A$AP Rocky stepped into the spotlight as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Jan. 13, performing material from his newest album.
The Harlem native made his first appearance on the long running late night comedy show, delivering three songs from his long awaited project Don’t Be Dumb, which arrived just one day earlier.
For his opening performance, Rocky took over Studio 8H with a guest packed rendition of the album’s lead single “Punk Rocky.” The gritty back alley inspired setup featured legendary composer Danny Elfman behind the drums and Thundercat holding down the bass.
Channeling the wild energy of the song’s music video, Rocky performed with pink hair curlers and a megaphone in hand, standing in front of a graffiti covered garage as a group of characters caused havoc around him.
Later in the broadcast, he returned to the stage for a medley that blended “Helicopter” with the album’s title track.
Beyond the musical moments, Rocky also appeared in the sketch “Snack Homiez,” teaming up with Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard, with Sabrina Carpenter popping in for a cameo, as they played teens hosting a snack focused podcast.
Don’t Be Dumb features appearances from Tyler, The Creator and Doechii. Rocky’s previous album Testing was released in 2018 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, while his earlier projects Long. Live. ASAP from 2013 and At. Long. Last. ASAP from 2015 both debuted at No. 1.
Saturday marked Rocky’s first turn as a musical guest on SNL, though he previously showed up in a 2018 sketch titled “Friendos” alongside Kenan Thompson and Donald Glover.
Watch A$AP Rocky’s SNL performances below.
