lil yachty snl

‘SNL’: Watch Lil Yachty Perform ‘the BLACK seminole.,’ ‘drive ME crazy!’

By William Vaillancourt

William Vaillancourt

Lil Yachty opened his Saturday Night Live musical guest debut with “the BLACK seminole.,” the first track off of the album Let’s Start Here , which came out in January.

Yachty’s performance featured singer-songwriter Diana Gordon, and the pair–along with a full band–appeared on stage in what resembled a nighttime Florida swamp.

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Yachty’s second performance of the night–also with Gordon–was of “drive ME crazy!” from the same album.

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Lil Yachty Makes His ‘SNL’ Debut With Two Stunning Performances

Lil Yachty has made his long-awaited musical debut on Saturday Night Live and performed a pair of songs from his latest album for the late-night show.

On Saturday (April 1), the 25-year-old rapper — alongside singer-songwriter Diana Gordon — performed the tracks “drive ME crazy!” and “the BLACK seminole”  — two songs off of his fifth studio album, Let’s Start Here  — during his visit to NBC’s famous 30 Rockefeller Plaza studio in New York.

In his performance for “the BLACK seminole,” Yachty dressed in a modest outfit while belting out the classic rock influenced tune into a pitch-correction microphone.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong, Mr. Man/ Your eyes are low/ And you’re walking with both hands on your head/ His response, he’s on a clean, clean high/ Both feet up on the ground/ But his head’s way, way, way in the sky,” Lil Yachty sang.

For his performance for “drive ME crazy!,” Lil Yachty returned to the stage alongside Gordon in an oversized Eskimo hat, a semi-loose long sleeve shirt and shorts. Gordon opened up the performance with a yodel-like vocal arrangement over the upbeat melody. Yachty then stepped up to the musical plate and sang his verse in a style reminiscent of the late Prince Be of P.M. Dawn.

Check out both performances below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYdE4HAsXpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrF32zOszgg

According to Stereogum , Diana Gordon played a contributing role to the vocal sessions during the recording of the album.

It was first announced that Lil Boat would be performing on the legendary late-night sketch show  earlier this month, with  Abbott Elementary creator and Emmy winner Quinta Brunson handling hosting duties.

With his SNL  performance and previous interviews and social media messages , Yachty has made it a point to prove his naysayers wrong. His latest album, Let’s Start Here , marked a drastic sonic shift for the “Minnesota” hitmaker, swapping his signature trap sound for a more ambitious, psychedelic rock experiment.

In a 3.4-rated review of the album , HipHopDX’s Rebecca Barglowski said the album “is desperate to exalt the rapper from the categorization of Hip Hop as it once confined him.”

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March 20, 2023

She continued: “The truth is that as ‘groundbreaking’ as Yachty continues to say this album is, such a sentiment also ignores rap’s present affinity for transformation – for breaking and bending itself to redefine that which it can be. In 2023, Yachty is not the first person to take a stylistic turn into left field.”

“But, it sounds good, and that’s the most important thing – allowing Yachty to dabble in a fresh palette of songs that he’s hinted at, encouraging him to take the risk that predated this release.”

At a listening party for the project in New York City in January shortly before its release, Yachty spoke about his desire to be taken seriously as an artist  and wanting to move away from having the “mumble rapper” tag attached to his artistry.

“This album is so special and dear to me,” he said. “I think I created it just because I really wanted to be taken serious as an artist, you know? Not just some SoundCloud rapper, not some mumble rapper, not some guy that just made one hit.”

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Lil Yachty Announced as ‘SNL’ Musical Guest With Host Quinta Brunson

The April 1 lineup was revealed during Saturday night's Jenna Ortega-hosted episode, on which The 1975 performed.

By Ashley Iasimone

Ashley Iasimone

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Lil Yachty has been confirmed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for April 1, while Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson will be hosting.

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Before Lil Yachty’s schedule appearance on SNL , he’ll perform at  Billboard Presents The Stage at SXSW on March 16 , presented by Doritos. Read his recent Billboard cover story here .

See the April 1 SNL lineup revealed below.

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Singer-songwriter Diana Gordon and a full band performed alongside Yachty.

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Lil Yachty was the musical guest on the April 1 episode of Saturday Night Live and performed “The Black Seminole.” and “Drive Me Crazy!” from his celebrated new album Let’s Start Here . Singer-songwriter Diana Gordon and a full band performed alongside Yachty on the SNL stage.

When the album was released, Yachty joined Zane Lowe in-studio on Apple Music 1 to discuss his ambitious new project. He told Apple Music about entering the second chapter of his career with the creative departure, shining a light on other eras of music and studying Pink Floyd, aiming to create a cohesive “no skips” project, and more.

He also chatted with Lowe about evolving as an artist and embracing new sources of inspiration. Additionally, he explained the origins of  “Poland,”  his close relationship with  Drake , getting a cosign from  Questlove , his father’s reaction to hearing the album, working with Mac DeMarco, and more.

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Regarding the album title and origin of the project, he said, “I changed the name like eight times. And I settled with  Let’s Start Here  because I just felt like it was the beginning of the second chapter in my career. And I don’t know what’s next. But I just felt like… and I’ve had such a long career. It’s been about almost seven years in March, I think. And I’ve dealt with so much and I’ve been through so much in just trying to figure out my artistry and just myself as a person. I was a kid. I graduated high school and then six months later this life started. So I was just a kid just going through life. So I was just looking at it like my second chapter in my career. So I settled with  Let’s Start Here .

He also discussed the way others view his prowess on the mic. “It’s not that I didn’t take it serious, but it was just like I wasn’t trying to be the best rapper or the most creative artist. I wasn’t even trying to make music. I didn’t even care if… I wasn’t thinking about music lasting 10 years. I didn’t care. I was just making music, but I still cared. And then as I got a little bit older, then I started to care about how people perceived me as a rapper.”

Buy or stream  Let’s Start Here.

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Lil Yachty And Diana Gordon Brightened The Room With A Performance Of ‘Drive Me Crazy On ‘Saturday Night Live’

In his second performance of the night, Lil Yachty shared “Drive Me Crazy,” a standout track from Let’s Start Here on the Saturday Night Live stage.

Once again, joined by his all-women backing band, Yachty brought out Diana Gordon, who flawlessly sang the song’s intro. Yachty, dressed in jeans, a blue-stripped button-down shirt, and a large fur trapper hat, delivered soft, soothing vocals, as he sang the song’s second verse and chorus.

This performance was more vibrant than Yachty’s first of the night , as the stage was lit up with a background of clouds in the blue sky. Yachty, Gordon, and the band all maintained their rockstar energy.

In a recent interview with Billboard , Yachty revealed that he initially felt anxious about sharing his earlier music with the world. But since making a pivot to psychedelic rock sounds with Let’s Start Here , he feels a lot more confident.

“I was always kind of nervous to put out music, but now I’m on some other sh*t,” Yachty says. “It was a lot of self-assessing and being very real about not being happy with where I was musically, knowing I’m better than where I am. Because the sh*t I was making did not add up to the sh*t I listened to.”

You can watch the performance of “Drive Me Crazy” above.

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Watch Lil Yachty Perform “The Black Seminole.” and “Drive Me Crazy!” on SNL

Lil Yachty was the musical guest on the April 1 episode of Saturday Night Live . For his debut appearance on SNL , he performed the songs “The Black Seminole.” and “Drive Me Crazy!” from his new album, Let’s Start Here. Singer-songwriter Diana Gordon and a full band supported Yachty on the SNL stage. (Gordon also appears on the studio versions of the tracks.) Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson hosted last night’s episode. Watch Lil Yachty’s pair of performances below.

Released in January, Let’s Start Here. finds Lil Yachty pivoting from his usual rap sound to explore psychedelic rock. The album includes production work from Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberly and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait, as well as songwriting credits by Mac DeMarco, Alex G, Tory Lanez, and more.

Last year, Lil Yachty uploaded the song “ Poland ” on SoundCloud. After it quickly went viral , the song got an official release and a Cole Bennett–directed music.

Listen to the Pitchfork Review podcast episode about Lil Yachty .

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Lil Yachty Makes SNL Debut With Rock-Inspired Let’s Start Here Songs

Lil Yachty enjoyed the most high-profile showcase yet for his surprising new psychedelic rock sound last night (April 1) when he performed as the music guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live .

On the Quinta Brunson-hosted episode, Yachty played “the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” in tandem with a full band and guest vocalist Diana Gordon, who sang on the studio versions. Both songs hail from his January album Let’s Start Here , which marked a dramatic shift from his usual trap-inspired hip-hop style.

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Yachty initially stunned observers with his move into the rock world on “Poland,” a one-off single released last November which quickly went viral. Yachty appears to have further tuned up for his sonic shift by contributing to a 2021 remix of Tame Impala’s “Breathe Deeper,” which points the way toward the music eventually found on  Let’s Start Here . The album is the follow-up to 2020’s Lil Boat 3 and the following year’s mixtape Michigan Boy Boat.

Yachty has a handful of festival performances on tap this year, including Pharrell’s Something in the Water later this month in Virginia Beach, Va., London’s Wireless festival in early July, Lollapalooza in Chicago in early August, and Outside Lands in San Francisco shortly thereafter.

SNL ‘s upcoming music guests include the Jonas Brothers on April 8 and Colombian star Karol G on April 15.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here .

The post Watch Lil Baby Perform ‘California Breeze’ and ‘Forever’ in <i>SNL</i> Debut appeared first on SPIN .

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Quinta Brunson to Host April 1 Episode of SNL, Lil Yachty Will Perform

Brunson and Lil Yachy are bound to be a dynamite duo. Watch SNL Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC.

How to Watch

Watch Saturday Night Live  Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on  NBC and next day on  Peacock .  

April Fool's Day just got a whole lot funnier because we officially know who is Hosting  Saturday Night Live   on April 1! 

Season 48 of  SNL  has boasted an impressive lineup of entertainers, which has included legendary  Hosts like Steve Martin ,  Megan Thee Stallion , and  Pedro Pascal , to name just a few. With many standout performances from the  SNL  cast and a delightful mix of  SNL  newbies and tried and true studio 8H veterans, this season of the iconic series has truly been a hilarious affair. And it looks like two fresh faces will be bringing a remix to the comedy showcase. But who is taking the stage for the April 1, 2023  episode of  Saturday Night Live ? Keep reading to find out everything to know!

Who will host the April 1, 2023 episode of  Saturday Night Live ?

Quinta Brunson! 

April 1 will mark Brunson's  SNL  debut, but if the appearance is anything like her hilarious role on  Abbott Elementary , it's bound to be a fun-filled night. Brunson is the creator and star of the cherished workplace comedy, earning three Emmys and a total of seven nominations along the way for her work on the series. Brunson has been flexing her funny bone for years, and as a writer and creator herself, she's destined to be a shining  light in the  SNL  writer's room . We can't wait to see what the comedian brings to studio 8H because so far, she's never missed. 

Who is the musical guest on the April 1, 2023 episode of  Saturday Night Live ?

Lil Yachty!

Like Brunson, Lil Yachty is making his  SNL  debut for the April 1, 2023 episode. The beloved rapper—known for hits like "Poland" and "One Night"—just released a rock album,  Let’s Start Here,  so many suspect he'll  perform a track from the release . We've got a night of powerhouse performers in the house, so it's bound to be a blast. 

Can't get enough  Saturday Night Live ? NBC.com has so many classic moments ready for you to watch whenever you want. Here's how to do it:

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NBC.com is a great place to start. See below: 

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Watch   Saturday Night Live  Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on  NBC  and stream the next day on  Peacock .

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Lil Yachty Performs “The Black Seminole” & “Drive Me Crazy!” On "SNL"

Lil Yachty took over Saturday Night Live , this weekend, performing two songs off of his new album, Let's Start Here . For performances of “the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!,” Yachty brought out Diana Gordon, who contributes vocals to the studio versions of both songs.

On stage, Yachty was backed by an all-women band in addition to Gordon. Speaking with Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1 in January, he explained his reasoning for going with just ladies. “I just feel like women don’t get as much respect as men when it comes to the music industry,” Yachty said at the time. “So I was like, ‘These songs are pretty badass, and I want to show women playing them.”

Lil Yachty At Rolling Loud

With his latest album, Yachty ventures away from his traditional rap genre and ventures for a sound more heavily influenced by psychedelic rock. Speaking about the decision to go in that direction, Yachty previously said: “I think I created it just because I really wanted to be taken serious as an artist, you know. Not just some SoundCloud rapper, not some mumble rapper. Not some guy that just made one hit. I wanted to be really taken serious because music is, like, everything to me. I respect all walks of music, not just rap and hip-hop, everything. So I think I wanted to make something to show the world just how great it was to me.”

Elsewhere in the episode of Saturday Night Live , Quinta Brunson served as the host. During her opening monologue, the Abbott Elementary star promoted her show by taking a jab at Friends . “It’s a network sitcom like, say, Friends . Except, instead of being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers. Instead of New York, it’s in Philadelphia and instead of not having Black people, it does," she joked. The show also tackled Donald Trump's recent indictment , featured an April Fools prank from Michael Che, and much more.

Lil Yachty On "SNL"

• lets start here
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Quinta Brunson to Make ‘Saturday Night Live’ Hosting Debut, Lil Yachty Set as Musical Guest

By Katie Reul

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Quinta Brunson , the Emmy award-winning creator and star of “ Abbott Elementary ,” will transition from a classroom to a live studio audience with her hosting debut on “ Saturday Night Live ” on April 1. Lil Yachty has been named as the episode’s musical guest.

Brunson’s first appearance on the show could coincide with the a potential strike set by the show’s post-production editors. The strike comes after calls for NBCUniversal to pay editors industry standard rates and provide appropriate health benefits.

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The April 1 host and performer lineup was announced during the March 11 episode of the show, hosted by Jenna Ortega. “SNL” is currently in the middle of its 48th season, led by creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels with Liz Patrick as director.

The sketch show is produced by Broadway Video and SNL Studios and distributed by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.

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Saturday Night Live recap: Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson hosts with musical guest Lil Yachty

The Emmy winner makes her SNL debut.

Hello there - welcome back! Or, more precisely, a hearty welcome to our noble leaders on the island of Manhattan, who have surely been whipping together a delicious 90-minute smorgasbord of comedy for us this week. How could they not? Tonight's host is Quinta Brunson , the extremely talented star, creator, and writer behind Abbott Elementary .

I am joined tonight by former SNL cast member Robin Duke, who is co-starring in Shelved , which just premiered on CTV and is being called Canada's Abbott Elementary . I asked Duke - who also appeared on SCTV and continues to perform in sketch comedy - about appearing in a sketch show then moving onto a sitcom, a la Brunson's trajectory from A Black Lady Sketch Show to Abbott Elementary .

"It's nice to do a character that has an arc. When you're doing sketch, you do it for that one moment. Characters don't really have arcs in a sketch," she replied. "In sitcoms they do! When you're doing sketch, you have to get so much more information out about a character in a short amount of time. Whereas you can gradually reveal a character over a sitcom like Schitt's Creek or Shelved . In sketch, you have to do it in five minutes, which is challenging. To keep it grounded and real, but also make it hilarious."

Actually, that last sentence could also be said about Abbott Elementary 's appeal. So let's just lock and load, and see what the show's concocted after a weeks-long hiatus - it's SNL in Review time.

They couldn't resist this: "It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me," says James Austin Johnson's Trump, quoting Taylor Swift . A bunch of easy jokes about the former President's recent indictment. At first, Trump suggests he will go away now, quietly to prison. Just kidding, it is April Fool's Day! He's pulling a Jim from The Office . (Here's some trivia you probably didn't need: tonight's episode is the April 1st show. Who hosted the April 1st show back in 1989? Mel Gibson.) JAJ is so sharp as Trump, yet they have him singing so-so parodies of "Ironic".

Duke said to me: "The writing is really good this year, and different… I like when things are [different], you get a variety." Indeed, there's some moments here. It goes way beyond the Baldwin years!

It is fun to see Kenan Thompson 's Don King next to JAJ's Trump. In a curious move, Devon Walker plays Afro Man — this song was the theme song of the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back . Back in 2001! Very specific reference. Mikey Day singing "This Boy's A Liar" — strange energy indeed folks.

Brunson is so excited to be here. She's been dreaming about this since she was a kid - instead she took an easier path, creating and starring in a network sitcom. The audience is hanging on her every word, they love it.

She shares a video Barack Obama made for her mom. Her mother was a Philadelphia teacher, which leads to a lovely and sincere moment in which she recognizes the hard work that teachers do, and calls for them to be paid a proper wage.

This was cute and straightforward. Nothing wrong with that.

"Drug Dealer"

Andrew Dismukes and Devon Walker are looking to score a little cocaine in a club bathroom. The bathroom attendant, Marcello Hernandez, approaches them with an offer. Brunson leaves a stall, with her own pitch. Jokes about Gwyneth Paltrow's skiing trial ensue and many other very funny tropes about white people (Noah Baumbach, the song "Last Resort") as the various dealers try to one-up each other describing the pureness of their producer.

Good use of the new cast with Kenan. Commenting on the new cast members working alongside established vets, Duke shares: "You really see how people grow after being on the show for a long time, how strong they become. It's hard to judge the new cast, as a lot of them haven't been given that opportunity yet to really play. Whereas the veterans have. I mean, Kenan! C'mon! Phenomenal. He's so easy in front of the camera and loose. Just being his funny stuff, that's hard to do. It takes a while to get that comfortable."

I loved this. Watch it!

"Bridesmaid Cult Documentary"

The latest cult documentary - a la Wild Wild Country - is about women lured into acting as bridesmaids. This is hilarious. Watch it!

"Couple Goals"

Host James Austin Johnson introduces married couples answering questions about one another. As we have seen before, the responses are revealing and embarrassing. Slowly but surely, a newer angle emerges. Kenan's character is petrified that his wife (Brunson) will experience a terrible accident which will force him to give up his dreams to nurse her. (His parents saw a similar fate.) A dark premise, and they mostly execute it, I think.

A strong Kenan episode so far!

"Traffic"

Dad (Day) and his daughter ( Chloe Fineman ) get cut off in traffic by another driver (Brunson). Using exaggerated signs and body language, the two characters antagonize one another.

I like the camera angles and creativity here. And the comedy escalates! Well done. Another good one - watch it!

Lil Yachty first musical performance

"I can see why people like Lil Yachty, but not me though/Not even dissin', it just ain't for me" -Eminem (Also me)

"the BLACK seminole" is the first track off Let's Start Here . It's less "SoundCloud rap" than autotuned psychedelica crossed with Pink Floyd.

"Weekend Update"

Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the Trump indictment. The Jost jokes flop hard – it turns out Che has told the audience to not laugh. Pretty great moment! Watch this.

A Florida charter school is embroiled in a controversy involving a parent complaint that accused the school of showing students pornography by exposing them to Michelangelo's David statue. To comment? "The world's greatest sculpture and a very pretty boy!" AKA David (Longfellow). This is the second time tonight that Longfellow has been engulfed in paint - pretty clever. David complains how uptight Americans are - in Italy, their version of SNL can show penetration. "Our Matt Foley lived in a man down by the river," he quips. Really good.

Short King Spring is here! Marcello Hernandez, a self-described "petit prince", comes on to discuss. He comes from a proud lineage: Minions, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Beethoven! Meanwhile, Slender Man and Bin Laden — both tall! He leaves with words of encouragement and a startling revelation: Jost himself is a short king. (He's standing at the Update desk, not sitting! Gasp.) Fun segment.

"Midwife"

Mrs. Murphy ( Heidi Gardner ) is giving birth. Her contractions are thirsty seconds apart and she's crowning. Dr. Rogers (Brunson) is her obstetrician. Mrs. Murphy's midwife is Barry ( Bowen Yang ). Turns out that Yang and Brunson's characters know each other - they met at a BBQ before a Macklemore concert.

Three years later, the same situation happens. This time? Barry pretends to not remember Dr. Rogers. Very silly. We flash back to the BBQ inquisition - then back to Mrs. Murphy's second child being born. Lots of wig changes for Yang. Embuuuurrassing situations unfold. I like this!

Lil Yachty second musical performance

Diana Gordon is back for "drive me crazy" - she kills it on the funky chorus. The rest of the song is a letdown.

It's like Yachty - with the hat, the collaborations, the set, the orchestra - has learned the right lessons about how to be an innovative, boundary-pushing artist. But it's not a recipe.

"Bosses"

Top salesman Daniels (Sarah Sherman) is chummy with everyone in the office - but is obviously harassing the new girl Janet (Fineman). Complete with an impression of a sex computer.

Brunson joins the show - together with Daniels they are known as the Penis Brothers. They launch into a musical performance involving, um, Janet.

Wow. (Note who they cast in this sketch... and who they don't. Feels deliberate given the lines they approach here. Yowza.)

"Please Don't Destroy - Street Eats"

"Street Eats" has a strong Lonely Island vibe. The boys try to show their fluency with the "real" New York and embarrass themselves.

Final thoughts

"What did *you* think of the Quinta Brunson SNL?" /

— Thank you to Robin Duke! Go watch Shelved !

— What did you think? I thought it was really fun! But don't let me skew things: vote here or weigh in below.

— In case you missed, I recently covered the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for Adam Sandler. Read the summary story here , or take a gander at my conversation with Judd Apatow, Rob Schneider, Robert Smigel, and Luis Guzmán about Sandler.-I also published this piece in which Kevin Nealon reflects on the unmade 'Hans and Franz' movie and why Arnold Schwarzenegger ultimately turned it down. Check it out.

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Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night" from his debut EP Summer Songs . He then released his debut mixtape Lil Boat in March 2016, and signed a joint venture record deal with Motown, Capitol Records, and Quality Control Music in June of that year.

Yachty has released five studio albums, beginning with Teenage Emotions in 2017. His second and third studio albums Lil Boat 2 and Nuthin' 2 Prove were released in 2018, followed by Lil Boat 3 in 2020. Yachty's fifth album, Let's Start Here (2023) marked a departure from his previous style, experimenting with psychedelic rock. The album was released to generally positive reception. Four of his albums have charted within the top 20 of the Billboard 200, with Lil Boat 2 peaking at number 2. Lil Yachty is also notable for his features on the 2016 multi-platinum songs "Broccoli" by DRAM and "ISpy" by Kyle; as well as his cherry-red hairstyle, lighthearted tone, and optimistic image. Yachty was nominated for a Grammy Award for his work on the song "Broccoli".

Yachty made his musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live on April 1, 2023 , the sixteenth episode of Season 48 , and the second SNL episode to have premiered on April Fools' Day, hosted by actress, writer, producer and comedian Quinta Brunson , the creating, executive producing, co-writing, and star of the ABC's hit comedy series Abbott Elementary . He performed his two songs "the BLACK seminole." and "drive ME crazy!", both with Diana Gordon from his new fifth studio album Let's Start Here .

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Saturday Night Live Recap: Quinta Brunson Teaches How It’s Done

Saturday night live.

After two weeks off, the cast and crew of  SNL  came back rejuvenated as hell with a crackling live-wire extravaganza. The show hit a season low last month with Woody Harrelson’s episode , which was mired by simple premises that mainly produced variations on a single joke. This week’s show, led by up-for-anything debut host Quinta Brunson, was the spiritual opposite. Most of the sketches could scarcely be described in a single sentence. It was high-concept, through and through. Even “Weekend Update” had an avant-garde premise, getting through two full minutes of muted laughter from the studio audience before Michael Che revealed he coached them not to laugh at Colin Jost ; meanwhile, the Please Don’t Destroy  guys ditched their formula entirely to play different characters for the first time. Not every single sketch fully connected, but they were all imbued with a risk-taking vitality that was riveting to watch.

Here are the highlights:

Trump Indictment Cold Open

Donald Trump only got indicted Thursday evening , meaning James Austin Johnson and the other writers had just 48 hours to put this sketch together. You wouldn’t know it from watching. The jokes are brutal, and there are so many of them. A loose framework about Trump putting out an album entitled  Now That’s What I Call My Legal Defense Fund  gives Johnson songs to jump into and guests to bring on in between joke riffs. The funniest aspect may be the parts where Johnson breaks kayfabe to speak directly to the  SNL  audience while remaining in character. “That’s a very real thing, very disturbing,” he says when first mentioning “Justice for All,” the hot new single by Trump and the J6 Prison Choir , and later on, he pauses to say of his pal  Don King, “ He murdered a guy , can you believe it?” Making this sketch all the more clever, though, is that promoting an album with an infomercial feels like a natural next step for Trump after he released his own brand of NFT trading cards  earlier this year.

Quinta Brunson Monologue

This monologue has everything: a feel-good story about Brunson’s lifelong desire to host  Saturday Night Live , a heart-filled message about the importance of teachers, and a killer joke about the pristine whiteness of  Friends . Although she puts most of her introductory emphasis on  Abbott Elementary , the hit sitcom she created and currently stars in, it’s Brunson’s experience  with the HBO series  A Black Lady Sketch Show  that is perhaps most crucial to her performance on  SNL . Her palpable excitement during the monologue betrays the fact that she handles every sketch to come like a seasoned sketch-comedy pro, because she is one.

“Drug Dealer”

Speaking of pristine whiteness, this silly sketch exists solely to rake Caucasity over the coals. Despite the complicated setup, it’s essentially a symphony of “Yo Mama” jokes about white behavior, and I felt most personally attacked by the Noah Baumbach one.

“Couple Goals”

For the first several minutes of this sketch, the jokes are few and seem designed to elicit only small, nervous laughter. It’s not even clear what exactly is happening: Is this sketch  really  about a guy who is terrified, for the most selfish of reasons, that his wife will become gravely injured like his mother? By the time it becomes clear that, yes, that is indeed what’s happening, the sketch is well on its way to a knockout of a punch line that makes the whole journey worth it.  SNL  sketches rarely get this dark or reward patience so richly.

“Weekend Update”: Marcello Hernández on Being a Short King

Marcello Hernández and Michael Longfellow seem to be locked in some kind of arms race to determine which new cast member can get more and funnier desk pieces on “Update.” This week, the two went head-to-head in the same episode. Though Longfellow’s performance as Michelangelo’s David  certainly had its moments, Hernández took a subject lingering in the discourse for a long time — short kings — and presented what felt like the definitive take on them. There’s a lot of funny stuff happening here — from the interplay with Colin Jost to the alternate titles for short kings to the long list of diminutive male celebrities — and it all gels together in a satisfying way. Although Hernández may have won this round, the comedic battle between him and Longfellow on “Update” is like a reverse  Alien vs. Predator : No matter who wins, we win.

Stray Observations

• In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it joke, the full name of the game-show host in the “Couple Goals” sketch is revealed to be “Bob Dabilda.”

• The traffic-altercation sketch  would have hit so much harder had it been 90 seconds shorter, but it was still inventively staged and well performed. Mikey Day mimed the act of peeling a carrot in order to communicate “shame on you” so many times that I just assumed it was the actual correct ASL sign for that phrase. It turns out it’s not, though .

• I may admittedly have limited knowledge about the internal mechanics of bridal parties, but between the complicated T-shirt survey and forcing the group to write original lyrics set to the  Fresh Prince of Bel-Air  theme,  the Netflix cult-doc parody  appeared to be hewn out of the painfully lived-in experience.

• The best “Weekend Update” jokes tend to be topical but unexpected, succinct, and with a strong visual element. This is the platonic ideal of  a “Weekend Update” joke : “Trump is reportedly being charged with 34 counts of business fraud. Business Fraud is also what they call the Trump costume at Spirit Halloween.”

• Bowen Yang’s gloriously weird midwife sketch  may have had the most “ten to 1” energy of any sketch I’ve ever seen that did not, in fact, air at ten minutes to 1 a.m.

• It is a testament to Brunson’s comedic range that she could mirror Sarah Sherman’s uniquely horny energy in  the “Bosses” sketch  so effectively but also make it her own.

• This week’s  Please Don’t Destroy sketch  contributed an iconic mispronunciation of the word  bodega  to the canon with “bah-duh-guh.”

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