Let's Start Here 

By Zoey Pomroy, Editor-in-Chief

October 10th, 2023 

Rap artist Lil Yachty is taking a new spin on the rap genre! On January 27th, 2023, he released his newest album “Let's Start Here.” Differing from his norm, his new album is a bit different from the rest. Its genre is classified as psychedelic rap, which is not something Lil Yachty had experimented in before. His tour for this album is called The Field Trip Tour, beginning September 21st in Washington D.C. 

 I attended the performance at the Fillmore in Philadelphia on September 24th, 2023. Upon arrival, it had a nightclub-at-the-back-of-an-alley-like aesthetic. Overall I think the venue was pretty cool on the inside, with glow-in-the-dark paint on the walls, chandeliers, and premium seater balconies above. The venue may be more enjoyable for those ages 21+, as there were a few lounge areas that served alcoholic beverages in spots away from the crowds. In general, the lounge areas were great, they served free cups of water and the staff was very nice. They gave me Tylenol when I asked before the concert had started. 

Onto the show! The concert started with two opening bands. The first performance was by the Concrete Family, a very upbeat rap group. Members included Camo, Draft Day, Moe, and Karrahbooo. The group announced that this was their very first tour to the people, excitedly performing their debut on this tour. Karrahbooo was the only female singer in the group. Her singing sounded so much like screaming that the crowd began to boo her.  The rest of the group was trying too hard to get the crowd going, but I have nothing positive to say about this group. I personally had to cover my ears. 

The next group to appear was the band of Nick Hakim. The change in genre with this artist was very unexpected. I enjoyed his music it was chill and slow and almost relaxing. A song I would relate his music to is “Time Moves Slow” by BADBADNOTGOOD. Although I enjoyed his music it did not seem to tie in well with the show. The opener was a rap group as well and the show itself is a rap genre. I would think maybe because his genre for the show is psychedelic rap he tried to incorporate both aspects of his music. 

      Around a minute later they started with Lil Yachty's number four song on Spotify and the top song of the album “Drive me crazy” followed by “The Ride-” and “pRETTy”.  these are all songs included in the “Let's Start Here” album. Going back a few years to 2016 he also performed the songs “Ispy”, “Broccoli” and “One Night” for more of his original audience. These songs brought back some memories of Musically. Other songs performed include “Poland, “The Alchemist”, “In The Air Tonight”, and “We Saw The Sun” and the show closed out with “The Black Seminole” 

Overall my favorite part of the show was the beat drops into each song. Between the lights and drums, it was really cool and got the crowd very excited. If you are short make sure to get there very early and head straight into the venue to get a good spot, unlike I did. Although even from the back the show was very enjoyable. Be prepared to get pushed, shoved, and jump around with the crowd. The Fillmore hosts many other genres of music for everyone to enjoy this space at least once. There was a country concert a couple of days before I attended. If you are planning on seeing Lil Yachty or going to the Fillmore I think both were a great experience. I highly recommend it.