12-12-1998 – Billboard – They’re Playing My Song

There’s no denying that Queen was responsible for many instantly recognizable, enigmatic hits that intrigued audiences worldwide. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is undoubtedly one of the most memorable songs of the band’s legacy. An inventive rock opera, the track was musically adventurous and had a campy sense of drama that garnered attention and helped catapult it to No. 9 on the Hot 100 Singles chart in 1976. The song has recently been revived by Molotov, a Mexican hip-hop band consisting of Mickey Huidobro, Paco Ayala, Tito Fuentes, and Randy Ebright. Their version of the song, called “Rap Soda Y Bohemia,” was included on a Queen tribute album and will also be featured on Molotov’s new MCA/Music Media Studios EP, “Molomix.”

“Actually, it was the first song we ever recorded in the studio, even before we recorded our album. It was in November of ’96,” recalls Randy Ebright. “We cut it in two days . . . The producer [Cachorro Lopez] was looking for two other bands to join the tribute album. They couldn’t do it, and our manager is good friends with the producer. He invited him to one of our gigs. [The producer] liked it, and he invited us to do the tribute. We were one of the last groups to record, but of all the Queen songs, no one had chosen ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ which we thought was pretty representative of Queen. That’s why we chose that song.

“It was pretty challenging,” Ebright admits. “I think all the music you digest inspires you . . . It was fun to interpret it to our own style. I like the lyrics of the song and the concept. Also, Freddie Mercury is one hell of a singer.”

Ebright says the group members interpreted the lyrics to be about a man who had murdered somebody and was waiting to die, but they made a slight change in the lyric.

“Our guy got away,” he says. “He escaped to Mexico instead of being on death row. We all did our own verses. Tito started the verse out respecting the beginning of the song. Mickey followed it up, and I did the last verse, the escaping-to-Mexico part.”