Chance The Rapper Is This Week’s Host and Musical Guest on SNL

He’s also teased a list of guest cameos.

Chance the Rapper Saturday Night Live Drake Childish Gambino MC Hammer

Chance the Rapper is back on SNL this Saturday, October 26, and this time he’s doing it all. After becoming the first unsigned artist to musical guest in 2015 and hosting opposite Eminem in 2017, Chance has returned to fill both slots. He’ll be joining the likes of Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande in the elite club of performers who have stolen the show for themselves, and becoming the 27th artist to do so. The announcement follows Chance’s recent record release The Big Day in July, and a voice-acting stint in Disney’s live-action (?) rendition of The Lion King.

Chance’s humble beginnings began with his musical performance of Somewhere in Paradise with Jeremih, and since then the rapper has flexed his acting chops on the small and large screen. During his 2017 hosting gig, Chance jumped onstage to perform alongside Eminem on the track “Walk on Water.” Now, Chance won’t have to share the stage with anyone, although he’s already teased a few names. Since the announcement, Chance has retweeted Saturday Night Live and tagged MC Hammer, Drake, and Donald Glover. Both Drake and Donald Glover, who also goes by the stage name Childish Gambino, have done double-duty for SNL as actors and performers, so it’ll be interesting to see where exactly they come into the picture.

SNL is coming off a hot streak of hosts including the Emmy-winning Phoebe Waller-Bridge (also known as Fleabag) and Stranger Things’ David Harbour. The show has never been without its controversies, including the hiring and unhiring of a conservative-leaning comic who had previously made racist remarks. With Chance entering the fold, we’re excited to see what the comedy show has in store, especially since writers have always found high points in musical numbers (Motherlover, anyone?). Will Chance and Childish Gambino be the next Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake? Maybe not, but we can hope.

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