HOVA goes honky! On Jan. 31, Saturday Night Live made a Lifetime-esque biopic of Shawn Carter, aka Jay Z, starring former castmember-turned-writer Mike O’Brien as the “Empire State” rapper. Though Jay Pharaoh typically does (spot-on) impressions of the “Holy Grail” emcee, the show left the Brooklyn native’s story up to the purposefully awkward O’Brien.
He started off the clip standing in the streets and shouting, “Cocaine for sale!” before deciding to become a rapper. In real life, Jay Z was a former drug dealer in the Marcy Projects before giving it up to pursue music.
The fake biopic also showed Jay’s first interaction with Beyonce (played by Sasheer Zamata).
“I’m Sean, err, Jay Z,” O’Brien says.
“I’m Beyonce from Destiny’s Child,” Zamata replies.
“I know who you are. P.S. You’re so pretty!” he says giggling.
Watch the ridiculous clip to see which famous, unexpected star made a cameo to play Kanye West!
