Andy Samburg's VMA Intro

Berkeley's Andy Samburg of SNL hosted the VMAs tonight. Here is his opening skit.

Celebrate Mothers' Day with "Motherlover"

If you have yet to witness the return of Samberlake to SNL, please do so asapolis. They prove that perhaps the only gift better than a "dick in a box" is giving said dick to your friend's mother. At least that's the line Andy and Justin are pushing. Just watch.

I absolutely love this video and the song, but it couldn't help remind me of the music video "Early Bird Special" by another comedy clique from Berkeley. Benji and Steven of the now defunct Fireside Chats sketch comedy show produced this ode to elderly sex in 2007. It's possible that the Lonely Island boys saw this, but maybe having sex with old folks is just what's hot in B-Town. Who knew?

The Lonely Island's Andy Samburg Guest DJs

I love The Lonely Island and how they've been able to rejuvenate the dying SNL brand, but I'm also juiced that Andy Samburg and I have somewhat similar taste in music. He introduces 5 diverse songs he really likes on KCRW's Guest DJ Project and though I'm not feeling all of them, a couple caught my ear.

One was Ghostface Killah's "The Champ" off his dope album Fishscale. "The Champ" stands out because it places Ghost's celebratory and bravado filled boastings over Just's incendiary horn samples and some intermitant old-school Muhammad Ali-ish mutterings. This song also contains the line, "My swagger is Mick Jager," a line that Kanye jacked for his verse on "Swagger Like Us."
I was hella caught off guard that Andy loves Roberta Flack though. Her melancholic ballads are always bittersweet, but her voice is absolutely gorgeous. I discovered Roberta the same way that Andy did—by digging through my parents' vinyl. I still remember coming across her debut album First Take and wearing it out. For those of you who aren't up on their old school, The Fugees' "Killing Me Softly" is a Roberta Flack cover, as is D'Angelo's "Feel Like Making Love."

T-Pain Performs Lonely Island's "On a Boat"

I never thought T-Pain would be on 38th Notes, let alone frolicking in an inner tube, but here he is performing the Lonely Island collabo, "On a Boat," in concert. Most of yall will remember this song from SNL, but fewer will recall that the Lonely Island consists of the Berkeley hip-hop comedy trio behind SNL's Digital Shorts. The Loenly Island have also penned hits like "Dick in a Box" and "Jizz in My Pants."

Their album Incredibad is dope and hilarious, and now Mr Auto-Tune himself is transitioning them from satire to stardom. It is a bit sad though when satirical music is actually better than the shit it's riffing on. Score a point for funny Berkeley kids.

Previously: Hip-Hop Comedy: The Lonely Island of SNL

Andy Samberg: "Like a Boss"

B-Town's Bawse of Comedy puts it down in SNL's latest Digital Short. It reframes hip-hop's obsession with bossdom for a more average Joe Corporate audience. The song, off The Lonely Island's Incredibad, is no doubt inspired by Rick Rawse's fictional fascinations of the drug life, but I don't know that Fiddy will enlist Andy anytime soon.

I'm hoping they'll shoot a vid for "Santana DVX" next because I can't wait to see E-40 as Carlos Santana on SNL. Berkeley Stand Up!

BONUS: Andy and Seth Rogen square off in the testosterone-filled Fast and the Bi-Curious. Also check out my related article on Hip-Hop Bromances at GIANT Magazine. Do it!

Hip-Hop Comedy: The Lonely Island of SNL

For those of you who think you don't know who or what The Lonely Island is, you do. They are the creative geniuses behind SNL's Digital Shorts, the series that has produced "Dick in a Box" feat. Justin Timberlake, "Jizz in My Pants," and "On a Boat" feat. T-Pain (below). Andy Samberg is the most easily recognized of the trio because he is a regular SNL cast member, but the Lonely Island's other two members, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, are writers and guest stars on the show.

The three of them all grew up in Berkeley and then reconvened after college to start producing comedy videos. In addition to saving SNL, they have dipped their toes into movies and TV pilots. Today however they are releasing their own comedic hip-hop CD and DVD, entitled Incredibad. To make them even more dope and Bay, the second song on their album features E-40 as Carlos Santana. It sounds outlandish, but it is equally hilarious. Listen and download the track below and be sure to cop Incredibad ASAPolis.

"Santana DVX"- Lonely Island feat. E-40

UPDATE: I just listened to the album and watched the videos that come with it, and must say that it's quite hellarious. Incredibad features Jack Black, E-40, Norah Jones, Chris Parnell, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain, but the surprise standout guest is Natalie Portman. Her profanity laden rap about all sorts of illegal ish will surely drop a jaw or two. First line: "I dont sleep m***erfucker off that 'Yac and that bourban/ Doin 120 gettin head while I'm swervin . . ." You gotta hear it. Seacrest, out