On Saturday, “SNL” premiered the 16th episode of its 48th season with Quinta Brunson handling hosting duties. During the show, viewers were treated to a performance from Lil Yachty, complete with dope renditions of “the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” — both of which can be found on the Atlanta talent’s latest LP, Let’s Start Here. Singer-songwriter Diana Gordon and a full band provided support on a set with plenty of plant life and visuals of the sky behind them.
Let’s Start Here. made landfall in January with 14 songs and, in addition to Gordon, notable assists from Teezo Touchdown, Daniel Caesar, Justine Skye, Fousheé, Baby K, Ant Clemons, and more. The album marked a major departure from Yachty‘s more hip hop-oriented vibes with tracks that delved into soul, pop, and psychedelic rock. Let’s Start Here. received both critical and commercial acclaim, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 36,000 album-equivalent units sold during its first week of release.
Speaking to Billboard, Yachty explained his approach to creating the genre-bending effort, which was inspired by classics like Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Frank Ocean’s Blonde, and Tame Impala’s Currents.
“I did what I really wanted to do, which was create a body of work that reflected me,” he said. “My idea was for this album to be a journey. Press play and fall into a void.”
He continued, “There’s a lot of kids who haven’t heard any of my references… They don’t know anything about Bon Iver, or Pink Floyd, or Black Sabbath, or James Brown. I wanted to show people a different side of me — and that I can do anything, most importantly.”
Check out Lil Yachty’s rousing “SNL” performance below. If you missed it, you can enjoy the aforementioned album in its entirety here.