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Chris Redd and Pete Davidsons hip-hop ode to treesdid not play in its entiretyduringSNLs live airing.
But many people digest the show over the week, sketch-by-sketch.
Redd wrote Trees to have staying power, because the message of enthusiastic but ill-informed environmentalism is important.
At the end, Al Gore blooms out of a daisy and gives the gang a thumbs-up.
Gore actually recorded the footage himself at the request of his buddy Pete Davidson.
How does Pete Davidson know Al Gore?
He spoke with Vulture about how to sneak issues into music, and why all rap is character work.
We thought everybody saw it.
But its been good.
There have been a lot of tree organizations that have been tweeting it.
AndAl Gore tweeted it, which was really fun.
People have been loving it.
I didnt realize so many people loved trees.
How long have you loved trees?My whole life, Bethy!
My whole life Ive loved trees!
Im really big on the Earth and the health of it.
My grandma was somebody who had a garden and grew plants all the time.
With climate change, were seeing these reports about what we need to do to keep the Earth healthy.
Tell me about the process of writing a rap for comedy.
Then its finding the words that you want to say, and writing those first.
Then you figure out what style to bring to those words to make them fit.
Whats most interesting to me is people love the verse where I talk about planting the tree.
But none of those words rhyme, at all.
Theres no rhyming in there.
But its the style that makes it seem like its rhyming.
People are like Thats crazy!
Its crazy that yall think its rhyming, because its not.
But thats whats fun about comedy.
You have room to not have to be perfect.
Some comedic rappers like to sound silly or goofy.
Thats where the comedy lives the visuals and not rhyming, or talking about something over and over.
[Its] where the perspective comes from, and not a silly voice over a beat.
Even though I like that, too.
Theres totally room for both.
Where did the beat come from?This guyJohnny Julianomade the beat.
He is a producer that I had found randomly online years ago, when I first started writing raps.
I have another beat by him that Ill venture to get on the show later this year.
[Him and] this other guy, SuperStar O, were like the dream team producing squad.
He did a couple of Wiz Khalifas early mixtape stuff.
When I sent my stuff to him back then, he didnt really respond.
And then, years later, Im thinking about how I want to do this song about trees.
It had been ten years.
He was like, Is this the real Chris Redd?
I was like, Yeah!
Ive been buying beats off you for years!
And he was like, Oh, for real?
It just became a very cool relationship.
Where did you get the Al Gore thumbs-up footage?Al Gore sent that to us.
Pete has this, um … Pete … Petes very plugged in to people, man.
He knows a lot of people at weird levels.
Certain people make sense, but then its like, I know Al Gore.
He reached out to see if he could send a video over the summer.
We were all like, Pete, how do you know Al Gore?
I didnt even believe him until we got the video.
Thats just how the universe works sometimes, man.
Sometimes Pete knows Al Gore.
Sometimes it snows in summertime.
I didnt even get too deep into it.
I think they did some event together, some logical thing.
But for me, I like the mystery.
Some things you dont want to know.
How is it different to be writing and performing a sketch versus just facilitating someone elses words?
Everyone can see my idea, and I have more ownership over it.
Theres a joy about other peoples words, too.
Theres still love, but I love my kid a little more because its my kid.
Theres more ownership in it, and you see your words working.
Its the same when it doesnt work.
That hurts more because its my words, its my fault.
The difference between your kid going to jail and your nephew going to jail.[Laughs.]
I did what I could.
In the video you say you like doing character work.
I love doing voices.
Ive been a people-watcher my whole life, and so I picked up all these different character mannerisms.
Growing up, my family was very wild.
I dont really have to go far to channel people.
I just like to play in that world, where you’re able to figure out everything.
Question everything, and be silly.
Be hard, but love something soft.
I just like playing opposites.
I have a wild imagination, and this seems like the best way to get it out.
For some people its a lighter veil, and others are a complete character.
A lighter veil would be Common, but a complete character to me is Eminem.
And I love both of those artists.
But writing a character, theres a ton more freedom in that.
you might do anything, say anything, go anywhere, and its all in that character.
It doesnt have to really be coming from you.
They have to know when youre joking, if youre serious.
I like saying crazier things, and characters are a good way to hide.
Thats interesting because climate change isnt crazy.
Im not done talking about it.
That character, the gangster environmentalist, is a character I like to do a lot.
I think a good way to get people to continue thinking about [climate change] is music.
Music hangs with you a long time way longer than a joke most of the time.
Weput that [report] in itpretty immediately, because that happened, too.
Because you have a lot of people that dont believe it, but love rap.
At least thats what I do.
Socially conscious hip-hop kind of goes through phases of popularity.
Theyre talking about this stuff; theyre not shying away from it.
I think you need both things.
