Lil Yachty Live At OVO Arena Wembley

Aimless buzzing of the pre-show crowd swiftly shifted as lights dimmed and atmospheric background music ramped up, for Lil Yachty’s performance on April 29th at the OVO Arena Wembley. Accompanying psychedelic nineties-esque visuals presented across the stage, hypnotising fans into focus.

Light beams powered through smoke machines, created a cascading effect onto the audience which added to the otherworldliness of the opening video/ audio sequence. Compelling imagery was complimented with phrases such as “Learn to See ” and “Find Truth”.

Lil Yachty entered the arena last, after the full band and vocalists had already taken their places. Attendees erupted in excitement as he began performing ‘drive ME crazy!’ from his 2023 album, ‘Let’s start here.’ Yachty’s voice catapulted out of the mic out into the venue as a guitar riff was singled out in musical space. All the other instruments seemingly took a beat for a couple of seconds. Then, we plunged directly into the full musical breadth of the band as they played back into alignment with the song.

The show began in a slower, jammy indie-leaning way, performing songs from ‘Let’s start here,’ which is his latest alternative/ indie body of work. We were brought along with him and the band when they performed ‘the ride-.’ Yachty finished belting out ‘sAy sOMETHINg’ as an interlude began, effectively ending the first section of the show. Various band members took centre stage for solo performances.

A guitar solo was accompanied by backup singers as they sang an alternative rock adaptation of ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins. Once this commenced and the room centred itself again, Yachty’s rap group, Concrete Boys, consumed our focus as they performed high energy southern Hip Hop, Rap and Trap beats. Yachty is the frontman of this five-member collective. The others being, Camo!, Draft Day, KARRAHBOOO, and Dc2trill.

Opening with ‘POINT ME TO IT’ off of ‘It’s Us Volume 1,’ the Concrete Boys amped up the energy and the audience was immediately invested. Afterward, KARRAHBOOO took the stage and performed her single ‘Running Late.’ Yachty rejoined and performed tracks from the debut album alongside them. Despite the fact that the group performance was nearing its end and members began walking off, Yachty pulled the collective back in a big way. Motioning to remain on stage – they kept the energy up, performing alongside him.

The second he returned on stage, the trajectory of the show shifted. The performance continued, now in absence of a full band, and focused more on his previous rap tracks. The audience experienced a showcasing of some of his older songs like ‘Broccoli,’ and ‘iSpy’, which he was featured on, by KYLE. These tracks feel like quintessential songs of summer 2016. Seeing these live created a nostalgic atmosphere which seemed to nod back at the visual aides at the start of the show.

Taking a minute mid-concert to ask for a moment of silence, in light of the passing of JUICE WRLD, fans settled down temporarily at Lil Yachty’s request. Once this ended, the audience noticeably started losing their minds again when ‘Coffin’ began, a track off of his 2020 album ‘Lil Boat 3.5.’ The pit flipped and upbeat energy was radiating off of every person in attendance.

This show was a testament to the positive trajectory of Lil Yachty’s new projects and the success of his previous ones. Since the start of 2024, he’s released a second song and music video entitled ‘Something Ether.’ The track was launched via Quality Control Music/Motown Records. The video was directed by Little Miles and AMD Visuals. As a musician who is categorically known for his creative inclination and innovative drive, this track is another example of his ability to press limits and genres in order to create something truly standalone.

Known for his comedic tendencies, matter of fact-ness, talent and musical skill – Yachty’s practice is innovative and nuanced. As a musician and creative, Yachty is known for his ability to evade hard lines and genre-boxing. The track Something Ether, incorporates distorted 808’s and experimental percussion which comes after the previous release, ‘A Cold Sunday.’ Not only this, but his listenership is gearing up after the recent announcement that Yachty will be working on an album with James Blake. It’s not distinct to say that I am on the edge of my seat, among many other fans, just waiting to see what he’ll do next.