Jim Carrey's Surprising Music Moments, From 2Pac to Kid Cudi

Legendary actor Jim Carrey has impacted the music world, from his friendship with The Weeknd to inspiring Kid Cudi, Eminem, Tyler, The Creator, and more.

jim carrey surprising music moments and connections
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jim carrey surprising music moments and connections

Tierra Whack wakes up every morning hoping that Jim Carrey is okay. Adele once dressed as The Mask on Halloween, and JPEGMAFIA has named him as one of his top five favorite white people. It’s clear Carrey’s otherworldly performances, illustrious catchphrases, and rubber face antics have made him a living legend.

Introduced to many as the white guy on comedy sketch show In Living Color, the Canadian star was destined to change the game. Since Carrey’s unparalleled 1994 run, in which he managed to score three number one movies at the box office within 11 months (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask), the well-loved actor has been thoroughly embraced by pop culture. Name-dropped by a legion of performers, it’s no wonder his career has also had a lasting impression on the music world. In honor of Jim Carrey’s recent 60th birthday, read on to learn more about how he inspired rappers like Kid Cudi and Eminem, gain insight into his friendships with Ariana Grande and The Weeknd, and enjoy some rare performance clips from his little-known rock concert.

Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon series was inspired by Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Andy Kaufman.

kid cudi man on the moon 2009

Nearly possessed by the spirit of late comedian Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey has described filming biopic Man on the Moon (1999) as an out of body experience. Unable to break character on set, his depiction of Kaufman’s controversial demeanor and affinity for outlandish pranks earned him a Golden Globe Award.

Drawing inspiration from the film, multi-faceted artist and fellow actor Kid Cudi created the concept for his soul-baring and celestial Man on the Moon series. After the debut of his stellar album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009), Cudi went on to drop Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010) and Man on the Moon III: The Chosen (2020).

“The whole Man on the Moon theme came to me after I saw Jim Carrey in the movie Man on the Moon, about Andy Kaufman. I felt that his approach to comedy was like my approach to music—this unfiltered, could be disturbing type of shit, you know? Shit that really fucked with the sense, fucked with the people. So I ran with that,” he explained during a 2020 Wonderland interview

In 2015, Cudder referenced Carrey again with Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven’s erratic “The Return of Chip Douglas (Demo),”  which was named after his lead character in The Cable Guy (1996).

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2Pac was a huge Jim Carrey fan and received letters from the actor while he was in prison.

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The concept and artwork for 'The Eminem Show' were both inspired by Jim Carrey films.

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Jim Carrey’s career took a dramatic turn when he starred in The Truman Show (1998).  His performance as the oblivious TV star displayed the media’s startling power over the masses and predicted the impending wave of reality-based television that peaked in the early 2000s. Like Truman, Emimen was thrust into the public eye and constantly scrutinized by the media when he dropped his third album, The Eminem Show, in 2002. Commemorating the 15th anniversary of the album, he acknowledged the film as the influential centerpiece of the project.  

“The concept for The Eminem Show was inspired by The Truman Show because my life felt like it was becoming a circus at that time and I felt like I was always being watched. Basically, Jim Carrey wrote my album,” Em shared in a handwritten note posted on Instagram

During an interview posted on Reddit, Carrey also pointed out the inspiration for the album’s artwork. “I mean, if you look at the cover of the album, it’s basically the poster for Man on the Moon, a revised version of it with the red curtain and everything. And I was just blown away by that,” he commented.

It’s worth noting that Jim also introduced Eminem’s 2000 VMA performance of “The Real Slim Shady/The Way I Am,” which featured an army of Slim Shady clones who swarmed the Radio City Music Hall stage.

Jim Carrey collaborated with Busta Rhymes on Dr. Seuss' 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' soundtrack.

Busta Rhymes 2000

Since its release in 2000, Ron Howard’s Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas has become a holiday staple. Based on Dr. Seuss’ 1957 book, Carrey brought the green villain to life with his brash wit, cartoon-like gestures and the strength to endure grueling three-hour costume sessions. The film went on to become the fourth-highest grossing holiday film of all time and even garnered Carrey a meeting with the Queen of England at its London premiere.

Teaming up with the ever-inventive Busta Rhymes for “Grinch 2000” from the movie’s soundtrack, Carrey lent his vocals to the Teddy Riley-produced song complete with a shout out to Busta’s Flipmode Squad collective and the Westside of Whoville. Surprisingly, the original version of the track was crafted by venerated Gang Starr member and producer DJ Premier. The obscure track surfaced on Statik Selektah’s Shade 45 radio show in 2016, nearly two decades later.

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The Weeknd befriended Jim Carrey and recruited him for a 'Dawn FM' album cameo.

The Weeknd 'Dawn FM' album

Both Canada-made icons, the stars aligned when Jim Carrey and R&B artist The Weeknd formed a bond due to their love of the cosmos. After hitting the scene shrouded in anonymity with his debut mixtape House of Balloons (2011), The Weeknd evolved into a household name and performed at the Super Bowl a decade later. Though the musician eventually formed a friendship with the comedic genius, he was shocked when Carrey treated him to a birthday meal.  

In an interview with GQ, the 3x Grammy winner shared, “On my 30th birthday, he surprised me. He just pulled up to my crib and took me to breakfast.” When asked how Carrey got his address, he responded, “He lived literally like two buildings down from me. He had a telescope, and I had a telescope. He was like, ‘Where do you live? What floor do you live on?’ I was like, blah, blah, blah. And we looked out the windows on our telescopes and we could see each other.  That was like the beginning of my 30s. It was just like, ‘What is going on?’”

In 2021, Carrey announced that he would be contributing to The Weeknd’s Dawn FM album via Twitter.  He appeared as a radio announcer throughout the purgatory themed dance project.

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Countless rappers have referenced Jim Carrey in their work.

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Rappers have co-signed and paid tribute to Jim Carrey since the 1990s. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) not only jump-started his career as a movie megastar, but also timestamped one of his first hip-hop affiliations. Starring alongside Delicious Vinyl rapper Tone Loc (who played Ace’s cop friend), Carrey appeared on the track and in the video for the film’s theme song “Ace Is in the House.”  

Over the years, hip-hop heavyweights continued to gravitate towards the brilliant actor. Carrey has been mentioned in tracks by The Roots, Young Thug, Future, and the late Mac Miller. Tyler, The Creator referenced Liar Liar on “Seven,” Clipse alluded to The Mask on their Lord Willin’ intro and Lil B even went so far as to title one of his tracks “I’m Jim Carrey.”

More recently, late Memphis rapper Young Dolph and cohort Key Glock paid homage to his 1994 buddy comedy co-starring Jeff Daniels with their 2019 album Dum and Dummer. The duo also reenacted the movie’s famous snowball fight scene in the visual for “Aspen” from their subsequent project Dum and Dummer 2.

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Ariana Grande and Tyler, The Creator appeared on Carrey's show 'Kidding.'

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Decades before Jim Carrey explored the bittersweet realities of grief with his Showtime series Kidding (2018), pop princess Ariana Grande grew up stanning the entertainer. During a Live with Kelly and Michael interview, the singer named Carrey as her childhood crush and revealed via Instagram that her “first AIM username was jimcarreyfan42 when I was in like 4th grade.” 

After tearily meeting the star in 2014, Ariana and Jim continued to exchange tweets and formed an unlikely friendship over the years. In February of 2019, Ariana appeared on Kidding as the enchanting Piccola the Pickle Fairy who sang alongside Carrey and a group of puppets. She described the moment as a “dream of an experience” in a heartfelt IG caption. The songstress further proved her fandom by getting a Truman Show quote tattooed on her arm later that year. During a press tour, Carrey spoke highly about Ariana’s cameo. “When she opens her mouth and sings, it’s just magical. It’s nice to find out that she’s a lovely person,” he stated.

In 2019, Kidding fan Tyler, The Creator also had the opportunity to guest star on the show as a nostalgia therapy center employee. Some fans believe Tyler’s fictional surname Baudelaire on his album Call Me If You Get Lost (2021) may be a reference to A Series of Fortunate Events (2004), especially since he has tweeted about Carrey’s character Count Olaf in the past. 

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Jim Carrey surprised fans by covering Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins at his own 2011 concert.

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Whether encouraging MTV to play more Foghat during his 1999 MTV Movie Award acceptance speech dressed as a hippie or belting out Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” in The Cable Guy, Jim Carrey is somewhat of a rock star himself.

In 2011, Carrey held an impromptu concert that was cryptically announced on Twitter. “Tonight at midnight, NY time, ‘Something happy for a hard day’ Let’s all find a #UnitedStateOfGrace?,” he tweeted.

Lucky fans who gathered at tiny New York venue Arlene’s Grocery got a once in a lifetime experience to witness Carrey’s set. Backed by a live band, he performed powerhouse covers of Radiohead’s “Creep,” The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” and The Bee Gees’ “I Started a Joke” throughout the epic night. 

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