In a pairing that promises to be marginally more funky than last week’s Bill Hader and Hozier combo, Chris Rock will return to host Saturday Night Live on Nov. 1 with musical guest Prince. Rock has hosted only once since leaving the cast in 1993—primarily because he felt In Living Color was far hipper, but also, as he told Marc Maron, because he was frustrated with the limitations the show placed on its black performers (something SNL has become extremely conscious of lately). That hosting stint in 1996 featured the return of Rock’s best-known SNL characters and sketches, like Nat X and “I’m Chillin’,” and no doubt at least one of those is written on a bulletin board at Rockefeller Center right now.
For Prince, it will be his third time performing on the program in non-Fred Armisen form, following his debut in 1981, and his last appearance in 2006. Like Rock, who’ll be promoting his upcoming movie Top Five, Prince has something to plug in his two new albums, both solo and with 3rdeyegirl. The latter’s Twitter account teased today’s announcement by posting the below still from Grown Ups 2. On a related note, Prince has apparently seen Grown Ups 2.
— 3RDEYEGIRL (@3RDEYEGIRL) October 14, 2014