With all the funny slowly draining out of Saturday Night Live, the only reason to watch these days seems to be the musical guests. This weekend was no exception, as even Woody Harrelson, who can switch between seriously dramatic to drop dead funny in a heartbeat, couldn't help the show. But luckily, the one and only Kendrick Lamar was in the house to keep things jumping.
Kendrick's first performance was, of course, his soul-stirring new single "i." However, many weren't ready for his appearance during the performance. In what some are saying was a tribute to Method Man (who celebrates the 20th anniversary of his debut solo album, Tical, this year), Kendrick took the stage bathed in a red light with a patch of wild, unbraided hair springing up on the right side of his head and wearing contacts that made his eyes look almost entirely black. While a bit off-putting for some, the look still didn't distract from the performance, which found Kendrick fronting a full band and cutting up a rug to the soulful track.
He decided to give TDE labelmate Jay Rock some shine during the night's second performance of "Pay For It." Opening with a sung intro by featured vocalist Chantal Kreviazuk, Jay Rock delivered a solid performance of his single (which dropped late last month) before Kendrick stepped on stage to add his own special fire to the song.
All in all, if you tuned in to the show just to see Kendrick perform, you got exactly what you came for. If you, smartly, decided to wait until videos of the set went up online, well then we've got both performances right here for your enjoyment.
