Said to a capacity crowd. Tears of joy...tears of joy.