In 2001, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s animated virtual band Gorillaz released “Clint Eastwood” — a number four UK hit built around a Del tha Funkee Homosapien verse and hook. Millions of people who had never heard of Hieroglyphics or Oakland underground hip-hop were suddenly learning Del’s name. For many listeners worldwide, “Clint Eastwood” remains the entry point into one of hip-hop’s most expansive catalogs.
How the Collaboration Happened
The connection between Del and the Gorillaz project came through the broader network of musicians and producers around Damon Albarn and Dan the Automator. Dan the Automator — the producer who had worked with Del on the landmark Deltron 3030 album in 2000 — was also a key production contributor to the original Gorillaz album. His relationship with Del made the collaboration a natural fit.
Del’s verse on “Clint Eastwood” is a showcase for his approach: surrealist imagery, rapid internal rhymes, wordplay that works on multiple levels simultaneously. “I got the Gorillaz on my back but I’m still going,” he raps — a line that, in context, sounds like both celebration and burden. His verse transformed what might have been a quirky electronica track into something genuinely startling.
The Track’s Legacy
“Clint Eastwood” reached number one in several European markets and became one of the defining alternative radio hits of the early 2000s. The music video — Gorillaz as animated characters performing in a graveyard, with ghostly gorilla dancers — became one of the most recognized visuals of the decade.
For Del, the collaboration was commercially significant but artistically consistent with what he had always done: work with producers and musicians outside the strict hip-hop genre boundary, take on features that pushed him into unexpected contexts, and bring his distinctly Oakland voice into global conversations.
Del’s Broader Career Context
By 2001, Del had already released three critically acclaimed solo albums and participated in the foundational Hieroglyphics collective. Deltron 3030 — released the previous year — had brought him considerable critical attention. The Gorillaz collaboration multiplied his audience by an order of magnitude.
What that audience discovered when they went looking for more Del: one of hip-hop’s most imaginative, playful, and technically accomplished catalogs. I Wish My Brother George Was Here (1991), No Need for Alarm (1993), Both Sides of the Brain (2000), Deltron 3030 (2000) — an artist who had been operating at this level for a decade before the world’s attention found him.
The Ongoing Connection
Del and Damon Albarn have continued to collaborate. The Deltron 3030 sequel, Event II (2013), featured Albarn alongside an all-star cast of collaborators. The creative relationship has been genuine and sustained, not a one-time commercial arrangement.
Start Here If You Found Del Through Gorillaz
If “Clint Eastwood” is your introduction:
- Deltron 3030 (2000) — the same creative universe, with Dan the Automator producing a full concept album
- ’93 ’til Infinity (Souls of Mischief, 1993) — where the whole Hieroglyphics story begins
- Both Sides of the Brain (2000) — Del at his most playful and experimental
- 3rd Eye Vision (Hieroglyphics, 1998) — the collective album that proves the independent model