I haven’t watched Saturday Night Live (SNL) on the regular in several years. I’ve been watching clips lately, though, and there are several really tight ones, mostly musical skits. One thing that has always been true about SNL is that the good skits are fire and the bad skits are garbage. That hasn’t changed, but what has changed is that the songs are mostly really solid. I want to mention some of my favorites and why I like them. First up is Friendos starring Donald Glover. It’s a rap that jokes about a popular rap group going to therapy together. The reason I like it is because it’s catchy–Donald Glover is for real–and because it touches on some true issues. In this case, how hard it is for African American men to let their emotions show and how therapy is still taboo is some African American cultures. I also like that the therapy is actually sound (though adapted for humor, of course), unlike how it’s often portrayed in pop culture.
Next up is Permission, another rap that features Future and Lil Wayne. Again, it’s actually a tight rap, but the real kick is the message–that there will be no booty grabbing without consent from the women involved. So it still has the notion of going after ass, but stopping when you hear no. Lil Wayne: “Love that booty tender, never get aggressive. That booty got insurance–that booty got Progressive.” There are many layers to that verse!
Next up are the ladies. First up is Valentine’s Day, a throwback to cheesy ’90s boudoir videos. It’s just hilarious and all the women really knock it out of the park. This one stars Halsey. Keenen Thompson is doing a great Luther Vandross impression. The asides like “CAKE MAMAAAAAA” and “Don’t do that, Michael!” just kill me. It’s stridently heteronormative, but I think that just adds to the humor.
Next is Friendship Song, starring Tina Fey and featuring Nicki Minaj with a fiyah rap at the end. This is just an homage to female relationships in all their messy, fucked-up glory. It shows both the positives and the negatives of female friendships, which I appreciate.
Still more on the women tip. This is another parody of 90s videos, but in this case, like trying-to-be-tough Spice Girls. It’s about acting hard when you’re back home visiting family. Like getting your father to pay for tickets to see a rated G movie. I will always find acting hard about mundane stuff to be funny. It’s just hilarious and it’s called Back Home Ballers. Featuring Cameron Diaz.
Here’s a return of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey doing a Taylor Swift parody called Tina & Amy’s Dope Squad. It talks about all the women in their lives (and a few dudes) who make life much easier for them. There’s Gayle King and Amy Schumer waltzing in at the end.
Back to the dude side of things. Pete Davidson doing a shot-by-shot remake of Gucci Gang by Lil Pump, called Tucci Gang. It’s just brilliant and features Sam Rockwell. I saw Stanley Tucci asked what he thought of it and he loved it even if he didn’t completely understand it.
Here’s a skit about competitive praying that just made me laugh hard. Starring Rege-Jean Page. It does have a bit of singing in it as well.
Finally, this isn’t SNL, but BDG (Brian David Gilbert), formerly of Polygon. He left so he could do things his own way–which is wonderfully weird, wild, and creative. This video is called Just One Day by the boyband, 2winz2, made of quadruplets–all played by BDG. The four consists of TBD, Juunyur, AtSign, and Dale. It starts as a typical schmoozy love song to an unknown girl, but quickly turns into something more, well, shall we say, pointed. It’s hilarious and I pick up something new each time I watch it. The brilliant part is that it works as a boyband pop hit, but it also works as a song about intense brotherly rivalry.
I’m lowkey enraged that BDG is so fucking talented. Each brother is a distinct, individual character and the broader story is ultimately relatable. Plus, he can sing like nobody’s business. He gives each brother a different voice and what the hell can’t this man do? He’s not even 30 yet. It’s so not fair.