Saturday Night Live Presents: Chance The Rapper, R. Kelly, Jeremih & Purity Ring Beatsmith Corin Roddick's "Somewhere In Paradise" (chanceraps.com self-released)
"Just premiered "Somewhere In Paradise" [featuring] @Jeremih & @rkelly on @nbcsnl. Go get it for FREE at chanceraps.com," @chancetherapper exuberantly Tweeted just mere minutes after his hyper-energetic Saturday Night Live debut; reportedly the first performance of its kind for a 100% unsigned independent artist during SNL's 40-year tenure. "Thanks so much to Chris [Hemsworth], the entire SNL cast, Lorne Michaels, and Phil Hynes for a great week. Hope to be back soon," Chance continued following Hemsworth's closing credits sign-off. Founder and creator of Chicago-based Hip-Hop publication Fake Shore Drive, Andrew Barber shared a list of "every rapper to play SNL in 40 years," which includes major label-backed heavyweights like Run-D.M.C. Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Beastie Boys, OutKast, Pharrell/N*E*R*D, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye. "From the moment Chance stepped onstage for his first performance on SNL, it was clear the audience was in for something new. He wasn't performing a song that was a huge radio hit. Instead, he premiered the official version of "Somewhere In Paradise," a song he performed two years ago on tour," Complex, who Chance The Rapper actually shouts-out at one point, wrote in a recently-published piece asserting why Chance's SNL performance should be referred to as "legendary."
Not withstanding the fact that he appeared throughout two of 2015's most critically-acclaimed Hip-Hop releases, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's SURF and his own Lil B-assisted Free (Based Freestyles Mixtape), Chance The Rapper has still yet to let loose his long-awaited Acid Rap (2013) follow-up, along with his rumored full-length "debut" album. However, Chance's recent singles, "Somewhere In Paradise," Kanye-interpolating loosie "Family Business," and Colbert-premiered "Angels," seem as though they will most likely end up re-appearing on his as-yet-untitled third mixtape. "Somewhere In Paradise" showcases a meticulous thumping jubilant beat hand-crafted by Purity Ring producer Corin Roddick, who, although, he's always seemingly had Hip-Hip-minded aspirations, probably never thought he would have made a multi-layered soundbed for the likes of Chance The Rapper, R. Kelly, and "Birthday Sex" crooner Jeremih. Late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, in-between his Jeremih-assisted first performance and a rather sparse Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment-backed rendition of "Sunday Candy," Chance The Rapper quietly uploaded the proper studio version of "Somewhere In Paradise," like the bulk of his material thus far, for entirely FREE on Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.