‘SNL’ Fans Wonder ‘Who Is Anderson .Paak’ During Performance With Kendrick Lamar

Anderson .Paak made his Saturday Night Live debut during Dec. 1’s new episode, with fans wondering why they hadn’t heard of the performer before.

The musician, rapper and record producer took the stage for the first time, appearing in the episode alongside host Claire Foy. He performed songs off his new album Oxnard, released on Nov. 16 and featured a surprise appearance by Kendrick Lamar and Tayla Parx.

Fans of the long-running variety sketch series took to Twitter wondering who Anderson .Paak was, and being surprised about the quality of his performances.

“Idk who this is but I’m digging it,” one user wrote.

“Anderson .Paak really just brought out Kendrick and I’m cheesin too damn hard,” another user commented.

“Ok but Anderson .Paak [and] Kendrick Lamar actually killing it on SNL. Kendrick and his down coat lol,” a third user commented.

Other SNL viewers were not as supportive, commenting on the singer’s skills and wondering who we was.

“Who’s hosting and singing? I mean, Never heard of either,” another user wrote.

.Paak, whose real name is Brandon Paak Anderson, is an award winning musician and record producer from Oxnard, California. He released his debut album, titled O.B.E. Vol. 1 in 2012, under the stage name Breezy Lovejoy.

He later released Venice in 2014, under his current stage name, followed with Malibu. The latter received a nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards.

Along with his solo efforts, .Paak is also one-half of NxWorries, alongside producer Knxwledge. His latest album was executive produced by Dr. Dre and, as its name suggests, was inspired by his hometown. The album’s a heavy fun theme and features artists Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, J. Cole and Q-Tip.

Ahead of the Saturday Night Live Performance, .Paak opened up to HipHopDX about working with Dr. Dre and working through creative differences when they were working on the album.

“You just gotta fight for it if you really feeling it,” .Paak told the outlet. “The people that he works with, he has that respect for. And if he’s putting that much time into it, he respects your opinion too. He’s not gonna put that much time into someone that he’s gotta do all the work. So, we meet each other halfway. And he’s always like, ‘Your call AP,’ at the end of the day.”

SNL will air two more episodes on NBC. On Dec. 8, the show will feature Aquaman star Jason Momoa as the host with musical guest Mumford & Sons. On Dec. 15, Matt Damon will take over as host and will feature Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus as the musical guests.

Saturday Night Live airs weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.