"We Are the World," Face-Swapped Live, Is Blowing Our Minds

If ever a song illustrated the twin artistic perils of supergroups and charitable singles, it was USA for Africa’s “We Are the World.” Featuring the production of Quincy Jones and the vocal talents of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Cyndi Lauper, amongst other 80s luminaries, the charitable single was, sonically speaking, government cheese.

But occasional YouTuber Rhett LeCompte recently made the single much more interesting in a surreal pairing of Face Swap Live with his lip-syncing performance of the anthem. LeCompte uses the app to swap his face for each celebrity vocalist when their turn at the microphone comes. LeCompte certainly isn’t a video or new media artist, but what he does looks like a trippy lo-fi variant of Chris Cunningham’s warped album design for Aphex Twin’s "Come to Daddy," as well as the sleeve for Windowlicker and Cunningham’s legendary accompanying video.

Click here to see Rhett LeCompte’s other videos.

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