As much as hip-hop collectively loves mentioning Nascar (mostly because it rhymes with a lot of things, especially “fast car”), there’s another form of racing sport about which most rappers seem frighteningly uninformed: Formula 1. Part of that has to do with the fact that it just hasn’t caught on here the way it has in Europe; this resulted in a hilarious case of culture clash this past weekend as Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion visited the F1 US Grand Prix this weekend in neighboring Austin and the world discovered that the unawareness can go both ways.
As she strutted the track with her entourage, Megan was approached by Sky News reporter and former driver Martin Brundle for an interview but as the rapper seemed to be in hurry, things got off to a bad start. Brundle was very nearly pushed away by Meg’s massive bodyguard (an absolute unit, that one), then, when addressing her, he noted that she is a “freestyle rapper” and wondered whether she had any “rap on F1.” Bursting into laughter, Megan politely declined to rap for the reporter as she kept it moving and he was left in the dust.
Wouldn't be a Martin Brundle grid walk without an incredibly awkward interview…
Cannot believe he just asked Megan Thee Stallion to rap 😅
— Jess Medland (@jessmedlandf1) October 24, 2021
For what it’s worth, the awkwardness was probably a result of the generation gap as much as anything, as the older British reporter was clearly trying to turn a phrase and show off his own witty wordplay, which they’re quite fond of across the pond. However, nobody has used the term “rap” to mean “discuss” or “chat” in at least forty years. Sometimes you can get a little too clever, especially when it comes to so many degrees of separation (old, white, British man, meet 20-something, Black woman from Houston). Of course, some folks gave their own impressions of the hilarious incident on Twitter:
That Megan Thee Stallion bit was the most awkward piece of live TV I've seen in a while
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 24, 2021
Martin Brundle getting told not to talk to Megan thee stallion and turning round saying “just did” has made my night #f1
— Eddie Richards (@EddieR1802) October 24, 2021
https://twitter.com/tomslominski/status/1452343529804636166
Seriously, though, people should stop asking Megan Thee Stallion about sports. It should be very clear by now that she is a big nerd and should only ever be asked about anime, video games, and hottie sauce. Check out Uproxx’s interview with Megan Thee Stallion about her iconic Mileena cosplay for Mortal Kombat 11.
