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Lil Yachty Brings the Hits, and His Psychedelic Rock Adventure, to Central Park: Concert Review

By Jordan Moreau

Jordan Moreau

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Lil Yachty ‘s latest album, “Let’s Start Here,” did just that: It gave the rapper’s career a new starting point by setting aside his hip-hop origins and rebooting into psychedelic rock. Yachty 2.0 stopped by Central Park’s SummerStage and showed off his new sound, while also giving original fans a healthy dose of his classic bangers.

He started last year with “Poland,” a simple, yet massively viral rap hit that put him back on everybody’s radar. With his new album, though, Yachty defied expectations and released a completely non -rap record that had more in common with the classic psychedelia of Pink Floyd and Funkadelic (or more recent iterations like Tame Impala) than anything in his previous discography.

The new chapter of Yachty had begun with this surreal, spacey production, and fans flooded into New York’s Central Park on Friday night to see it for themselves. Yachty’s band and singers appeared on stage first, all dressed in white, while trippy, dream-like visuals projected onto a huge screen behind them. The funky tunes of “drive ME crazy!” opened the show, with Yachty gliding in singing the soft vocals of “the ride” and “pRETTy.”

The typical 808s and bass of a normal rap concert wouldn’t be heard for a few more songs, as the band played an electric guitar-assisted rendition of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” before Yachty transitioned into the hip-hop portion of the night. It was as if the concert was divided into Act I and II, and finally the old Yachty came out to play some of his bangers. After the indie rock start, fans opened up the crowd to mosh along with “Yacht Club,” “Flex Up” and “Coffin.” Strobe lights and lasers illuminated the stage as Yachty jumped around screaming his lyrics as his braids and beads danced wildly in the air.

After the release of “Let’s Start Here,” Yachty got a shoutout from Questlove for “pushing the envelope” and being an example of “music’s future,” beyond just the rap genre. Whatever may come next, (he’s supposedly developing an action movie based on Uno — yes, the card game ) fans will want to keep an eye on where Yachty sails to next.

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Let’s Start Here.

By Alphonse Pierre

Quality Control / Motown

February 1, 2023

At a surprise listening event last Thursday,  Lil Yachty   introduced his new album  Let’s Start Here. , an unexpected pivot, with a few words every rap fan will find familiar: “I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist, not just some SoundCloud rapper or some mumble rapper.” This is the speech rappers are obligated to give when it comes time for the drum loop to take a backseat to guitars, for the rapping to be muted in favor of singing, for the ad-libs to give it up to the background singers, and for a brigade of white producers with plaque-lined walls to be invited into the fold. 

Rap fans, including myself, don’t want to hear it, but the reality is that in large slices of music and pop culture, “rapper” is thrown around with salt on the tongue. Pop culture is powerfully influenced by hip-hop, that is until the rappers get too close and the hands reach for the pearls. If anything, the 25-year-old Yachty—as one of the few rappers of his generation able to walk through the front door anyway because of his typically Gushers-sweet sound and innocently youthful beaded braid look—might be the wrong messenger. 

What’s sour about Yachty’s statement isn’t the idea that he wants to be taken seriously as an artist, but the question of  who  he wants to be taken seriously by. When Yachty first got on, a certain corner of rap fandom saw his marble-mouthed enunciation and unwillingness to drool over hip-hop history as symbols of what was ruining the genre they claimed to love. A few artists more beholden to tradition did some finger-wagging— Pete Rock and  Joe Budden ,  Vic Mensa and  Anderson .Paak , subliminals from  Kendrick and  Cole —but that was years ago, and by now they’ve found new targets. These days, Yachty is respected just fine within rap. If he weren’t, his year-long rebirth in the Michigan rap scene, which resulted in the good-not-great  Michigan Boy Boat , would have been viewed solely as a cynical attempt to boost his rap bona fides. His immersion there felt earnest, though, like he was proving to himself that he could hang. 

The respect Yachty is chasing on  Let’s Start Here. feels institutional. It’s for the voting committees, for the suits; for  Questlove to shout him out as  the future , for Ebro to invite him  back on his radio show and say  My bad, you’re dope.  Never mind if you thought Lil Yachty was dope to start with: The goal of this album is to go beyond all expectations and rules for rappers.

And the big pivot is… a highly manicured and expensive blend of  Tame Impala -style psych-rock, A24 synth-pop, loungey R&B, and  Silk Sonic -esque funk, a sound so immediately appealing that it doesn’t feel experimental at all. In 2020, Yachty’s generational peers,  Lil Uzi Vert and  Playboi Carti , released  Eternal Atake and  Whole Lotta Red : albums that pushed forward pre-existing sounds to the point of inimitability, showcases not only for the artists’ raps but their conceptual visions. Yachty, meanwhile, is working within a template that is already well-defined and commercially successful. This is what the monologue was for? 

To Yachty’s credit, he gives the standout performance on a crowded project. It’s the same gift for versatility that’s made him a singular rapper: He bounces from style to style without losing his individuality. A less interesting artist would have been made anonymous by the polished sounds of producers like  Chairlift ’s Patrick Wimberly,  Unknown Mortal Orchestra ’s Jacob Portrait, and pop songwriters Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, or had their voice warped by writing credits that bring together  Mac DeMarco ,  Alex G , and, uh,  Tory Lanez . The production always leans more indulgent than thrilling, more scattershot than conceptual. But Yachty himself hangs onto the ideas he’s been struggling to articulate since 2017’s  Teenage Emotions : loneliness, heartbreak, overcoming failure. He’s still not a strong enough writer to nail them, and none of the professionals collecting checks in the credits seem to have been much help, but his immensely expressive vocals make up for it. 

Actually, for all the commotion about the genre jump on this project, the real draw is the ways in which Yachty uses Auto-Tune and other vocal effects as tools to unlock not just sounds but emotion. Building off the vocal wrinkle introduced on last year’s viral moment “ Poland ,” where he sounds like he’s cooing through a ceiling fan, the highlights on  Let’s Start Here. stretch his voice in unusual directions. The vocals in the background of his wistful hook on “pRETTy” sound like he’s trying to harmonize while getting a deep-tissue massage. His shrill melodies on “paint THE sky” could have grooved with  the Weeknd on  Dawn FM . The opening warble of “running out of time” is like Yachty’s imitation of  Bruno Mars imitating  James Brown , and the way he can’t quite restrain his screechiness enough to flawlessly copy it is what makes it original.

Too bad everything surrounding his unpredictable and adventurous vocal detours is so conventional. Instrumental moments that feel like they’re supposed to be weird and psychedelic—the hard rock guitar riff that coasts to a blissful finale in “the BLACK seminole.” or the slow build of “REACH THE SUNSHINE.”—come off like half-measures.  Diana Gordon ’s falsetto-led funk on “drive ME crazy!” reaches for a superhuman register, but other guest appearances, like  Fousheé ’s clipped lilts on “pRETTy” and  Daniel Caesar ’s faded howls on the outro, are forgettable. None of it is ever  bad : The synths on “sAy sOMETHINg” shimmer; the drawn-out intro and outro of “WE SAW THE SUN!” set the lost, trippy mood they’re supposed to; “THE zone~” blooms over and over again, underlined by  Justine Skye ’s sweet and unhurried melodies. It’s all so easy to digest, so pitch-perfect, so safe.  Let’s Start Here. clearly and badly wants to be hanging up on those dorm room walls with  Currents and  Blonde and  IGOR . It might just work, too. 

Instead, consider this album a reminder of how limitless rap can be. We’re so eager for the future of the genre to arrive that current sounds are viewed as restricting and lesser. But rap is everything you can imagine. I’m thinking about “Poland,” a song stranger than anything here: straight-up 1:23 of chaos, as inventive as it is fun. I took that track as seriously as anything I heard last year because it latches onto a simple rap melody and pushes it to the brink. Soon enough, another rapper will hear that and take it in another direction, then another will do the same. That’s how you really get to the future. 

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Lil Yachty Performs ‘the BLACK seminole.’ & ‘drive ME crazy!’ With Diana Gordon in ‘SNL’ Debut: Watch

The rapper delivered tracks from his fifth album, "Let's Start Here."

By Mitchell Peters

Mitchell Peters

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Lil Yachty took viewers on a trip during Saturday Night Live on April 1.

For his musical guest debut on the iconic sketch comedy show, the 25-year-old rapper — who appeared on Billboard ‘s cover in March — performed a pair of tracks from his mind-bending psychedelic album, Let’s Start Here ., which dropped earlier this year.

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Yachty transformed the Studio 8H into a swamp-like atmosphere for his performances of “the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” The moody nighttime performances featured backing by singer-songwriter Diana Gordon and a full band.

Trending on Billboard

Let’s Start Here. , Yachty’s foray into the rock world, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard ’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums in early February. The set peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200.

“I did what I really wanted to do, which was create a body of work that reflected me ,” Yachty told Billboard of Let’s Start Here. “My idea was for this album to be a journey: Press play and fall into a void.”

Watch Lil Yachty’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock , which you can sign up for at the link here . Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.

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Lil yatchty performed well. I loved how much water he threw in the crowed and the energy. The only problem was the crowed too squished together in the front so it was uncomfortable. If the people in the back took a couple steps back tho the problem would have been solved. But the show was worth the money and very enjoyable.

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The sremm life tour was my first concert. And it was extremely good!!! I had so much fun. Lil yachty and burberry were spraying water on everyone and he told us to make a mosh pit, he has alot of energy to really hype the crowd up. If your thinking about seeing lil yachty I recommend you go!

Lil Yachty was a massive let down. After waiting for him to come out it was hard to listen to his voice that he claims he lost. He sounded nothing less than horrible and the crowd had more energy from the DJ than they did for the person they came to see. 2/10

Lil yachty and everyone on the stage had a good connection with the audience and their perforemance were dope as hell. I enjoyed the show alot, it was really fun. Looking forward to yachtys next concert here in Stockholm, Sweden.

One of the best shows I have seen. He was so full of life, fun to watch, funny and made it a memorable night. The lights, dancing and song choice was spot on. I hope he comes to Baltimore again so I can go back. LIL BOAT!

This is my second time seeing him and yet again Amazing stage presence, full of energy, really got the crowd going and we was given a massive surprise with an appearance and short performance from Asap Rocky and Tyga!

The concert was wild especially in NYC perfect Venue. A lot of mosh pits coming from a lil yachty concert. During his performance he brings out A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg, very unexpected.

Him and Burberry Perry have mad stage presence and know how to get the crowd hyped. The only downside of the show is that he flicks water hard into your eyes though so bring goggles.

Yachty was so good live. The energy was amazing, and you can tell he loves the fans. He took a while to come out but if you love concerts and go with your friends, it's worth it.

It was bananas im glad i went i met so many cool ppl YACHTY was phenomenal the venve was huge good air i had funn i hope he comes back next year i will definitely be going

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Lil Yachty is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 17 concerts across 11 countries in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

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