Taran Killam Explains The Origin Of ‘Mokiki And The Sloppy Swish’

It’s been four days since Kenan Thompson introduced SNL viewers to Anne Hathaway with green vomit on her face — I mean, Mokiki and his “Sloopy Swish” — and the damn song is still in my head. It’s that good. The man who wrote it, fellow SNL cast member Taran Killam, spoke to the Huffington Post about the origins of the sketch.

So…the “Sloppy Swish,” where does something like that come from?

The move came first. And it was always just sort of a creepy, weird dance move to make people laugh.

How long have you been doing that?

Oh, that’s a great question. I would say it probably started in college…Then there was a song, which often I would do the move to, which is Manu Chao’s “King of the Bongo.” If you play them side by side, you’ll hear the inspiration, for sure. But I don’t think I would have ever wanted to use the song because it already exists. And, creatively, there’s more room to add or make jokes or do weird things — or to leave space to find large wine bottle submarine sculptures in parks that you want to then insert, that you want to cram into the lyrics.

Listen to this…

…while watching this.

It works! And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Mokiki is a sensation.

(Via Huffington Post) (Photo via)