Still not sure what NFTs are? ‘SNL’ explains with Eminem parody
If you still aren’t sure what non-fungible tokens are, or NFTs, “Satuday Night Live” might have an answer. The NFT craze made its debut on the late-night show — hosted by former cast member Maya Rudolph — in the form of an explainer-turned-rap skit featuring a parody of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
In the skit, Yellen — portayed by Kate McKinnon — is speaking to a university economics class when a student asks her what an NFT is. What follows is an Eminem-inspired rap portrayed by cast members Pete Davidson dressed as Batman’s sidekick Robin, Chris Redd as Morpheus from “The Matrix” series and special musical guest Jack Harlow as a janitor.
Davidson and Redd take a shot at explaining the mainstream phenomenon to Yellen before Harlow joins in with a more concise rap take on the craze.
“Non-fungible means that it’s unique. There can only be one like you and me,” Harlow rapped. “NFTs are insane, built on a blockchain. A digital ledger of transactions, it records information on what’s happening. Once it’s minted, you can sell it as art.”
The roughly 3-minute skit concludes with “Yellen” and the other characters played by Davidson, Redd and Harlow displayed as an NFT posing at the Abbey Road crosswalk made famous by the Beatles’ 1969 album.
The “SNL” skit is yet another example of how NFTs have been taking off in recent months. Many have been selling for seven or even eight figures, including Jack Dorsey’s first-ever published tweet, which recently sold for $2.9 million, and most notably a collage of photos from artist Beeple for $69 million.
