Lenny Kratvitz’s song and music video for “TK421” left many fans both turned on and perplexed. So what’s the meaning behind the tune?
The Gist:
Lenny Kravitz released a song and music video for “TK421” in October 2023 that left fans both intrigued and puzzled.
The meaning behind “TK421” is open to interpretation, with potential references to Star Wars, Boogie Nights, and a phallic monocular.
The song appears to be a celebration of sexuality and a call to break societal constraints to embrace freedom and creativity.
Article continues below advertisement
Singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz has been on our radar since the late ’80s. And in October 2023, the hitmaker released a single that can only be described as “promiscuous.” But who’s complaining? Not us! The song, “TK421,” has made its rounds on the internet thanks to Lenny’s bare bottom. In all his years of performing, we’ve never seen this side of him before.
With four Grammy awards and several others under his belt, Lenny is a household name. He even crossed into the film industry in 2009 with his SAG-nominated performance in Precious. And when Lenny returned with his first single since his 2018 album, fans had a lot of questions about what “TK421” actually meant.
Advertisement
Article continues below advertisement
The title of “TK421” could be a reference to a ‘Star Wars’ stormtrooper, a stereo, or a monocular.
Many outlets have reported that “TK421” is a reference to Star Warsand Boogie Nights. Being familiar with Lenny’s persona, we think it’s surprising that he’d be a Star Wars fanatic (but sure, maybe he loves the franchise). It could also refer to the speaker in Boogie Nights when Don Cheadle’s character, Buck, promotes a stereo upgrade called “TK421,” which has “twice the bass.”
Article continues below advertisement
In the scene, the man whom Buck is selling to says, “I don’t think I need all that bass,” to which Buck responds, “Oh, I think you need all that bass. If you want a system to handle what you want, yeah.” His character describes the stereo as “the highest quality fidelity” and says about the bass, “It kicks! It turns! It curls up your belly, it makes you wanna freaky deeky, right?”
Advertisement
Article continues below advertisement
How could anyone resist getting the TK421 upgrade with that description? It seems more likely that Lenny’s lyrics are a nod to Boogie Nights more than to Star Wars. In the song, he sings, “Can you feel it? My TK421,” as he boogies around in the nude. Again, that’s much more akin to the vibe of Boogie Nights than Star Wars, but perhaps the song is a reference to both.
In the music video, Lenny makes it pretty clear that a TK421 is representative of his male genitalia — the only part of his body we don’t see. TK421 is also the name of a stormtrooper in Star Wars. While some suggest calling it a stormtrooper is fitting (since it might enter new territories), the descriptions from Boogie Nights for the stereo upgrade are also fitting. Plus, the TK421 upgrade is inserted right into the stereo, and it makes you want to dance!
Article continues below advertisement
Advertisement
But there could be another third reference. A TK421 model is actually a popular monocular — basically a binocular, but with only one lens. And it is incredibly phallic. If Lenny is really referencing his unseen body parts, the TK421 monocular is the most physically obvious comparison.
Article continues below advertisement
The meaning behind Lenny Kravitz’s “TK421” seems to be about sexuality and spirituality.
As seen in his video, when Lenny wakes up in the morning he looks out into the sun in his birthday suit! He then proceeds to dance around his house in the nude and carry out his morning routine. Perhaps if more of us got ready in the mornings like Lenny, we’d feel happier, more creative, and more at peace. He sings, “All aboard, take you to the stratosphere. The congregation is a lie. All I’m asking is for you to break the seal so we can dance our way to the divine.”
Advertisement
He encourages us to be free and to “break the seal” of societal pressures so that we can dance around the way we were intended to. Of course, part of that is also embracing sexuality, which Lenny has talked openly about. He had vowed to be celibate before remarriage but changed his views in 2014. So come on, baby, get on the one, and dance along to Lenny’s “TK421”!
Lifetime’s ‘Escaping Polygamy’ has featured several women who’ve left the notorious Kingston Clan polygamous cult — here’s what they’re up to now.
Source: Lifetime
The Gist:
Lifetime’s Escaping Polygamy details the struggles several women have had in leaving forced/coerced marriages during their time in the Kingston Clan religious cult.
Many of the women were pressured into incestuous marriages.
Several of them are now advocates for helping other women leave similar situations.
Article continues below advertisement
The Lifetime series Escaping Polygamy follows the lives of three sisters — Andrea, Shanell, and Jessica — as they navigate life outside of the Kingston Clan (also referred to as the Latter Day Church of Christ or The Order). The show details how the women were able to extricate themselves from their former lifestyles and features them reflecting on their pasts as they work to free others from the group. So where are they now?
‘Escaping Polygamy’ — where are Andrea, Shanell, Jessica, and the rest of the cast now?
Article continues below advertisement
Source: Instagram | @amandaraegrant
Amanda Rae Grant, who was featured on ‘Escaping Polygamy’ uploads a selfie she used in promoting a video post about the cult she left as a teen.
Advertisement
Article continues below advertisement
Andrea Brewer
Upon leaving the Kingston Clan, Andrea studied law at the University of Washington and is an attorney who is dedicated to helping other women leave the lifestyle that she herself was able to free herself from. She continues to dedicate her efforts to running Hope After Polygamy and is an active advocate for women who are in the same situation she was once mired in.
We’re still here! And we want to thank all of you who have stuck with us as we’ve been silent on social media but working behind the scenes on some exciting things to come in the near future! Hope After Polygamy is coming up on our 5 year anniversary! 📷 pic.twitter.com/LrR4YQtKjD
While Shanell’s Instagram is currently set to private, she says that she is “happily married” and is a “proud mom” after leaving a marriage to one of her “verbally and physically abusive” first cousins she was coerced into having at just 18 years of age. She’s featured several interviews with her brother online, and like Jessica and Andrea, also advocates for Hope After Polygamy. She continues to spread awareness on child marriages in America on X.
I want to give a shout-out to Justin! I really appreciate you helping me on Friday! Was heading to the hot springs for my birthday celebration. If not for your help, I’d have gone home. Thank you so, very much! pic.twitter.com/e80faBtxiS
Featured in six episodes of Escaping Polygamy toward the end of the show’s run, Kollene got married to her second cousin at just 16 years of age and when her husband said he wanted more wives, she tried to get him to leave the religion with her. He declined, but she went on her way to become a successful makeup artist while advocating for other women to leave The Order and religious groups like it.
In a recent post she listed that she’s teaching Yoga at a local gym, and she shows off various modeling looks on her social media as well.
Article continues below advertisement
Ava/Michelle
Distractify has previously covered Ava’s difficult road to emancipation — the young woman made her decision to leave her family at just 17 years of age. A bright student who was years ahead of her peers, Ava was being pressured from just 8 years old to marry her cousin. Hope After Polygamy helped in extricating her from her situation, and shortly after being emancipated she earned her associate’s degree at just 18 years old.
Article continues below advertisement
Advertisement
Amanda Rae Grant
Amanda recently went in depth about her experiences with The Order and how she was able to free herself from the group when she was just a teenager. Now she’s currently involved in a massive lawsuit along with other women accusing members of the church for forcing them and others into marriages. The suit “also alleges the children are forced to work unpaid for Order-owned businesses, which it claims violates child labor laws,” as Wonderwall reports.
She posts regularly about her struggles in leaving the cult and has dedicated her life to advocating for other women to escape.
When someone shares how they saw $14 aluminum foil in the supermarket, people are appalled at the level of inflation, easily beyond 4 to 8%.
Sometimes, we watch TikTok videos to learn about different people’s opinions or see incredible talent. Other times, we hate watch videos that make us angry at capitalism, such as TikToker Deflina’s video in which she finds a roll of Reynold’s Wrap aluminum foil for $14. While we don’t know exactly where Delfina is, we know enough to know that that’s way too much to pay for foil.
Article continues below advertisement
As she shares her shock with the world, people quickly empathize and share how they avoided the inflation. But even still, we can’t help but feel the pain of inflation in our bank accounts. Maybe Delfina will be okay, but many people won’t be. Aluminum foil isn’t the only thing that’s breaking the bank these days.
Advertisement
Article continues below advertisement
TikToker Delfina shared a video in which she finds a $14 roll of aluminum foil in a supermarket.
In her 13-second video, Delfina simply says, “Wait, I’m sorry,” as she pans to the $14 price of aluminum foil. And that’s when it’s marked down from $15! “I guess I haven’t bought foil in a while? Aluminum foil is $14? Is this a joke or are you serious?” She’s more bewildered than she is angry and it seems like she’s not actually going to purchase the overpriced aluminum foil.
More of the issue is just that the foil is there at that price in the first place! It’s truly absurd. Whether she’s at a big brand supermarket or a local store, no foil should cost that much. I even zoomed in on the foil to see if it’s in bulk or if it’s just a regular roll, and it’s just 200 square feet, which is a normal to large size of foil.
Article continues below advertisement
For reference, a 150-square-foot roll is $9.32 from Walmart, which is supposed to be a budget option. Their 225-square-foot roll is $14.16, which means that the roll Delfina found isn’t even that overpriced. But the commenters aren’t wrong to remember a time when aluminum foil was $3, probably because those $3 rolls were much smaller in size.
Advertisement
Article continues below advertisement
Commenters agree that inflation has gone too far and point to Costco as a saving grace.
Everyone in the comments agrees that the foil Delfina found is way too expensive, even if that is the standard price nowadays for name-brand foil. Most hoped that she didn’t actually purchase it (which she didn’t confirm or deny) while others were outraged at supermarkets for hiking up prices.
Our best guess based on Delfina’s profile is that she was in a suburb or a rural area, which means that aluminum foil is probably much more expensive at supermarkets in cities like New York City or San Francisco. The fact that a normal size of aluminum foil can cost $20 nowadays feels like it’s out of some sort of dystopian novel.
Article continues below advertisement
One commenter even brought up the horrors of inflation, pointing back to the days of our war-lorn great-grandparents who washed and saved their tin foil. Others pointed out that this is capitalism at its finest: bankrupt the middle and lower classes so that the wealthiest have full control over society. We’re basically already there with this seemingly 75% inflation rate!
Advertisement
Article continues below advertisement
Many people also started listing other household items that grew in price by two or three times in the last couple of years. Olive oil, butter, deodorant, cereal, limes, toothpaste, zip-lock bags, and other basic items have all hiked up in price.
Article continues below advertisement
While not all of these items are necessities, they do make our lives easier and save us time. And we’ve all heard the age-old adage that time is money, so hiking the prices of these items is once again capitalism at work.
Some commenters, however, joked that they bought bulk aluminum foil from Costco over 10 years ago, and that has lasted longer than their marriages! So I guess the moral of the story is if you’re going to walk down the aisle, you should probably say, ‘till our Costco aluminum foil runs out do us part.
Where are Amy Carlson’s kids now? The “Love Has Won” cult leader
Source: MAX/KDVR
The Gist:
Deceased cult leader Amy Carlson was the infamous organizer of the “Love Has Won” organization.
She was referred to as “Mother God” by her followers.
Amy had several actual children from three different fathers.
Article continues below advertisement
If you want to be a cult leader (no, we do not actually endorse anyone becoming a cult leader), one of the most toxic traits you should have is an over-inflated ego and bloated sense of self-worth. Many known cult leaders do this by exuding more charisma and confidence than they actually have, while others are more manipulative in using the veil of mutual love and respect for their followers to earn their undying loyalty.
To that end, calling yourself the reincarnation of Jesus Christ is a good way to do that.
Amy Carlson had that technique mastered. She was the co-founder of Love Has Won (LHW), a religious movement that ran from 1971 and persisted until April 2021 when the group was dissolved following Amy’s death.
Advertisement
During her time as a cult leader, Amy positioned herself as “Mother God” and convinced her followers that they were her children. However, she had three actual children in her lifetime as well. Here’s what they’re up to now.
Article continues below advertisement
Deceased cult leader Amy Carlson’s kids have tried to distance themselves from her legacy.
During her cult activity, many of Amy’s followers referred to her as “Mother” or “Mom,” indicating that she exerted a maternal presence and influence on them.
That said, it’s tragically ironic that she had three actual kids of her own. According to several reports from sources like Business Insider, Amy had three children by three different fathers in three separate marriages by the time she was in her early 20s. According to her own mother, Linda Haythorne, she never held that maternal instinct for them.
Article continues below advertisement
Advertisement
Her children came in the form of eldest son Cole Carlson, daughter Madi, and a third unnamed son. Only Cole has previously come forward about what it was like to have Amy as a mother, and their relationship was complicated, to say the least.
In an interview with BBC, Cole revealed that she had abandoned him when she was 12 in order to start up her cult activity. Despite this, he still loved his mother deeply.
“She wasn’t the best mother even when she was around, but I loved her to death,” he stated.
Other than that, he’s led a relatively normal life. As of 2021, Cole is based in Portland, Ore., and studies biology.
Upon hearing news of his mother’s death and subsequent mummification, he has been outspoken against the splintered cult’s continued activity in her name.
Advertisement
“It makes me mad and I really don’t want to see this work continued, especially with [my mother’s] name attached or in her honor,” he proclaimed in an interview with KDVR.
Article continues below advertisement
As for Madi, The Cinemaholicreports that she has a Master’s degree in social work and is currently based in Georgia. While she’s been less vocal about her mother’s cult status, she has tried to distance herself from her mother’s reputation.
Advertisement
You can learn more about Amy Carlson in Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God, a docuseries streaming on MAX.
Usamos cookies en nuestro sitio web para brindarle la experiencia más relevante recordando sus preferencias y visitas repetidas. Al hacer clic en "Aceptar", acepta el uso de TODAS las cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.