Justin Timberlake popped up on The Tonight Show — we assume to help Jimmy Fallon attempt to take back his ratings from Stephen Colbert over at The Late Show — and he came in rare form, armed with tequila. Literally from the opening moment of the show, Timberlake brought the big guns out with his recurring partner Fallon. That means History of Rap, from LL Cool J to Bone Thugs and even an R Kelly remix thrown in for good measure.
While I’m sure the idea of Fallon and Timberlake dragging out another medley of hip hop hits probably seems like a good idea for people tuning in to watch (or in the studio audience), it still feels a bit odd. Like watering down hip hop for folks who normally wouldn’t be caught dead listening to hip hop. Not to mention the desperation factor, which I’m just making up on the spot, but it’s probably got a slice of truth in there.
Fallon does try to take the whole sketch down a bad path a few times, first by almost jumping into “Straight Outta Compton” and then by unearthing the ghost of Snow with a snippet of “Informer.”
(Via The Tonight Show)
