In 2018, in response to months of campaigning by an Ohio teenager named Mary, Weezer famously covered Toto's 1983 chart-topping hit "Africa," yielding a fun music video with Weird Al Yankovic and becoming Weezer's biggest hit in years. Toto even returned the favor by covering "Hash Pipe." But it did not lead to a friendship between the two bands.
Last week, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather was a guest on Matt Pinfield's KLOS radio show New & Approved. When Pinfield mentioned Rivers Cuomo's love for "Africa," Lukather asserted that Weezer's recording did not come from a loving place. "I don't know about him loving the song, man," Lukather said. "I don't think that's the case at all. I think he did it to take the piss out of it and it blew up in his face and how he's got to play it every night."
Lukather added that his attempts to make nice with Cuomo in the "Africa" aftermath did not go well: "I tried to reach out to this guy and be friendly and then it just got weird. I don't want to get into it, but — peace and love. It was good for them, it was good for us."
Watch the comments below starting at 7:24.
