Bryn Mawr's Jim Beanz wrote the music for Sunday's 'The Simpsons'
You know the music of Bryn Mawr-based Jim Beanz even if you've never heard his name before. He's the protege of Timbaland and has produced songs for Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, and Britney Spears. He's also the music man behind the faux-hits on Fox's Empire and was nominated for an Emmy for Season 2's "Good People," which he wrote and produced himself.
Now Beanz is taking a trip to Springfield.
Beanz wrote music for this Sunday's episode of The Simpsons, a one-hour episode that's a hip-hop twist on The Great Gatsby called, fittingly enough, "The Great Phatsby."
The story will center around the friendship and feud of Mr. Burns and a rap mogul named Jay G. The two become friends during a summer in the Springfield Hamptons, during which Jay G ropes the cantankerous Mr. Burns into his excessive, glamorous lifestyle, ultimately bankrupting the tycoon and taking over his nuclear plant.
Homer takes on the Nick Carraway narrator role, while Key will play a rapper and Henson will voice, Praline, a take on her Empire character.
"Jim Beanz produced more original music than any guest composer or producer I've ever worked with at The Simpsons. We felt guilty about how much we asked him to do," Matt Selman, executive producer of The Simpsons, said in a release. "Because of Jim's amazing work, 'The Great Phatsby' has a feel unlike that of any other Simpsons episode in the history of the show. His creativity permeates the episode. He was so fun to collaborate with, and no matter what we threw at him, he gave us back something amazing. I would have to say that Jim Beanz made the hour-long Simpsons hip hop special... super special."
Beanz even updated the beloved Simpsons theme song. Listen below:
The Simpsons airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on Fox.