Kanye West Performs “Black Skinhead” & “New Slaves” On ‘SNL’ Season Finale: Watch

Carl Williott | May 18, 2013 9:46 pm

One night after premiering “New Slaves” on 66 different building facades in 10 cities, and hours after the world learned his new album will be called Yeezus (seriously), Kanye West appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live‘s May 18 season finale. For the first song he debuted “Black Skinhead,” and it was an intense, angry and focused performance. Yeezy ranted with fuzzed out vocals over an industrial racket as menacing black-and-white images and price tags flashed on a screen behind him.

There was word that some stuff on Yeezy’s new album is screamy and sounds like Nine Inch Nails, and this track certainly delivers on both of those fronts. With his unhinged European shows, the recent paparazzi rants and the vitriol of “New Slaves,” West is clearly in a volatile and exciting creative space. He’s a mad scientist, and that’s why we put up with his bullshit.

Watch “Black Skinhead” up top, and check out his performance of “New Slaves” below.

West also tweeted photos of the lyrics, including the opening screams, and his references manages to range from Lebron James (“My homey was number one draft pick”) to the Battle of Thermopylae (“I keep it 300 like the Romans”).