A$AP Rocky performs ‘Punk Rocky’ and ‘Helicopter’ on ‘Saturday Night Live’
A$AP Rocky was on Saturday Night Live over the weekend to perform music from his new album.
The Harlem rapper released his latest project, Don’t Be Dumb, his first album in eight years, on January 16th.
Rocky appeared on SNL alongside Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, performing two songs from his latest body of work.
He brought the two lead singles, ‘Punk Rocky’ and ‘Helicopter‘, to the stage on January 17th.
For ‘Punk Rocky’, the rapper was joined by Thundercat and Danny Elfman, member of Oingo Boingo and composer of Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Beetlejuice. For the performance, Rocky wore pink hair curlers while using a megaphone as a microphone, as the cast behind him wrecked the stage.
Then, he performed a medley of the title track, ‘Don’t Be Dumb’, followed by ‘Helicopter’.
Rocky’s new album is his first since his 2018 release, Testing. The project comprises 17 tracks featuring artists such as Tyler, The Creator, Westside Gunn, Gorillaz, Doechii, Sauce Walka, and many others.
Elfman, who performed ‘Punk Rocky’ with Rocky on SNL, also worked on the album. Chatting to Glen Powell, LaKeith Stanfield, and Callum Turner for Vanity Fair, Rocky said, “Fun fact… Danny Elfman, he just did my album with me that I’m putting out this year.”
Rocky continued, “He scored a bunch of the songs. We had [The Nightmare Before Christmas] on mute and were just making music to all of the old films – Pee-wee’s Playhouse and The Simpsons and all that.”
Elfman responded on Instagram, writing, “Working with @asaprocky was a great experience. Just hanging out and listening to his new tracks… He’s an amazingly creative artist, and I was really impressed with how diverse his influences and inspirations were. He’s truly a one-of-a-kind.”