lil yachty on saturday night live

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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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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 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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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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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:

Watch All of Travis Kelce's Touchdown-Worthy SNL Sketches

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

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Lil Yachty on ‘Saturday Night Live’: Free live stream, how to watch online without cable

• Published: Apr. 01, 2023, 4:07 p.m.

Lil Yachty performs at the University of Michigan SpringFest 2017 at the Crisler Center on Friday, April 14, 2017. Hunter Dyke | The Ann Arbor News ANN ARBOR NEWS

• Joseph Rejent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

“ Saturday Night Live ,” or “SNL,” will be hosted by Quinta Brunson, with musical guest Lil Yachty, on Saturday, April 1 at 11:30 p.m. The historic sketch series, now entering season 48, was created by Lorne Michaels with an all-star cast featuring Michael Che , Mikey Day , Chloe Fineman , Heidi Gardner , Colin Jost , Ego Nwodim , Cecily Strong , Kenan Thompson , Bowen Yang , and James Austin Johnson , among others.

Here’s all the information you’ll need to watch a free live stream of “SNL” online without cable.

How to watch ‘SNL’ without cable

If you’re a cord-cutter or don’t have cable, you can live stream “SNL” on Fubo TV (free trial) or DIRECTV Stream (free trial) .

It will also be available the day after on Peacock (free trial) .

When will Lil Yachty be the musical guest on ‘SNL’?

“Saturday Night Live” continues on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. on NBC, with Quinta Brunson hosting and Lil Yachty as musical guest, on April 1. Episodes usually air after older reruns of the series at 10 p.m., and local programming at 11 p.m.

What channel is NBC?

You can use the channel finder on your provider’s website to locate it: Verizon Fios , AT&T U-verse , Comcast Xfinity , Spectrum/Charter , Optimum/Altice , DIRECTV , Dish .

How to watch Quinta Brunson as ‘SNL’ host online on-demand

If you missed “SNL” or want to binge watch the series as it becomes available, check out Fubo TV (free trial) or DIRECTV Stream (free trial) .

What is ‘SNL’ about?

According to the official description of the NBC series : “Saturday Night Live,” NBC’s Emmy Award-winning late-night comedy showcase, enters its 45th season for another year of laughs, surprises and great performances... Since its inception in 1975, “SNL” has launched the careers of many of the brightest comedy performers of their generation; and, as The New York Times noted on the occasion of the show’s Emmy-winning 25th Anniversary special in 1999: “In defiance of both time and show business convention, ‘SNL’ is still the most pervasive influence on the art of comedy in contemporary culture.” At the close of the century, “Saturday Night Live” placed seventh on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the Top 100 Entertainers of the past fifty years... Not including specials and digital series, the program has won 67 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history. SNL also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 270 nominations, not including specials and digital series. “SNL” has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as “truly a national institution.” “Saturday Night Live” was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters, and the show continues to garner the highest ratings of any late-night television program, entertaining millions each week.

Here’s a look at “SNL,” courtesy of the official Saturday Night Live YouTube channel:

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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.”

• saturday night live
• sketch comedy
• quinta brunson

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Watch Lil Yachty Tell Sarah Sherman She’s Definitely Going to Jail For Not Paying Taxes in ‘SNL’ Promo

A nervous Sherman also steps all over host Quinta Brunson's lines in the clip.

By Gil Kaufman

Gil Kaufman

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Lil Yachty has some very bad news for Saturday Night Live cast member Sarah Sherman in one of the promos for this weekend’s show. “Oh my God!,” a nervous Sherman yelps after this week’s host, Abbott Elementary star/producer/writer Quinta Brunson, introduces herself.

Jonas Brothers, Karol G Booked as ‘Saturday Night Live’ Musical Guests

“What?” a surprised Brunson asks.

“I just realized, I haven’t paid my taxes,” Sherman frets about not filling out her forms before tax day descends in two weeks. “Oh, that’s okay. You still have a couple weeks,” Brunson assures the sketch player.

Trending on Billboard

After standing silently through two bits, a shades-wearing Yachty laughs and says, “Damn, you are going to jail.”

Sherman is equally sweaty in the first promo, where Brunson tries to talk the comedian off her hyperventilating edge by revealing that it’s Sarah’s first promo shoot and asking her if she’s okay. “Yeah, sorry, I’ve never done this before,” Sherman sheepishly apologizes as Brunson says she can tell.

“Hi, I’m Quinta Brunson and I will be hosting…,” Sherman stammers with eyes wide open. “Oh, no, see that’s my line,” Quinta explains as she and Yachty comfort the clearly shook SNL er. The third bit, of course, leans into a school/detention joke.

Earlier this week it was revealed that SNL will roar back this month with hree back-to-back shows, including an April 8 episode with  SNL  three-timers the  Jonas Brothers  performing alongside former cast member Molly Shannon ( A Good Person ) in her second hosting gig.

On April 15,  Karol G  will take the 8H stage for the first time with Oscar nominee Ana de Armas ( Ghosted ), who will also make her  SNL  debut that night.  Saturday Night Live  airs live on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET and streams live on Peacock at the same time.

Check out this week’s SNL promo below.

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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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Popular on variety.

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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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: 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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Maybe We Know a Little Too Much About Lil Yachty

By Andre Gee

Last year, I spoke with Lil Yachty about mystique. Our conversation about his Let’s Start Here album got awkward when he told me he didn’t want to reveal too much about its creation. I asked him about plans to release a documentary he recorded about the project, and he told me, “I doubt I’ll drop it. Just like me not wanting to do any of these interviews. I don’t really care to talk about it, [because] you give it all away [when] you pull the curtain back.”

When I asked him if he put a premium on artists with an allure of mystery when he was younger, he told me, “Coming up, you didn’t have all this social media. Even if [they] did an interview, you didn’t get every element of something. It’s the simple things you knew, but they left a lot of room for ‘Wow, how did he make this?’… Which is the beauty in art.” 

“I think Chapter One of my career is extremely oversaturated,” he told me. “I was thinking … I’m easily accessible. I’m on TikTok. I’m on YouTube. I’m on Twitter. I’m just everywhere. I didn’t like that.” But 18 months after our conversation, it feels like Yachty’s would-be triumphant next chapter is being marred by the same overexposure. 

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Yachty’s rap career is defined by a collage of viral moments. His first single, 2015’s “One Night,” went viral on SoundCloud. He came into public consciousness during the 2016 live stream of Yeezy Season 3. His “Minnesota” hit was the score to the hip-hop generational war being waged on rap Twitter, with his ignorance of Biggie and 2Pac’s catalog not helping things. And his Everyday Struggle admission that he didn’t know the full details of his QC contract made him fodder for anyone seeking to soapbox about naive rappers signing bad deals. Yachty saw all of the criticism, and he pushed back, arguably losing the musical charm that made him a distinct artist by trying to prove he could rap. He told me, that during that period, “I was trying to be the spokesman for the new generation because no one else wanted to talk. I felt, ‘I’m going to stand up. I’m going to speak.’”

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But it never stays strictly about the music with Yachty. During a Let’s Start Here listening event, he told the crowd he “wanted to be taken seriously as an artist and not just a SoundCloud rapper, not just a mumble rapper, not just a guy that made one hit.” Some people felt his comments implied that being “just” a rapper was inferior, but he told me that was “absolutely not” what he was trying to say. Regardless of his clarification, the perception of elitism stuck, and was intensified when he surmised that “hip-hop is in a terrible place” during our November 2023 Musicians on Musicians l ive event . 

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During an emotionally charged Instagram Live session, he claimed that he wrote all of Karrahbooo’s music and threw the remaining Concrete Boys under the bus by claiming he dressed all of them. He and Karrahbooo have since been taking to their stories to clap back at each other, making a bad situation worse. Yachty’s currently being lambasted as the kind of person who can’t wait to tell the world what they did for you — you never wanna be that guy. 

Perhaps people are letting the jokes fly for the moment, and Yachty dropping the right song will shift all the attention away from his mic miscues. Maybe Yachty doesn’t care what the public thinks. But it’s interesting to watch someone who’s repeatedly referenced not wanting to be accessible, and wishing he hadn’t opened his mouth, seemingly be unable to help himself from speaking out — in frequently self-sabotaging ways. It feels like the same digital soil that fertilized Yachty’s career is also his quicksand.

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Lil Yachty Cancels His Podcast Despite Mitch Claiming That He And Yachty Are Cool

Lil Yachty had an interesting Thursday, and that is probably putting it very mildly. Overall, it all started thanks to the backlash he received for the comments he made on his A Safe Place podcast. During the podcast, featuring Key Glock, Yachty denigrated his podcast co-host Mitch. Essentially, Yachty said his friend wouldn't be successful without him. Fans absolutely hated these comments and called out the rapper for being out of line in this instance.

This drama spilled over into the recent news that Karrahboo is no longer with Concrete Boys. After Karrahboo made an offhand remark about Yachty, the Lil Boat MC went off on Instagram Live. He exposed Karrahboo, claiming that he wrote every single one of her bars. Furthermore, Yachty noted that Karrahboo treated the people around her horrible, and that he had no choice but to kick her from the group. As for Mitch, Yachty claimed that he wasn't rocking with his friend and that the podcast was canceled.

Read More: Lil Yachty Catches Flack For Disrespecting His Friend Mitch During Key Glock Podcast

Lil Yachty Crashes Out

This was all very surprising, especially when you consider how Mitch came out and clarified what went down. On Twitter, he said that he and Yachty were cool. However, he did make it clear that he was successful before Yachty. Either way, the podcast appears to be in disarray right now. Yachty's rant was impulsive, and only time will tell whether or not he truly burned any bridges with it.

Mitch Speaks

Let us know what you think of this situation, in the comments section down below. Do you believe that Lil Yachty has been too harsh to his podcast host? How did you feel about the comments Yachty made in regards to his former artist, Karrahboo? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.

Read More: Lil Yachty Re-Follows Drake On Instagram Following Intense Fan Speculation

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Karrahbooo Claps Back at Lil Yachty After He Claims That She Doesn’t Write Her Own Rhymes

UPDATE (Aug. 25)

While performing at the Dig in Day Festival in Chicago on Saturday, Karrahbooo addressed Lil Yachty 's accusations that she doesn't write her own rhymes.

"Who ain't write it, who ain't write it, she rapped during her performance in the video below.

ORIGINAL STORY (Aug. 24):

Karrahbooo has clapped back at Lil Yachty following his angry video where he claimed that she doesn't write her own rhymes.

Karrahbooo Responds to Yachty's Claims of Her Not Writing Her Own Rhymes

On Friday (Aug. 23), Karrahbooo jumped on her Instagram Story to address Lil Yachty's accusations that she doesn't write her own rhymes. In the image below, the 27-year-old rapper, who recently parted ways with Lil Boat's Concrete Boys imprint , shares three songs she claimed that she penned and highlighted their streaming counts.

"Running Late," boasted over 7 million streams, "Where Yo Daddy," garnered 3 million streams and the On the Radar Concrete Cypher freestyle hit nearly 3 million streams.

Karrahbooo captioned the image, "put it on yo kid i ain't these songs [M]iles[.] Stop da cap and leave me out ur internet shenanigans [tears of joy emoji]."

She also added: "Stop bullying me big dawg [tears of joy emoji] i never said nothing u letting random fans get in yo head man up."

Read More: Lil Yachty Says He’s Done With the Internet and Won’t Be Talking

Lil yachty goes in on karrahbooo.

Karrahbooo's response comes after Lil Yachty went on Instagram Live and blasted his former artist for disrespecting him and others on his Concrete Boys imprint.

On Thursday night (Aug. 22), Yachty addressed Karrahbooo's reported claims of being bullied during her time on Boat's label, which he denied. According to Yachty, it was Karrahbooo who was doing the bullying.

"Tell people how you talk to people," Yachty said in his fiery video below. "How you tell my security guard, 'Oh, you homeless. You work for me. You're poor. We above you.' You talk to people like they nothing...Tell people how you verbally abuse people. How you said you gon' spit on me when you see me."

"I been letting you do this whole thing where you act like you a princess and you sweet," he continued. "Stop the front, bro. We have withheld your actions since the beginning of me giving you this career. What the f**k are we talking about, bro. You don't even do nothing. It's so crazy to me, bro. ’Cause I've given you a career and time to time you just disrespect me."

Yachty went on to claim Karrahbooo is in $900,000 debt to his label as a result of not recouping with her music. The Quality Control rhymer also claimed that he wrote all of her rhymes as well.

Read More: Lil Yachty Goes Off After Being Accused of Mistreating Mitch

Watch Karrahbooo's response to Yachty and Yachty's video crashing out on Karrahbooo below.

Read Karrahbooo's Response to Yachty's Accusation of Her Not Writing Her Own Rhymes

Watch lil yachty crashing out on his former artist karrahbooo, see the dumbest lyrics readers have heard in hip-hop, more from xxl.

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Lil Yachty Has All-Time Crash Out Session Over Karrahbooo & ‘A Safe Place’ Co-Host Mitch

In case you were living under a rock or just woke up from coma, last night Lil Yachty had a public meltdown on Instagram Live over his former artist Karrahbooo and his podcast co-host and friend Mitch.

First, a clip of his podcast A Safe Place went around of him, Mitch, and Key Glock having a discussion about trying to understand why some want what others have when things got awkward. “Some people gotta eat, gotta feed they family, however the case may be,” Yachty said. “That’s when the militant part comes into play because sometimes, unfortunately, don’t wanna put in work and just want what you have. And that’s a whole different conversation because I ain’t been rich forever.” Adding, “I done been broke before, so who am I to tell this n—a not to go do what you gotta do.

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Mitch disagreed and said you can give them different advice.” However, Yachty then replied, “Like what? You ain’t never had a job. What you gonna tell a n—a to get a job?” The Atlanta rapper then brought up what Mitch would be doing with his life if Yachty wasn’t around and all Key Glock could do was sit there in silence.

Lil Yachty disrespecting his friend in front of Key Glock. pic.twitter.com/owWr6Efkbc — 🌎Zay🌍 (@TLOZAY88) August 22, 2024

Naturally, Rap Twitter had a field day with said clip and criticized Yachty for being a bad friend. Boat addressed the viral clip during his IG Live session and stated he started the podcast to help his friend and said he was going to end it because Mitch wouldn’t defend him on social media. “I aint want to do no motherf—king podcast, n—a, I’m a f—king rapper.”

Lil Yachty goes off on his bestfriend and producer Mitch and cancels their podcast together 'A Safe Place' on IG live, for not clearing up a viral clip "I aint want to do no motherf*cking podcast n*gga, Im a f*cking rapper… I put $400,000 in Mitch pocket…" pic.twitter.com/OX9TloJQ58 — SOUND (@itsavibe) August 23, 2024

Mitch then took to X to clear the air, suggesting him and Yachty joke around and are often brutally honest with each other.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by DJ Akademiks (@akademiks)

As for Karrahbooo, a waitress at Red Lobster set fire to this whole night. X user @C_Staxxz claimed the former Concrete Boy member walked into the restaurant chain to buy some Cheddar Bay Biscuits said she was kicked out of the group after being asked why she left. The user also claimed Karrahbooo told her that “they were really mean to her and bullying her a lot.”

A fan who met KARRAHBOOO claims she said she was "kicked out" of Concrete Boys and bullied within the group pic.twitter.com/NDmuYN467Q — Kurrco (@Kurrco) August 22, 2024

Those two now-deleted tweets bothered Yachty so much, he decided to hop on Live and finally address the situation. He responded by saying, “Tell people how you verbally abuse people. Don’t get on here to make it seem like niggas kicked you out… bullying you? Bro, go ‘head and tell people how you talk to people… You talk to people like they’re small, like they’re beneath you.”

He then claimed that he wrote all of her verses and styled her and the other members of the Concrete Boys. “I wrote every f—king verse you’ve done,” he said. “I dressed you. I dressed all five of y’all n—as, bro. I dressed five n—as every time we stepped out the house. I put an outfit on everybody. I put eight carat earrings in everybody ear. I put three chains on all y’all neck.”

Adding, “We bought a Cartier watch. I gave you that chrome Rolex, bro. You was waiting tables… What are we talking about, n—a? I changed your motherf—king life and you are here lying, talking about some, ‘We bully you’… That sh—t got me f—ked up, bro. You got me f—ked up, bro. You disrespectful, bro. You talk to people crazy. You tell people that they are nothing. You tell people you’re going to spit on them. You tell people they poor and you talk to my f—king label crazy. You claim I was stealing money from you. Stealing money from you how? You ain’t made no money.”

He continued, “This the problem with you new artists. Y’all get poppin’ online and then you become more popular than your actual music. You $900,000 in the whole and I got every f—king receipt.” Boat then brought up her viral On the Radar freestyle and said he was trying to make her pop off and it worked. “I slowed the beat down, I put 808s specifically on your verse so when it got to your part and the beat dropped, everyone would be like, ‘This girl is the craziest one.’”

For whatever reason, Boat finds himself in these situations and even went as far as to claim he was going to stop talking on the Internet . “I’m not doing no more talkin’,” Yachty said on Instagram Live last month. “I don’t got s—t else to say. I’m gone off this internet s—t. I think I’m gone for the rest of the year. I swear to God. I ain’t got s—t else to say.

Karrahbooo has yet to respond.

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Zedd's Road To 'Telos': How Creating For Himself & Disregarding Commercial Appeal Led To An Evolutionary New Album

'Telos' "isn't going to be that pop album that some people may have wanted me to make," Zedd tells GRAMMY.com of his highly anticipated album — his first in nine years.

At the time of our call, the release of Telos — Zedd 's first studio album in nearly a decade — is just seven days away. Snug in an earthy brown crewneck, the 34-year-old musician joins the Zoom from his new home in Encino, California, with a degree of poise that some might find surprising at this point in the rollout. 

Still, his relaxed body language, decisive, measured speech, and quiet confidence make it clear that any anxiety he once felt about the LP has been replaced by pure anticipation. 

"I am honestly just really excited. I think I've released music in the past that I was nervous about, but it's quite different with this album," he tells GRAMMY.com. "I feel very calm and just happy to be able to release this music that I've been working on for so long, some of which has been in the works as late as nine years ago." 

Out Aug. 30, Telos arrives about four years later than initially announced and about eight years after it was contractually due. Though Zedd confirmed that the long-awaited answer to his second studio album, True Colors (2015), would arrive in 2020, he indefinitely postponed the project at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

"I decided to push back the album to when things are more back to normal," he wrote in a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) in November 2020. "I really wanted it to come out this year, but I put the album on standby because during quarantine, I just didn't feel the inspiration to make this the best album possible."

Timing is everything and Zedd, who counts a clock ticking sample among his stylistic hallmarks, knows this well. Zedd embraced the axiom while making Telos , an album that "isn't for the algorithms" in an era when creative works' cultural capital is largely decided by how well they pander to an algorithm. Telos is decidedly — and in some ways, daringly — non-commercial. "Lucky," alongside singer/songwriter Remi Wolf and "Automatic Yes" with John Mayer , are notably the only two tracks palatable for commercial radio airplay. The 10-track album largely plays like a love letter to classical music (there is an orchestra on the entire LP), with flashes of pop, dance/electronic, jazz, world music, and metal influence. A cross-generational list of collaborators — including 40-year-old musician and composer Jeremy Kittle, who recorded each string for the album one by one, and Gen Z singer-songwriter Bea Miller — further dynamize Telos .

Telos "isn't going to be that pop album that some people may have wanted me to make," Zedd acknowledges. Nor will it be the dance/electronic LP that purists from his name-making run in the early-2010’s might long for. Fans gained during the GRAMMY-winning producer's complextro, electro, and progressive house-heavy era (think "Shave It" ) have been some of his most outspoken critics in recent years, reproaching his stride into commercial pop.

This response is neither surprising nor foreign to Zedd. "I felt the same way about a lot of bands and artists that I grew up listening to when I heard their new music," he reflects. "In the moment, you might be like, I'm disappointed, 'cause I wanted X, Y, Z , and with a little bit of perspective, you realize what an artist has done, and maybe those become your favorite works when you give it time."

Zedd has already proved his ability to craft pop hits with staying power — with help from some of the genre’s most prominent voices. The 2017 single "Stay" with Alessia Cara (2017) and 2018's "The Middle" with Maren Morris and Grey were two of Zedd's biggest smashes in the dance-pop domain post- True Colors . Both singles achieved platinum certification, though "The Middle" has since struck platinum six times. Like "Clarity" — the 2012 breakthrough single that scored Zedd his sole golden gramophone (for Best Dance Recording) — "Stay" and "The Middle" imbued him with the confidence and greater depth of reference to make an album like Telos .

"If I made another album today that felt the same way Clarity felt back then, you wouldn't feel the same way about Clarity today," Zedd reasons, adding that Telos has some of the "internal motivations" and experimentation of Clarity . "It's just a more mature and experienced expression, so I think the people who loved Clarity will find plenty to love on Telos ."

The album's debut single, "Out Of Time" featuring Bea Miller, is likely to serve as one such point of connection. It retains the DNA of Zedd's established, melody-driven sonic identity while still feeling fresh and exploratory.

"It's a really good example of a new version of an old me," he attests. "The real core of what Zedd feels like isn't the sound. It's not the synths, and it's not the kicks you hear at the festival. It's actually really deeply rooted in chord progressions and melodies. Those are well alive, and more than ever, on Telos ."

At nine-and-a-half-years-old, "Out Of Time" is the oldest track on the album, penned just after Zedd delivered True Colors (OG fans will recognize the song's chord progression from the intro to his DJ sets). His motivation to repeatedly rework the track and fashion it into the album opener stems, in part, from the feeling that it was "too theatrical" to be a standalone single.

Telos provided "the perfect canvas to deliver all these meaningful songs to my life and to my career that couldn't just be one-offs," he says.

Zedd’s current musical ethos is born from his disenchantment with the direction of music in the age of algorithms and TikTok, and the resulting Telos is the product of his "decision to really be free musically."  

"There was one moment in making Telos that made me realize this is like my autobiography. This is everything I am as an artist, and everything I do musically is for me," Zedd says with conviction. "That was a really liberating moment because I am essentially guaranteeing that I'm not going to disappoint anyone because the only audience is me. I'm making this for myself." 

"It sounds so silly to even say [this album is just going to be for me] because you would think that everything you make as an artist is for you," he concedes. "But really, the truth is it's hard to block out the feeling that people might be disappointed, and the feeling that you could change a song, and you would make so many people happy." 

Telos ' exhaustive creation process was as much a matter of deconstruction as it was reconstruction. About halfway through the first version of "Z3," as the album is known colloquially among fans, Zedd scrapped 90 percent of what he'd written, salvaging only "Dream Brother." The hypnotic interpretation of Jeff Buckley 's 1994 song embodies the musicality that threads Telos — from the texture of the opening guitar chords and piano, to the swell of strings, and Zedd's signature clock ticking sample in its outro. Telos marks the first and only time the Buckley estate has given an artist the rights to the late creative's work. 

"Dream Brother," Zedd explains, was "the only song that felt lik e this is living very much in the world that I really deeply feel ," citing it as "a song that has inspired me since my early days as a musician." 

Between his successes on Billboard 's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and the coveted Hot 100, it may be easy to forget that Zedd's musicality traces back to childhood. A classically trained musician, Zedd began playing the piano at the age of four and still writes his music on the piano first . Telos is a cerebral reminder that it's reductive to think of Zedd as anything less than a natural-born composer.

Elsewhere, "Sona," featuring the olllam, harkens back to Zedd's days as a member of German metalcore band DIORAMIC in its use of the 7/4 time signature. "Sona" is the first song in this time signature that Zedd has made since his days as a band member (he was the group's drummer from ages 12 to 20). 

Still, Telos ' unequivocal pièce de resistance is "1685" with GRAMMY-winning English rock band Muse . The six-minute and 11-second album finale takes inspiration from Johann Sebastian Bach's "The Well Tempered Clavier" — the first classical piece Zedd ever learned to play on piano as a child and as he calls it, "probably the most influential piece ever written in life for me."

Named for Bach's birth year, "1685" extends the full-circle nature of Telos. Both a tribute to his favorite composer and a reference to Zedd's earliest days as a musician (he performed a cover of Muse during his very first concert with DIORAMIC), these connections imbue Telos with authenticity and soul.  

Intricate and lovingly-crafted, Telos is Zedd at his most musically honest. "It's my entire life in one album," he says. "It's truly an evolution of who I am as a musician." 

His decision to eschew trends and commercial formulae to embrace "music for the sake of art" confers a sense of timelessness to Telos . For those versed in gaming terminology (like the multi-platinum producer, a notorious gamer) Telos is Zedd in his final form — a state unlocked only after the successful completion of considerable, skill-building challenges. 

Fittingly, the multifaceted nature of Telos and its creator is reflected in the album's title. The Greek word has multiple meanings, including accomplishment, completion of human art, and the end. He chose the name "telos" 30 or so minutes before he had to submit the LP — an  ironic timeline for a production that took years to conceive.  Yet like all of the creative choices that culminate in Telos , this, too, was part of a thoughtful strategy. Zedd wanted to be sure that the album's title would faithfully capture its concept, even after the LP’s many metamorphoses. 

"I really relate to all of the meanings," he says. "Accomplishment of a goal is one of them. I made this album that I was dreaming of making my whole life with the artists I love so much who have inspired me, so it's a genuine dream come true to make this album." 

With introspection written on his face, Zedd pauses, then continues: "One of the meanings of 'telos' is the end, and there was a good chunk of time where I thought this might be the last music I will ever release. It's kind of like I put all my emotions and feelings into this one album…is there any reason for me to take space away in this universe if this is all I have left to say? And for a moment towards the tail end, I was like 'yeah, Telos is the name for this album because I will never make another song in my life.'" But Telos is merely another beginning, briefly disguised as an end. Zedd delivered the album, had a second to breathe, moved from Beverly Hills to Encino, put a piano in his bedroom, and "inevitably started writing new music." Timing is everything.

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The L.A. festival is famous for bringing an array of electronic sounds, from dance-pop and experimental techno, to classic house and rare back-to-backs — and this year's lineup features some of the biggest and buzziest acts in dance music.

When it comes to American dance music culture, few events carry the cool cache of a HARD party. Founded on New Year's Eve of 2008 by DJ and former label A&R Gary Richards, the name HARD has become synonymous with taste-making, offering fans an enviable mix of influential headliners and cutting-edge up-and-comers.

HARD parties have been a breakout platform for luminaries like Justice , Skrillex , deadmau5 , and more, and the HARD Summer festival is one of the brand's most celebrated flagship events. In 2017, HARD was absorbed into the Insomniac festival family — the same company that brings fan-favorites EDC Las Vegas and Electric Forest to life — which ensures the stage production, on-site activities and other ancillary fun are sure to be supersized. How many festivals do you know that offer a Ferris wheel and a swimming pool?

Coming to Los Angeles' Hollywood Park near SoFi Stadium on Aug. 3 and 4, this year's lineup continues the tradition of blending authoritative artists, legacy DJs and unique back-to-back headliners with buzzy newcomers in a variety of genres and styles. 

Whether you wanna rave out with club king Jamie xx , bang your head to bass with Zeds Dead, get tropical with Major Lazer , see what it sounds like for UK grime star Skepta to DJ, or just sing along to mid-2000s belters courtesy of dance-pop crossover queen Nelly Furtado , there's something to please every palette. Of course, in true HARD tradition, we seriously recommend exploring the undercard, because the biggest name in electronic music tomorrow is probably playing one of the HARD side stages today.

While you wrap your head around the stacked lineup, check out a quick guide to 10 must-see acts below.

A legend on the decks who can play blissful disco or teeth-shattering techno with a smile, Boys Noize is a must-see on any lineup simply because he loves doing the job. He recently teamed with Skrillex on the anthem "Fine Day," and released an entire EP with alt-rap icon Rico Nasty. He's also the producer behind Lady Gaga 's beloved Ariana Grande collab, "Rain On Me," and Playboi Carti's "Unlock It," but he's likely to unleash a massive set of hard techno bangers for the L.A. crowd — though you never can tell which direction he'll take you in next, so come with an open mind.

As the top-billed headliner for Saturday night, Disclosure should need little to no introduction to any modern dance music fan — but that doesn't mean you should sleep on their set.

Howard and Guy Lawrence emerged on the scene as seemingly an instant success. The brothers' debut album, Settle , almost single-handedly changed the landscape of popular dance in 2012, moving the taste du jour away from the big-room EDM and bass-heavy trap sound toward a UK garage revival that still carries, and helped launch Sam Smith 's career in the process.

In the 12 years that followed, Disclosure has continued to push the envelope — and themselves — working with cross-genre heavyweights including Lorde , Khalid , Miguel , Kelis , Slowthai , and The Weeknd , as well as incorporating international sounds and styles into their club-driven house grooves. Earlier this year, Disclosure returned with the dance floor-ready single "She's Gone, Dance On," announcing themselves as arbiters of disco-laced funk and good-time DJs for 2024 crowds. Surely they'll be in top form come HARD Summer.

If you like your dark techno to come with a side of hip-shaking Latin rhythms, Miami-bred duo INVT is the experimental sound machine you can't possibly pass up. Luca Medici and Delbert Perez have been best friends since they were kids, and that closeness comes through in their tight experimental sets, blending booming bass with glitched-out techno synths, cumbia rhythms, dembow beats, and acidic edge.

INVT are — as the name may imply — extremely innovative, leaning into their own productions and edits to curate an approach that feels hypnotic, exciting and unique. If you're not afraid of beats that go really hard and get a little weird, this is a set that can set your wild mind ablaze.

What happens when you put two of the most unique and hard-hitting producers in electronic music together on one stage? Deadmau5 is one of the scene's leading icons, and Rezz (who released her debut album of deadmau5's Mau5trap label in 2017) shifted bass music culture with her gritty, techno-fueled, half-time sound. The two share a love of dark, stomping, left-field noise, and after years of teasing possible collaborations, those shared interests merged on the 2021 collaboration "Hypnocurrency." Two years later, they released the booming, dystopian 2023 single "Infraliminal" — not just a brilliant rework of deadmau5's 2012 track "Superliminal," but the official introduction to Rezzmau5.

Rezzmau5 haven't released anything since, and live performances from the duo have remained few and far between. But the monolithic duo just warmed up their trippy joint live show at Tomorrowland 2024, which was set in "the mythical realm of Silvyra," a world "filled with creatures, plant life, and people living in harmony." Whether or not their HARD set follows the same storyline, it's certain to shake the skulls of every dancer at Hollywood Park. Prepare your body for something deep, dark and maniacal.

There aren't many electronic acts that bring the same level of frontman energy that Elderbrook boasts on stage. A multi-talented performer, the UK artist sings and plays instruments, creating a rock-show experience unlike most sets at heavily electronic festivals like HARD. He leads the crowd in heartfelt sing-alongs to hits including "Numb," "Something About You," "Inner Light" and, of course, his megahit CamelPhat collab "Cola."

Bouncing between his microphone, synthesizers and keyboards, samplers and drum pads, his one-man band performance is sure to draw a serious crowd. If you're ready for a break from the hard-edged rave noise and want to ascend to heavenly heights, Elderbrook is the man for the job.

Fisher + Chris Lake (Under Construction)

Nothing is more fun than watching two best mates go absolutely nuts on the decks. And when two stellar DJs go back-to-back, everyone wins, because they spend the whole set trying to impress each other.  

Chris Lake is one of the most influential producers in tech house. Fisher is one of the most unhinged and energizing DJs one can ever witness. Together, the besties deliver an over-the-top party with an arsenal of mind-numbing drops, weirdo grooves and just-plain fun vibes that make you wanna hug your friends and dance 'til you sweat. The set is called Under Construction, but make no mistake: these two have completely mastered the blueprint.

If you like your sets to be playful cross-genre explorations of sounds from around the world — tied together by booty-shaking beats and booming bass lines — JYOTY is sure to check all your boxes. She knows how to lead a great party because she spent her childhood frequenting the unmatched clubs of Amsterdam. And with an ethos built around playing whatever the heck she wants, she's comfortable dropping a bit of hip-hop into some Brazilian bops, mixing it up with hard breakbeats, blistering rave synths and more.

Kerri Chandler

If you don't know your history, you're doomed to repeat it, but no one brings the house down quite like Kerri Chandler. A pioneer of the original deep and garage house movements, Chandler was a foundational DJ of the '80s scene, holding down a residency at the legendary Club Zanzibar in New Jersey and founding the MadHouse Records label. If you want to feel the soulful spirit that made electronic music what it is, Chandler's dreamy mix of feel-good melodies served over kickin' club beats are a direct line to house music's roots.

Mary Droppinz

You know how Mary Poppins had a magical bag that held everything from a hat rack to an ornate mirror, a house plant and a Tiffany lamp? Well, California DJ Mary Droppinz comes equipped with a magical USB that's positively bursting with mean beats and original edts.

This woman can blend everything from grimy bouncing bass to ethereal orchestral house, Spice Girls reworks, drum'n'bass bangers, reggae upbeats, '90s R&B remixes and chart-topping hits of the moment twisted into face-melting heaters. You can try to guess where she'll go next, but it's better to just let her take control and follow the vibe through all the devious twists and turns. The one thing you can count on? You'll leave her set dripping with sweat.

Disclosure aren't the only brilliant UK brothers on the HARD Summer lineup. Overmono's Tom and Ed Russell hail from Wales and make some of the most inspired club records of our time.

With backgrounds exploring hard techno, drum'n'bass and rave, the brothers combined their talents in 2015 and have since created an enviable blend of soulful atmospheres and frenetic breakbeats that feels nostalgic and sentimental, but still very heavy. Overmono's 2023 album Good Lies is a great play from start to finish, and a good way to get prepped for their critically acclaimed live set. If you need a big-name co-sign, Overmono was recently featured on Fred again.. 's "Stayinit" with Lil Yachty on the vocal. That's the caliber they're rockin' with — and the prestige they'll bring to HARD Summer.

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5 Artists Who Graduated From GRAMMY Camp: Chappell Roan, Maren Morris, Blu DeTiger & More

As GRAMMY Camp 2024 winds down, check out this list of leading figures in the music community who count themselves as alumni.

GRAMMY Camp is almost a wrap — but the musical memories will last a lifetime. On Saturday, July 19, the weeklong summit for students interested in music careers will wrap after six enlightening days.  

Held at the Village Recording Studios in Los Angeles, GRAMMY Camp's faculty of music professionals — along with guest professionals — have offered precious insight to give campers the best chance at succeeding in their career of choice.  

The available Camp tracks include Audio Engineering, Electronic Music Production, Songwriting, Music & Media, Music Business, and much more. Many alumni of this enriching crash course have risen to prestigious positions across the musical landscape.  

As the Recording Academy signs off on yet another elevating GRAMMY Camp, check out this list of five major artists who cut their teeth at the almost 20-year institution.

Maren Morris  

The future country wunderkind attended GRAMMY Camp for its very first iteration, back in 2005. There, the then 15-year-old met undisputed leaders in the music community, like Jimmy Jam and Paul Williams — which set the course for her incredible career to come.

In the years since, Morris has won a GRAMMY, received 17 GRAMMY nominations, and topped the Billboard country charts. She also joined the country supergroup the Highwomen with fellow juggernauts Brandi Carlile , Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires .  

At this year's GRAMMY Camp, Morris returned as a guest artist. What's her advice to budding artists? "Just stick to being authentic," she told RecordingAcademy.com, "and people see that, no matter what time they arrive to the party for you."

Along the way, "Find people that listen to you," Morris added, "but also push you and your creativity to new areas of yourself."

Read more: Maren Morris On 20 Years Of GRAMMY Camp & Her Advice To The Next Generation Of Music Industry Professionals  

Jahaan Sweet

In 2009 — four years after Morris' GRAMMY camp tutelage — the formidable Jacksonville, Florida, producer, songwriter and pianist Jahaan Sweet attended GRAMMY Camp.

At the outset, he was thrilled to come to L.A. for the first time and network with like-minded folks in music. "I knew that my skill set wasn't that great," he told GRAMMY.com a decade later, "but it was just so good to be around people who were all there to learn and create together.

"I feel like that's the biggest takeback I have of GRAMMY Camp," he continued. "It was amazing to have all those people together under one roof, all in the same vicinity, all doing creative things." Working with GRAMMY Camp Faculty Director Jason Goldman was one clear highlight for him: "He's a great guy, and he was such a good, carefree band director."

By now, Sweet has worked with Kehlani , Kendrick Lamar , Drake , Eminem , the Carters , Ty Dolla $ign , A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and many more; he's been nominated for three GRAMMYs and won one. And as a launchpad, GRAMMY Camp helped make all these accomplishments possible.  

Watch now: Producer Jahaan Sweet Talks Making Records With Boi-1da, Drake & More | Behind The Board  

Chappell Roan  

In 2024, Chappell Roan is very, very famous — as she admits, a little more famous than she would like right now.  

Regardless, the self-christened "Midwest Princess" — whose moniker was ensconced in the title of her 2024 breakout album — has wholly earned her plaudits, including opening for Olivia Rodrigo on her GUTS tour. And she can trace a line directly back to a decade ago, in 2014, when she attended GRAMMY Camp.  

"I didn't do my senior year. I didn't go to prom. I didn't go to graduation," Roan explained to Rolling Stone in 2022, about her early musical life. "I missed a lot of what would have been the end of my childhood to do this job," she says.

For those like Roan, who are dead serious about making the music thing work, GRAMMY Camp is an ideal fount of experience and inspiration.

Read more: Chappell Roan's Big Year: The Midwest Princess Examines How She Became A Pop "Feminomenon"  

Jensen McCrae  

Another shout out to GRAMMY Camp's Class of 2014: that's the year that indie-folk-pop favorite Jensen McCrae put in her time, at the tender age of 16.

"I started playing and writing music as a little kid, and I've known I've wanted to be creative for my whole life," McCrae told VoyageLA , adding that she began taking songwriting and performing seriously in high school.

"[Being a] half-white, half-Black girl who spent her whole life in academically cutthroat private schools while trying to pursue a career in the arts gives me a unique perspective on the world," she explained. Which made McCrae an live antenna at GRAMMY Camp, picking up signals left and right.

The 10-day experience cemented the Angeleno's desire to attend college at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music — where she got a full ride, and was off to the races. These days, she's fresh off an opening slot for Noah Kahan on the We're All Be Here Forever Tour.

Blu DeTiger  

"I remember thinking 'So many girls play guitar and sing,'" the TikTok-flourishing bass phenom Blu DeTiger told Spin in 2022. "I was like, 'I want to be different. I want to do something unique.' And I've never looked back."  

Part of GRAMMY Camp's message is: dare to be different, to be you. Which made DeTiger an ideal student, when she enrolled in 2015; today, she's leading the charge for a generation of young, innovative bassists of all backgrounds.

Read more: Love Thundercat? Check Out These 5 Contemporary Bassists Keeping The Flame  

Along with Morris and New Jerseyan singer/songwriter Jeremy Zucker, DeTiger returned in 2024 as a guest artist — bringing the musical education process full circle, as she continues to redefine how the bass is presented in the social media era of music.

The 20th annual GRAMMY Camp celebration is running now and concludes with the GRAMMY Camp Finale Student Showcase on Saturday, July 20, at the Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum .

Learn more about GRAMMY Camp here — and we'll see you next year in Los Angeles!

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Why Dead & Company's Sphere Residency Is The Ultimate Trip

The 30-date Las Vegas residency is an unprecedented look at Dead & Co's live artistry. With stunning visuals and immersive technology, the Dead Forever residency takes attendees on an unpredictable, eye-popping vortex journey.

The scene on Saturday, July 13, was one mostly familiar to Dead & Company fans: Usual suspects Jeff Chimenti on keys, Oteil Burbridge on bass, Mickey Hart on drums, and John Mayer on guitar, a Silver Sky in hand. Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir dutifully approached the microphone to deliver one of the Dead’s best-known opening lyrics: "You tell me this town ain’t got no heart."

Throughout the evening, appreciative cheers and whistles sounded at the first notes of a classic, like this one, intermingling with the hints of marijuana in the air. The crowd of thousands, who’d traveled from both near and far for the occasion, swayed to the music. Largely clad in the tie-dye t-shirts customary to the Dead fandom, they comprised a vivid sea of color, visible even in the venue’s dimmest lighting.

Bathed in the glow of a key anomaly — a 160,000-square-foot curved LED canvas — a Deadhead sitting in the row ahead of me turns around and asks if I’m enjoying the show (I am). When I return the question, he is emphatic, his response succinct: "it’s transformative ."

He’s not wrong in that the audiovisual spectacle — which wrapped its eighth of 10 weeks this past weekend — metamorphoses Dead & Company’s concert format. Since it debuted in May, the now 30-date Las Vegas residency, dubbed Dead Forever, has attracted old-school and new-generation Deadheads, as well as curious first-timers . From one-of-a-kind production tools, like its 16K LED display (the highest-resolution display in the world, per developers) and stereographic projection, Sphere has empowered Dead & Company to carry forth the legacy of one of the most fervently-loved bands in American music history, with unprecedented storytelling capacities and complete creative control.

Read on for four reasons why Dead & Company’s residency at Las Vegas’ most-talked-about venue is the rock outfit like they’ve never been seen before.

The Meeting Of Music & Visuals Allows For True Narration

For the nearly four hours that Dead & Company play each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of a residency week, the domed venue adjacent to the Venetian transforms from Sphere to spaceship. Narratively, the show is stylized as a long, strange trip through space that issues nods to the Grateful Dead’s history.

It’s only fitting that this story begins in San Francisco, where the Dead’s townhouse in the heart of the Haight-Ashbury district becomes the focal point of the audiovisual journey’s intro. The 360-degree view of the Dead’s residence and the larger row of townhouses to which it belongs pans to a drone shot of the Bay Area at golden hour and soon thereafter, outer space.

Visually, attendees travel through time and space in an unpredictable, eye-popping vortex of fantasticality (and sometimes, reality). Take, for example, the segment that recreates the Dead’s performance at the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. The scene is punctuated by black bats that flap swiftly through the desert landscape — a detail that comes as a surprise to those in the audience, and one ultimately added based on Weir’s recollection of this very phenomenon during the 1978 event, Mayer tells GQ .   

Before Dead & Company bring Dead Forever full-circle by returning to 710 Ashbury Street at the show’s close, the show winds through a colorful, circuitous run of visuals: the Dead’s iconic technicolor dancing bears, Cornell University’s Barton Hall, and a wall made entirely of digital reproductions of Dead event posters and hard tickets. The show’s depth of reference is plunging, and Sphere’s technology allows the story to play like an abstract movie that blurs timelines, affording Dead & Company an unusual and nonpareil opportunity to leverage live storytelling in a way they’ve never before been able to.

While Dead Forever is accessible purely as a visual marvel, for the initiated, it is rife with Easter eggs. Its historical allusions are familiar touch points for the Deadheads who hopped on the metaphorical bandwagon back when Jerry Garcia was at its helm. Although some of its segments will evade those less fluent in the Dead’s storied past, they can nevertheless serve as educational gateways to it (and to greater, deeper fandom) for those who leave the show wanting to learn more.  

Read more: A Beginner’s Guide To The Grateful Dead: 5 Ways To Get Into The Legendary Jam Band

In A Way, Everything Is New

Whether one has seen Dead & Company once, five times, 20 times, or never before matters not, for Dead Forever is a brand-new show. Familiarity with the Grateful Dead’s legacy and its contemporary offshoot's genesis certainly enriches the overall experience, but it’s not a requisite to enjoy the show, making the residency a particularly good entry point for the Dead & Company-curious who may have missed them on The Final Tour in 2023.   

Dead Forever levels the playing field for attendees in that, apart from the songs on the setlist, the residency represents net-new material. The marriage of music and visuals makes each of the 18 tunes new from the standpoint of an audiovisual experience, and the novelty of Dead Forever deepens for even the most experienced Deadhead.

"When I was growing up, ‘Drums’ was always my bathroom song, but now you don’t want to miss it," an attendee tells GRAMMY.com at the end of the first set (Dead & Company play one six- or seven-song set and take a 30-minute intermission before beginning the evening’s second and final set).

A customary part of the Dead’s sets, "Drums/Space" is an extended percussion segment that takes on new life in Dead Forever. Led by Mickey Hart, the set two standout is where sound evolves into physical feeling. As this portion of the show starts, the curved LED canvas swirls with images of different drums that move wildly as Hart and Jay Lane (who stands in for Grateful Dead co-founding member, Bill Kreutzmann) diligently drum, steadily increasing the pace and intensity with which they do so. The instruments that grace Sphere’s screen are Hart’s own, the drummer tells Variety . Following 3D-photographing that enables them to be displayed in this fashion, an ensemble of at least 10 different drums joins the visual jamboree.

The cinematic, multisensory nature of this segment grows increasingly climactic, with the percussion becoming so thunderous it becomes physical. No surprise, considering Sphere’s immersive, crystal-clear sound system, or the fact that 10,000 of the venue’s 17,385 seats are haptic seats that can vibrate in time with the mounting percussion. This technology transforms "Drums/Space" and allows a customary piece of the Dead’s traditional sets to be heard, seen, and felt anew.

The Environment Is Unusually Immersive —And Intimate

Upon mention of Sphere’s size — the globe measures 875,000 square feet and can accommodate up to 20,000 people — "intimate" is not the first word to come to mind. Still, the venue felt remarkably intimate during Dead & Company’s final performance of July.

This was owed in equal parts to its self-contained design and its immersive visual environment, in which Sphere’s LED screen wraps over and behind the audience. However uncannily, the latter contributes to a sense of closeness, creating the illusion that Sphere, its visual displays, and its audience are situated much more closely than they actually are .

Its 580,000-square-feet of LEDs, coupled with its 360-degree shape and structure, render Sphere the most immersive live music venue in the world. To that end, it’s not hyperbolic or unreasonable to call Dead Forever Dead & Company’s most immersive live venture yet.

Of course, the Dead Forever narrative — a trip through space undertaken together, as one community — only adds to the show’s combined sense of intimacy and immersion.

No Show Is The Same

It’s not out of character for Dead & Company to play no repeats across consecutive evenings (as they did at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, where they laid their touring career to rest last July), and Dead Forever is no exception. Apart from "Drums/Space" — the sole item on the setlist that recurs each night — the 17 other songs that the band will play and their visual accompaniments are left to Dead & Company’s whim.  

"What’s become really interesting — and I would say it’s a challenge, but it’s a really fun one — is that not only do you have to make the songs work in some kind of a flow for the setlist, but every piece of content has maybe eight or 10 songs that can go with it," Mayer told Variety .  

No show is the same, yielding similar but unique viewing experiences across a given residency weekend and, more broadly, the portfolio of Dead Forever shows performed to date. This aspect has enticed avid fans to return not once, not twice, but three times in a given weekend, to see a fuller scope of what Dead Forever has to offer across its many possible variations.

With the residency’s July run now in the rearview, Dead & Company will take a brief break before returning to Sphere Aug. 1-3 and 8-10 for the final Dead Forever trips — for now.

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Photo: Ragan Henderson

On New Album 'Big Ideas,' Remi Wolf Delivers Musical Poetry In Motion

Alt-pop favorite Remi Wolf took inventory of her psychological state while on "back-to-back-to-back" tours, and the result is a winning second album: 'Big Ideas.'

How can you write a song, when you have nothing to sing about? One trusty well to return to is life on the road;  the musical canon is filled with odes to whizzing highway dividers, beds in strange places and, on occasion, a deteriorating home life .

The buzzy and prolific singer/songwriter Remi Wolf just folded these experiences into Big Ideas — her second full-length album, and one born of perpetual travel, transit and transition. (And, it should be said: her Carmen Sandiego traversals led her to NYC’s 2024 GRAMMY U Conference .)

"Well into my 20s, it was like a second puberty, because essentially, I was reborn as this touring musician," the thoughtful and loquacious indie-popper tells GRAMMY.com, over Zoom from her rehearsal space. (Even then, she's in motion, ducking from room to room to evade clamorous comings and goings.)

She evokes her breakout 2021 debut album: "I'd never toured like that before. My whole entire life felt so new after Juno was released."

This led to a white-hot writing streak. Big Ideas ' highlights, like advance singles "Toro" and "Alone in Miami," directly address change and upheaval. Goes the former: "Dancing around and spilling wine/ You look good in my hotel robe." Goes the latter: "Met up with Maine, bought cocaine/ Clothes in the lobby waiting for me."

"There's no frills in that s—," Wolf says. "They're quite literally about real life." Read on for a full interview with Wolf about Big Ideas — a locus of that life, in all its nuances and dimensions.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

I love how funky and rhythmic ' Big Ideas ' is. Which rhythms from the musical canon got you going? Are you a Purdie head? A Dan head?  

Oh, all of the above. I love a Purdie shuffle. The Purdie shuffle is a pretty legendary groove. I'm a huge fan of Steely Dan . I went to music college; I feel like as a music school student, you kind of have to love Steely Dan. Well, some of the kids choose to hate them, but I chose to love them.  

But yeah, I love a funky groove, a funky beat. I also like simple s—, but we love syncopation in this household.  

What'd you grow up listening to on that front?  

Honestly, not much. I feel like as a young kid, I would just listen to what my parents were listening to, and my dad listened to a lot of '80s classic rock, and my mom really liked Prince .   

And then, also, my first album I ever owned was Speak Now by Lindsay Lohan , which is a completely different direction, and I was about eight when I got that album.  

I didn't know she made music.     She had a music career. It was brief, but it was mighty, truly. She had all the best songwriters in the industry at the time working on this album. So honestly, even though it wasn't the pinnacle of musicianship, the writing was really good. Great songs.  

I just flashed back to Hilary Duff jewel cases in grade school.  

Oh, yeah, that's another classic, but I was a little bit more alternative than that. Lindsay Lohan was kind of on more of a pop-punk, like emo front-facing type of songwriting and energy. A little bit more like Alanis Morissette vibes.  

If I ever encounter a Lohan song in the wild, I'll remember your recommendation.  

When I was a high schooler, that's kind of when I started really listening to a bunch of staff that wasn't playing in my house. And that's when I got into Stevie Wonder and the Beatles and Cake.  

I ride for Cake. Great band.  

I ride for Cake, too. Honestly, they're one of my favorite bands of all time. I don't know, I feel super similar to them sometimes. Their lyrics are so wacky and sad, kind of — and bizarre, but they're so funky, and the songs are just great, but they're weird.

Take the readers through the span of time between your first album, ' Juno, ' up to this sophomore album. What seed was planted?  

I released Juno at the end of 2021, and I guess the seed that was birthed after that was that I've essentially been on tour ever since.  

This new album, Big Ideas , is kind of the product of: I would go out on tour and come home for a week at a time, because I was on back-to-back-to-back tours. I went on 10 tours in one year; I was only home for about six weeks of all of 2022. And then, going into 2023, I kept touring, and kept doing the same thing.  

Watch: GRAMMY Museum Spotlight: Remi Wolf  

This album is a collection of all these moments and memories, and getting really focused, short amounts of time with me getting home and kind of exploding songwriting-wise — then, going back on tour and building up s— to talk about, and then exploding once again.  

There were about five concentrated week-and-a-half to two-week-long periods of writing that became this album.  

Do you get a charge out of touring? I couldn't imagine doing it again.  

Yeah. I think that there is an adrenaline that I like about it. I like traveling. I like seeing different cities, even if it's for a couple hours. I really like that.  

I like the communal aspect of it. I like getting really close to people and having a routine, to be honest. It's the most routine time of my life. Other than that, when I'm home, I'm just all over the place and doing a bunch of s—, which also has its perks.  

But I don't know, there's something about waking up and doing the same thing every day that kind of is nice for me. And it's cool to be able to just focus on one thing, getting to the next city and playing the show and making people happy.  

What about your life disappearing temporarily? Leaving a partner, your houseplants…  

No, that's really difficult . I luckily don't have a partner right now, but I think that tour is really capable of ruining a lot of relationships, unless you've got a really strong one where they understand the lifestyle and everything. But I've had many houseplants die. It's actually really sad.  

Your life just kind of is on pause. It's like a time machine, or a time capsule. Especially living in L.A. where the weather's the same every single day, you come home, and it's exactly the same as when you left the city.  

Once the emotional and conceptual pieces were on the floor, how did you assemble ' Big Ideas ? '  

There are so many iterations of what it could have been. Because like I said, I had five two-week long sections of writing a f— ton of songs. And I'm not kidding, I wrote full albums within those weeks. I would be hunkered.  

I had one week in L.A. where it was five days, and we wrote 10 songs. And then I had another week in L.A. We wrote seven songs. And I had another week in New York, and we wrote nine songs. And then another week in New York, and we wrote 12 songs. And then another week finally back in L.A., and we wrote four songs that time.  

But essentially, I was kind of just doing what felt right. Until I felt like we had an entire album that was cohesive but expansive in its palette, I kept writing. And then finally, at a certain point, I was like, OK, I feel like we have the record .  

But there were moments where I was like, oh, I just wrote an album. I don't have to do anything else . And then a month would go by and I'd be like, I need to do more.  

In terms of choosing the songs, I think I was drawn to the songs that felt the most real to me — that continued to feel the most exciting and real to me.  

Define "real" in this context.  

That is a very difficult question to answer, and I think it is such a gut thing. It's beyond language. I don't know how to describe that. I don't know. If I feel invested. There are certain songs that you write and you like them, but you don't have that same feeling of investment in them.  

Does this really need to be heard? Does anybody need this?  

Yeah. Or: Do I need this? Honestly, it's so inexplicable.  

Do you ever try to work the songwriting muscle of making something specific, universal? Is that part of your calculus?  

Typically, it's not, but there's one song that I tried to do it on very intentionally: "Soup."  

[I had] the intention of making it a song that was built for an arena in terms of the sonics and the expansiveness of the drums and the four-on-the-floor. In my head, I was like, OK, I want this song to play, and then you see the arena with the people pumping their fists and feet.  

I think I'd recently seen Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, and I was like, Holy s—, this is so wild. Their stuff is so arena, stadium-bound . I was inspired by essentially the four-on-the-floor feel — hearing the reverb in the rafters of an arena like that.  

Going into writing that song, I was like, this is the song where it would make sense for me to be blunt and universal with my lyrics. And I think it was a cool experiment and honestly quite vulnerable for me, because I think sometimes I shy away from that type of lyric writing, whether it be out of just wanting to be a little bit more artsy.  

Sometimes I think it's fear-based, in the sense of: I want to hide, I want to be able to be the only one to really know what I'm talking about sometimes. And I think with "Soup," I kind of just let it fly and let that universality shine through a little bit more.  

You don't need to know what songs mean all the time. You mentioned the Beatles: John sang, " Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye ."  

Yeah. It's syllables, and imagery. This s— can be anything you want to be, and I always try to remember that.  

What's coming up in your musical life?  

I'm going on tour in the fall; today is our first day of rehearsals. We're starting to put together a big show. More travel, more motion. I never stop moving, essentially. Hopefully I'll be writing more soon.

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