Hip-hop on SNL

Benjamin Kenyon

Rap/Hip-Hop Journalist

A$AP Rocky graced the Saturday Night Live stage on January 17 to perform the songs  “PUNK ROCKY,” “HELICOPTER,” and “DON’T BE DUMB”  to promote his then-upcoming album Don’t Be Dumb, which has since been released and garnered largely positive reactions. Over the last 50-plus years, the iconic sketch-comedy show has featured a musical guest on nearly every episode. This slot has become a critical point for marketing campaigns of new music releases by the country and sometimes the world’s biggest stars. Performers on the show span all genres, but the show has a special connection with hip-hop, including featuring the first nationally televised hip-hop performance in America. In 1981, the Funky Four Plus One were invited to perform on the show by Debbie Harry, lead singer of the group Blondie. The group performed two minutes of their song “That’s The Joint,” a moment that would open the doors for hip-hop’s presence on SNL. 

The show has featured countless hip-hop artists as musical guests in the years since. These performances often serve as a measuring stick in the careers of these artists, some of whom were just starting to make their name when they appeared on the show, some in the absolute prime of their respective careers, and some, arguably, past or well-past their heyday. Here are some of the best hip-hop performances in the show’s long-running history. 

Kendrick Lamar- i

November 15 2014

Kendrick’s SNL rendition of To Pimp A Butterfly’s lead single is calculated and theatrical, as is most of what Kendrick does. His eyes are covered with all-black contact lenses, his face with sweat. His white t-shirt is the only real splash of color on a moody, dark stage. The band members and chorus are softly lit but stay on the room’s edges, leaving Kendrick at the front of a mostly empty stage, fitting for a song about loving oneself, no matter what.

Lauryn Hill- Doo Wop (That Thing)

December 5 1998

Lauryn Hill’s performance of her hit song on the sketch show marked her first appearance on television. Little original footage of the performance exists on the internet, at least not anywhere accessible. Despite the quality of the existing footage, Hill’s performance still feels undeniable. She is backed by a large cast of supporting performers, including a huge band and backup singers that, along with Hill, sound just as good as the recorded version of the song. Later in the song, she changes the delivery of the final chorus, playing with the rhythm of the original version of the song and utilizing the backup singers extremely creatively. 

Kanye West- Black Skinhead 

May 18 2013

Kanye West’s performance of Black Skinhead is electric, from his own performance of the song to the backing video screens strobing, hypnotic images. The words “NOT FOR SALE” flash in between various retro-looking advertisements. Devilish dogs appear intermittently. The flashing images provide much of the light on the stage; all of this is the perfect setting for “Black Skinhead,” a song highlighting modern racial and economic hypocrisies. It’s an angry song and an equally emotional performance. 

Many popular and well-received artists deliver performances on the show that could be labeled as “flat”. Strict censorship and adherence to time windows that are inherent to network TV contribute greatly to this. The stage itself is also small and often restrictive to how artists want to express themselves through their performance. But some transcend these limitations, and while I only spotlighted three, many more hip-hop artists have made their mark on SNL.