--- --- # This Mash-up of Kanye West and Sam Smith Was Meant to Be  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Nov 26, 2014 7:37 PM UTC  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Nov 26, 2014 7:37 PM UTC The first brilliant take on Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” was the brainchild of Zach Galifianakis, who brilliantly (and inexplicably) [lip-synced the song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2bCc0EGP6U) while gyrating on a tractor. The second comes courtesy of Carlos Serrano, whose [SoundCloud page](https://soundcloud.com/serranocarlos) is a tiny universe of creative mash-ups. Serrano layered West’s 2007 Grammy-nominated song over Sam Smith’s heart-wrenching ballad “I’m Not the Only One” to surprisingly successful results. The simple piano melody and lilting strings of Smith’s track imbue the rap song with a sense of calm and resignation not found in the original. Does it work thematically? It’s definitely a stretch. One song is about money and bravado, and the other, about the victim of an unfaithful partner. But no matter, because the mash-up is all about the sonic blend. Serrano’s mash-ups of [TLC and Haim](https://soundcloud.com/serranocarlos/tlc-vs-haim-falling-scrubs-carlos-serrano-mix), [The Notorious B.I.G. and Ellie Goulding](https://soundcloud.com/serranocarlos/the-notorious-b-i-g-vs-ellie-gould-under-the-funk-carlos-serrano-mix), and [Rihanna and Daft Punk](https://soundcloud.com/serranocarlos/rihanna-vs-daft-punk-stay-in-the-horizon-carlos-serrano-mix) are also worth a listen. The best musical marriages are often the least expected. **_Should Kanye West be Person of the Year? Vote below for #TIMEPOY_** Sam Smith Kanye West Mashup: Full Audio ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3608115/kanye-west-sam-smith-mashup/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3608115/kanye-west-sam-smith-mashup/"},"headline":"This Mash-up of Kanye West and Sam Smith Was Meant to Be","datePublished":"2014-11-26T19:37:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:14:52.061Z","description":"Smith can’t tell you nothing, and West is not the only one","url":"https://time.com/3608115/kanye-west-sam-smith-mashup/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","Kanye West","pop music","Sam Smith"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3608115/kanye-west-sam-smith-mashup/","name":"This Mash-up of Kanye West and Sam Smith Was Meant to Be"}}]}] ```