Weird Al releases cover of 'Whatever'

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. comic recording artist Weird Al Yankovic has digitally released a satirical cover of rapper T.I.'s hit song "Whatever You Like," Jive Records announced.

"Al's version -- also titled 'Whatever You Like' -- topically mashes together the swagger of the T.I. song with the cold, hard realities of our current economic climate," the record label said in a release. "And by utilizing the immediacy of the Internet, for the first time in his career, Al is releasing a parody of a song on iTunes while that song is still No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100."

"One of the hardest things I've had to deal with in my career is keeping my material topical even though I only release albums every three or four years," Yankovic recently wrote on his MySpace blog. "Now, with the advent and popularity of digital distribution, I don't have to wait around while my songs get old and dated -- I can get them out on the Internet almost immediately. It kind of boggles my mind -- I thought of the idea for this new song a week ago, and next week it's getting released!"

Yankovic's new single will be available exclusively on iTunes for two weeks starting Tuesday and then be made available at all major online retailers, Jive Records said.