- Sign Up / Log In
Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Lil Yachty Showcased His New Psych-Rock Sound During His SNL Debut
Lil Yachty performed "the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” from his 2023 psychedelic-rock album, Let's Start Here.
How to Watch
Watch Saturday Night Live Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and next day on Peacock .
Saturday Night Live returned from its two-week hiatus with a stacked lineup: Host Quinta Brunson and musical guest Lil Yachty.
Lil Yachty made his SNL debut by showcasing his new psychedelic-rock sound that the Artist has embraced in recent years. He performed two songs from his album, Let’s Start Here, during the April 1 SNL episode , kicking off the night with " the BLACK seminole.” and closing it off with “drive ME crazy!.”
On stage, he was joined by a full band and guest vocalist Diana Gordon. The Act served as the perfect complement to Brunson's hilarious lineup of sketches , making for an all-around entertaining night.
Watch Lil Yachty's mind-boggling SNL performances , below!
Lil Yachty and Diana Gordon perform "the BLACK seminole."
Lil Yachty transformed Studio 8H into a dreamy desert night spent under the stars for his jaw-dropping cover of "the BLACK seminole." Lil Yachty introduced a reverb to his vocals that created a delightfully kaleidoscopic effect, with the band's accompanying riffs and electric guitar solos elevating the track's energy. Gordon's vocals were a haunting highlight of the performance.
Lil Yachty and Diana Gordon perform "drive ME crazy!"
While "the BLACK seminole." is haunting and mesmerizingly twisted, Lil Yachty's "drive ME crazy!" served as more light-hearted fanfare to end the night. With projections of sunny days and joyful skies, Gordon's vocals led the way for Lil Yachty's latest love ballad .
Ana de Armas to Host April 15 Episode of SNL, Karol G to Perform
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:
How can I watch classic Saturday Night Live sketches?
NBC.com is a great place to start. See, below:
Best of Bill Hader on SNL
Best of Kristen Wiig on SNL
Best of Will Ferrell on SNL
Commercials on SNL
Cut for Time Sketches on SNL
Everything MacGruber
Watch Saturday Night Live Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock .
Saturday Night Live
Recommended for You
2-Year-Old Mariska Hargitay Appears on the Merv Griffin Show
Ryan Gosling and Jimmy Fallon Deserve Oscars for Playing Identical-Looking Tough Cops
Scarlett Johansson Matches Katie Britt's SOTU Energy in SNL Parody: Watch
‘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.
Sean Combs Arrested After Grand Jury Indictment
Miley cyrus sued over ‘flowers,’ accused of copying bruno mars song, judge who tossed trump’s docs case repeatedly violated disclosure rule: report, perry farrell apologizes after jane's addiction cancel tour: 'my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior'.
Yachty’s second performance of the night–also with Gordon–was of “drive ME crazy!” from the same album.
Cardi B Vows to Fight Non-Payment Lawsuit: 'Iron Your Best Suit B-tch'
- 'See You In Court'
- By Nancy Dillon
Sean Combs Denied Bail in Racketeering, Sex Trafficking Case
- 'ANGER ISSUES'
- By Nancy Dillon and Cheyenne Roundtree
Sean Combs Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Trafficking, Racketeering Charges
- COURTS AND CRIME
- By Cheyenne Roundtree , Nancy Dillon , and Jon Blistein
Atlanta City Council Declares the Inaugural 'Rich Homie Quan Memorial Day'
- Remembrance
- By Meagan Jordan
Sophie's Final Album Gets Track List Reveal Featuring Kim Petras, Juliana Huxtable, and More
- Happy Birthday Sophie
- By Larisha Paul
Most Popular
Jane's addiction concert ends abruptly after perry farrell throws a punch at dave navarro, is forced offstage by crew, "it's a cult, and walt's the messiah": meet the couple who sued disney over secretive club 33, jason kelce may have accidentally revealed taylor swift & travis kelce made a massive relationship step, richard pettibone, artist who appropriated others' paintings for his own work, dies at 86, you might also like, olivia wilde wrote to charli xcx after watching her ‘incredible’ audition for ‘i want your sex’ film: ‘you’re a brilliant actress’, why apple intelligence matters to fashion, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, ‘mickey 17’ teaser: robert pattinson keeps getting killed in bong joon ho’s follow-up to ‘parasite’, coach prime hype peters out as colorado’s tv ratings crater.
Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.
- Manage Account
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
- Share on Facebook
- Share to Flipboard
- Share on Pinterest
- + additional share options added
- Share on Reddit
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Whats App
- Send an Email
- Print this article
- Post a Comment
- Share on Tumblr
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.
‘SNL’ Spoofs Donald Trump Indictment With References to Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’ & Other…
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.
Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox
Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about?
Get in the know on.
Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
optional screen reader
Charts expand charts menu.
- Billboard Hot 100™
- Billboard 200™
- Hits Of The World™
- TikTok Billboard Top 50
- Songs Of The Summer
- Song Breaker
- Year-End Charts
- Decade-End Charts
Music Expand music menu
- R&B/Hip-Hop
Videos Expand videos menu
Culture expand culture menu, media expand media menu, business expand business menu.
- Business News
- Record Labels
- View All Pro
Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu
- Songwriters & Producers
- Artist Index
- Royalty Calculator
- Market Watch
- Industry Events Calendar
Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu
- Cultura y Entretenimiento
Get Up Anthems by Tres Expand get-up-anthems-by-tres menu
Honda music expand honda-music menu.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.
AD LOADING...
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.”
related news
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.”
In this article
More on hiphopdx.
- Killer Mike, DC Young Fly & More Celebrate Rich Homie Quan At His Funeral
news | Sep 17, 2024
- Rubi Rose Says Relationship With Druski Was Strictly For PR: ‘He Is Nice Tho!’
- Diddy Denied Bond Following Arrest On Racketeering & Sex Trafficking Charges
DX Newsletter
Latest news.
- Kevin Liles Leaving 300 Entertainment: ‘Change Is Inevitable’
- 50 Cent Clowns Diddy Over ‘Freak Offs’ Evidence Seized During Home Raids
- Eve Clarifies JAY-Z's Female Rapper Warning: 'He Wasn't Being Mean'
- Snoop Dogg Offers Measured Take On Kendrick Lamar Vs. Lil Wayne Super Bowl Drama
- Diddy Indictment Reveals ‘Freak Off’ Tapes, Guns & Lubricant Were Seized During Raids
- Denzel Curry Reveals A$AP Rocky Took Him Off 'Cozy Tapes Vol. 2' Due To SpaceGhostPurrp
- Kanye West Reveals Surprising Pick For Favorite Song He's Ever Released
Subscribe To DX Newsletter
Find anything you save across the site in your account
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 .
By signing up you agree to our User Agreement (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions ), our Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement and to receive marketing and account-related emails from Pitchfork. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Lil Yachty - the BLACK seminole. (Live on SNL) Lil Yachty "Let's Start Here" is available now: ...more. Google has partnered with official 3rd party sellers listed below to show you...
2023 May 8. Lil Yachty - drive ME crazy! (Live on SNL) Lil Yachty "Let's Start Here" is available now: https://qualitycontrol.lnk.to/LetsSta... Lil Yachty:...
Watch Lil Yachty's performances of "the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” from the April 1, 2023 episode of Saturday Night Live.
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...
Lil Yachty performed tracks from his fifth album, "Let's Start Here," during his "Saturday Night Live" musical guest debut on April 1, 2023.
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.
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...
Lil Yachty - the BLACK seminole. (Live on SNL) Lil Yachty "Let's Start Here" is available now: https://qualitycontrol.lnk.to/LetsStartHere Lil Yachty: ...
Sorry had to skip because of copyright Full video at 1560 subsCopyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair u...
Apr 02, 2023. Video via Saturday Night Live. Subscribe On Youtube. Lil Yachty is making his SNL debut memorable. The news of Yachty’s performance was announced during Jenna Ortega’s episode...