Calgary country musician performs impromptu duet with rapper Afroman
Devin Cooper was busking at Calgary International Airport when the California rapper asked to sing
It's not often you'll see a country music singer and a rapper collaborate to perform a classic rock and roll song — in an airport.
Travellers were treated to just such a scene at the Calgary International Airport on Friday morning, however, when California rapper Afroman — best known for his hit, Because I Got High — asked to join Calgary musician Devin Cooper while he was busking.
The rapper had performed the night before at the Saddledome alongside Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Kurupt.
He and Cooper did a short rendition of the Guns N' Roses classic, Patience, much to the delight of passersby.
"I happened to been playing Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison as Afroman was coming through security," said Cooper, who has been busking at the airport a couple mornings a week since December.
"He walked up to me and was kind of standing there grooving as I was finishing the tune. He talked to me, asked how my day was going ... then he asked if I knew any Guns N' Roses songs because he had an Axl Rose impersonation he'd been working on that he wanted to do."
A WestJet employee standing nearby grabbed Cooper's phone and recorded the pair. Cooper then texted the footage to Afroman and he posted it to his Instagram account — with Cooper tagged — which had been viewed more than 11,400 times by Monday afternoon.
"He was dressed to the nines. He had a pretty elaborate outfit on, it was quite the travel suit," said Cooper.
"It was just random, kind of on-the-spot, it happened out of nowhere. A bunch of people in the airport started recognizing him and taking pictures. It was fun."
The internationally known rapper also left a tip in the form of American currency.
"It was one of those cool things you have the video to talk about. One of those cool experiences to put in the book of things that happened," said Cooper.
Originally from Innisfail, the now 22-year-old Cooper began playing guitar at age seven and began songwriting as a teenager.
"I used to be a little bit more on the rock and blues side of things. The last couple of years, I've kind of transitioned over into country music a bit more," he said.
"And I'm songwriting a ton."
Cooper will also be performing as part of a Music for Mexico fundraiser on March 13 at the King Eddy, with money raised at the event being used to build homes for the underprivileged in Mexico.