Jack Harlow can check hosting “Saturday Night Live” off his bucket list. The Kentucky rapper graced the famous “SNL” stage on Saturday (Oct. 29). He previously appeared on the show last year as a musical guest.
This season has already welcomed big names such as Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, and Willow Smith. Like Harlow, Meg also pulled double duty as the show’s musical guest and host. The Houston Hottie made the most of her “SNL” appearance, joining every skit of the night.
In his opening monologue, Harlow took a few moments to jokingly dispel a handful of misconceptions, including his height and murmurs of him being the GOAT. The Come Home the Kids Miss You artist even mocked being a white rapper.
“Some people have even gone as far as to accuse me of being white,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids running around dressed as me for Halloween, too, and I just want to say, cut it out because my culture is not a costume.”
Last year, Harlow addressed the elephant in the room as it pertains to his widely embraced presence in hip-hop. “No matter how embraced I am, there will never be a day that I’m Black,” he told Billboard. “There’s a certain responsibility that comes with being a white man in a Black genre, and there are certain things that have me regarded differently.”
Eminem faced a similar disposition when he became a prominent fixture in the rap game. In September, he addressed some of the backlash he faced in an article he penned for XXL. “Coming up, I had to deal with that a lot. I wanted to be respectful because what I do is Black music. I knew I was coming into it as a guest in the house,” he wrote. “I understood, at the same time, everybody’s perception of a white guy coming into hip hop and all of a sudden things start happening for him.”
Watch Jack Harlow’s opening “Saturday Night Live” monologue below.