There exists an impermeable divide between a TV show's actors and the musicians responsible for its soundtrack—imagine Benson and Stabler crooning romantically over the Law & Order theme, or the musical guest on Letterman being Letterman himself. Anyone devoted enough to ride their talent all the way to a gig on nationally syndicated TV show presumably doesn't have the wherewithal to contribute in two separate artistic arenas. There's rules to this shit. Of course, these rules must be thrown directly into the trashcan when dealing with the incontrovertible creative force of William H. Cosby. America's dad has no lane to stay in because he's a lane unto himself, a warm, wacky lane who maintains a comfortably fluid relationship with the English language. In 1969 he marched into the studio where Quincy Jones was recording the theme song for The Bill Cosby Show and proceeded to kick the most Cosby-ass freestyle ever. Which is to say, he threw a couple of recognizable words into a burbling brook of nonsense ad-libs. He's a master of the form, his wet, fricative "burrr" towering over Gucci's pale imitation four decades later. Thank you, based Bill.
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