Rapper and producer Kanye West hit the Saturday Night Live stage with all the online goodwill of viral families who ditch their 10-year-old dog at the shelter: New York magazine labeled his Thursday fashion premiere “Fuccboi heaven,” he tweeted in solidarity with Bill Cosby, and turned particularly combative and antagonistic about his art in the weeks leading up to seventh solo album The Life of Pablo.
Good thing the mainstream’s most experimental rap superstar connected on his three SNL appearances.
His sketch cameo wasn’t actively funny—he rapped new one “I Love Kanye”—but within the context of the Kyle Mooney joke he worked to land the punchline.
He performed apparent single “Highlights” first. Then, an arresting and manic “Ultralight Beam” alongside Chance the Rapper, Kelly Price, The-Dream, gospel hero Kirk Franklin, this child’s devoutly religious sample, and an earth-leveling choir.
Two days after the promised release date, the seas parted immediately following SNL as that Pablo CDQ was uploaded onto West’s website and beamed across Tidal.
Photo via Peter Hutchins/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Jason Reed