JAY-Z was the musical guest on last night's season premiere of Saturday Night Live, bringing two cuts from his brilliant new LP, 4:44: "Bam" and "4:44." The two performances couldn't have been more different.On "Bam," he wore a custom black football jersey with "Colin K" on the back—another show of support for former NFL quarter-back Colin Kaepernick. Hov was joined by Damian Marley and ambled around the all-camo stage while an Ethiophian flag was waved in the background. Marley pushed his voice as far as he could, throatier than he was on record; JAY-Z dug into the beat and seemed loose. He was having fun
The performance of "4:44" had nothing in common with that. The camo set was gone, replaced by three spotlights and a mic stand. Hov walked on in a white tee and clutched his mic from start to finish. The already loose relationship between the beat and his bars broke down a little further and he rushed to keep up. It's actually not an easy watch—JAY-Z seemed genuinely troubled, keeping his eyes screwed shut even when the stage faded to black.
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