Was there really any question fans would get new music from Chance The Rapper last night as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live alongside host Chris Hemsworth? The Chicago rapper didn't disappoint, debuting "Somewhere In Paradise" and performing a Christmas rendition of "Sunday Candy" off Surf.
Like so many of his other major television appearances, such as his premiere of "Angeles" on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Chance debuted the song live and simultaneously released it for free on the Internet. The recording features R. Kelly and Jeremih on some backing vocal parts at the end, but only Jeremih joined Chance on the SNL stage.
The appearance of R. Kelly on the track may come as offensive to some fans, because of former allegations of having sex with a minor and child pornography charges. Chance is very loyal to his city and R. Kelly also hails from Chicago, so that explains the connection. Still, it's not clear why Chance would choose to associate himself with a rather bleak history of one of the city's most recognized R&B singers.
But there were no politics while on stage, as Chance glided through the relaxed verses backed by his usual crew in the Social Experiment as well as a choir of voices. "Somewhere In Paradise" followed his theme of 2015 of exploring religious, family messages as he did on the Donnie Trumpet album, Surf. The song is boastful and cocky like the best hip-hop but rooted in a refreshingly uplifting message of love. Watch the performance below.
For the second song, Chance opted for a slow Christmas ballad version of "Sunday Candy" instead of the upbeat "Angeles." He brought the song in with some sleigh bells and slowed the song way down to accentuate the beautiful voices from the choir as well as his own singing voice. Check out the performance below.
