The concept of “YOLO” is unapologetically silly, and yet the Lonely Island is committed to taking it to outrageous extremes, deepening the premise in the process. Unlike “Permission,” “YOLO” doesn’t have a “point,” per se - the only statement is about how stairs are extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Now, contrast that with the Lonely Island’s “YOLO,” from 2013, which features ringers like Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar. The premise of “Permission” is, basically, “hey, this is an unlikely juxtaposition of politics and club music, and it’s in service of making a well-worn point about a timely issue.” It could have been executed in 30 seconds, or 140 characters. Cameos by Lil Wayne and Future help to give “Permission” some verisimilitude, but otherwise there’s little about their appearances that’s surprising or surreal in a manner that one might associate with actual humor. That’s the only joke - isn’t it funny that these rappers are woke? - and it is reiterated over a generic hip-hop track for several minutes. Take “Permission,” which features Redd and Keenan Thompson as rappers who have a surprisingly progressive attitude about propositioning women in the club. And watching it makes me think that SNL still hasn’t recovered from losing the Lonely Island. Even now, seven years later, “Jack Sparrow” is still, somehow, funny. And it’s not built on a one-joke premise - you might think it is, but witness how Bolton starts off as a punchline and ends as the coolest guy in the room, all while twisting and turning the joke in all kinds of strange and delightful ways. It’s not a straight-forward redux of a popular hit from its time. I just revisited “Jack Sparrow” and was shocked by how well it held up. Yeah, I’m talking about that video from 2011 (!) in which Michael Bolton sings about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. But I implore you: Take a moment and watch “Jack Sparrow” again. When was the last time you watched a Lonely Island video? Probably a very long time. Now more than ever, I really miss The Lonely Island. In terms of catchiness and quotability, “RBG Rap” makes Adam Sandler sound like Paul McCartney. Oh, and they are also pretty bad just as songs. They feel less like fully realized comedy sketches than dashed-off tweets. Instead of goofing on a particular artist or genre, numbers like the #metoo-themed “Permission”, the mental health-oriented Migos nod “Friendos,” or the Robert Mueller-oriented spin on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” are polemics inextricably tied to this exact moment in time. Jokey musical numbers have always been a foundational part of Saturday Night Live, from The Blues Brothers to “Choppin’ Broccoli” to “The Hanukkah Song.” But this season’s song-based sketches, like much of the rest of SNL, have taken a turn to the topical and hyper-specific. (You can also apply it to bits that reward the recognition of a pop-culture reference.) Clapter is, superficially, more virtuous than laughter, but it’s also cheaper and lazier. “RBG Rap” seems designed to elicit clapter, a term coined by Seth Meyers for a joke that seeks merely to confirm the audience’s political opinions. If you’re a fan of Sheck Wes, or Ruth Bader Ginsberg, or the preservation of abortion rights, or the juxtaposition of a swaggering hip-hop banger with an elderly judicial icon, you might have shared the video.īut what if you like comedy? Is “RBG Rap,” you know, funny? Humor is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but laughter is supposed to be an involuntary response to a joke that you often can’t intellectualize after the fact. Like so many SNL song parodies this season, “RBG” is a relatively straight-forward take-off on a recent, buzzy hit, with a one-joke premise that aligns with popular neoliberal talking points. (I realize that November 2018 might as well be 2009 in Internet time, but think hard.) In the Saturday Night Live sketch, Pete Davidson and Chris Redd rap about the virtues of Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Kate McKinnon) to the tune of Sheck Wes’ “Live SheckWes Die SheckWes.” And that’s … basically it. Back in November, you probably saw “RBG Rap” pop up on one of your social media platforms.
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