“We went back and forth” — Ana Gasteyer says she and Will Ferrell were conflicted about choosing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ for SNL50 concert

Ana Gasteyer recently spoke about keeping Will Ferrell's humorous rendition of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us on the SNL50: Homecoming Concert. She and Ferrell sang Lamar's hit track during the February 14 performance, returning to their previous roles as Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp on SNL, the well-liked husband and wife music instructor characters.

For the unversed, they portrayed these characters on SNL from 1996 to 2002. In a February 17 interview with People Magazine, Gasteyer disclosed that she and Farrell were torn about performing the controversial Drake diss track on SNL.

Explaining the reason she said:

“We went back and forth. We were like… it’s song of the year, obviously. The thing about the Culps is they’re just trying to stay current and they want to reach their students where they are. So, song of the year.”

She further added that they had to be mindful of the premise of the show, which aired on Valentine's Day, and since Lamar's song furthered a feud between the two rappers, it fell in contrast to the show's theme of love. In the end, Gasteyer said, they decided to continue with the song as it was "fun to write and ridiculous.”

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Ana Gasteyer and Will Ferrell were back as Bobbi and Marty Mohan-Culp on SNL

Will Ferrell's Mr. Culp is a famous character (Image via Getty Images)

While talking about their skit involving Not Like Us, Ana Gasteyer added that the current music trends served as inspiration for the remainder of their performance. She then stated that her inspiration for the performance was Doechii.

She further said that she found the Denial is a River rapper "very funny" and added that she had a "great sense of humor in her writing." Gasteyer also gushed about getting back on stage with Ferrell and recalled when the two made their Culps debut on SNL in 1997. She added, describing the writing process of the script:

“It is like just the most comfortable, familiar — I wish I had better words to describe it. Because we wrote that sketch with Paula Pell, the national treasure who was the star writer during our time and really had my back in particular, wrote so many amazing collaborations…”

She continued:

“...And then has just burst out of her little caterpillar cocoon into a butterfly acting career that is very deserved. And so she called me up and she said, 'Hey, I think they want to have a little Bobbi and Marty thing for the music concert'."

Two days prior to the interview, the Culps' performed a medley as part of their special appearance on Friday night's SNL50: The Homecoming Concert. Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer performed several "frisky tunes," including Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning single.

The two then highlighted Lamar's wordplay in that popular line, "a minor," during the song's performance on SNL. About the same, Gasteyer said during the interview:

“We always kind of start with the premise, which is Valentine’s Day and love, and then naturally, because of the feuding, it was sort of like, you have to have the contrast..”

Then after finishing the performance, Ferrell asked:

“Are Kenny Lamar and Drake Graham in the house? By the way, maybe you two can hug it out tonight in the name of love and fellowship. No? not in h*ll. Message received.”

In the viral videos from the show, it could be seen that when Ferrell recited Lamar's well-known rap almost word for word and Gasteyer sang its repetitive four-note string hook opera-style, the fictitious married pair made the audience chuckle.

The Culps also reworked songs by Doechii, Britney Spears, Megan Thee Stallion, Chappell Roan, and others during the sketch. Meanwhile, the concert further had performances by Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Ms. Lauryn Hill with Wyclef Jean, the Backstreet Boys, and others.

Additionally, rapper Post Malone surprised his fans by performing Smells Like Teen Spirit with Nirvana during the same SNL show. They began with a performance, in which Malone sang and played guitar. He even played the midway solo by late frontman Kurt Cobain.