Saturday Night Live returned with a new episode last night (Jan. 28), featuring the debut of Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan as host and first-time musical guest Lil Baby.
The Atlanta rapper performed a fully electric version of “California Breeze” with support from a backing band and returned with a cinematic, piano-led rendition of “Forever.” Both tracks are from his latest album It’s Only Me, which dropped in October.
Lil Baby previously appeared on the Studio 8H Stage in 2019 when DJ Khaled tapped him, Lil Wayne, SZA, and Meek Mill for guest spots in a special tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle.
The SNL performance comes after a banner year for Lil Baby, which included landing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart for It’s Only Me and tying with frequent collaborator Drake for the most Hot 100 singles of 2022.
Before the year was over, Lil Baby headlined ONE Musicfest in Atlanta, which also proclaimed Nov. 13 as Dominique “Lil Baby” Jones Day. That same month, Lil Baby also dropped a music video for his Tears For Fears-sampling track “The World Is Yours To Take,” filmed at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and featured on the game’s soundtrack.
Next week’s episode of Saturday Night Live will feature music guest Coldplay and host Pedro Pascal.
