Maya Rudolph gave a genuinely (and unsurprisingly) great interview to The New Yorker this week, timed to the recent conclusion of the second season of her AppleTV+ series Loot. Great, in large part, due to the sheer Maya Rudolph-ness of it all—as exemplified by a long stretch of conversation in which any discussion of her career, her work, her family, etc., gets completely derailed by her desire to do a track-by-track breakdown of what Beyoncé’s recent album Cowboy Carter means to her.
“You want to talk about the whole album? Because I’d be happy to,” Rudolph launches, beginning by analyzing the themes and impact of the album’s lead-off track, “Ameriican Requiem.” Rudolph has, of course, been associated with Beyoncé for years—she was one of the comedian’s go-to impressions during her long and celebrated tenure at Saturday Night Live—but it’s also clear that it’s the sort of impersonation born of something bordering on pure artistic obsession. “That song is fucking gorgeous!” she says when asked about “II Most Wanted.” “She’s one of the best vocalists of all time. Let’s just get realistic for a moment. Prince is dead. Who do we have who can do that with their voices?”
The conversation is long enough that it isn’t just Beyoncé: Rudolph also talks about her early days pursuing her SNL dreams, touring with the guys from Oasis (“Those brothers did not get along, in case you didn’t see the documentary”), and the idea that she might be one of the dreaded nepo babies, since her mom was Minnie Riperton and her dad is legendary music producer Richard Rudolph. “There’s this concept that nepo babies are people who got the job because their dad’s good at something,” Rudolph says. “And I just think, Bitch, have you seen my work?”
It is, in other words, a pretty delightful interview, as Rudolph reflects on her billionaire Loot character, waxes nostalgic for the days before comedy got instant responses on the internet, and, again, apologizes for talking about Beyoncé so much. “I hope I didn’t talk about Cowboy Carter the whole time. This woman is going to think I’m stalking her! I’m really not. And I didn’t even finish talking to you about all the songs I love on that album. Don’t get me started on ‘Sweet Honey Buckiin’’!”