Students sat by their easels and turned on their cameras for Student Association’s virtual paint and Q&A event with rapper Lil Yachty Saturday night.
The Zoom event featured anthropomorphic cat paintings, vigorous debates about hypothetical goose fights, references to TikTok trends and Yachty’s reflections on fame and fortune.
Lil Yachty, also known as Lil Boat, sported his trademark beaded braids and multi-colored snake-printed nails for the Zoom call, and kept an easel ready by his side. Students who RSVP’d to the event came prepared with their own supplies, including a limited number of complementary painting kits provided by the SA so attendees could reproduce Yachty’s masterpiece — a painting of a humanoid cat wearing a gold chain with a sunny sky in the background — at home. Students also came prepared with dozens of questions for the 23-year-old Mableton, GA native.
Yachty answered hard-hitting questions about his favorite color (spruce green), what he would be if he wasn’t a rapper (a doctor or psychologist), who his favorite artist to work with is (Tyler, The Creator) and what animal he most identifies with (an orangutan).
But students were most concerned with Lil Boat’s artistic abilities, which they roasted in the chat:
“That cat is smacked asf,” Jayden Gines, a computer science major, wrote.
“Painting event clearly wasn’t his idea,” Adrien King, a mechanical engineering major, wrote.
“He painted my civil liberties profesor,” Nadrah Nasser, a psychology major, wrote.
In response to the criticism, Yachty told students to tweet their paintings to him. Lucky Twitter user @chelseafelix_ got some artistic criticism from Lil Boat himself.
“Chelsea’s cat looks like it’s on some f—ing coke… or DMT,” the “Broccoli” and “iSpy” star said.
When another student asked how many geese Yachty thought he could take in a fight, the rapper sparked a spirited conversation.
“I would say at least five, I could whoop five geeses ass,” Yachty said.
But students took to the chat to tell Yachty he wouldn’t be able to take on UB’s notoriously belligerent Canadian geese: they are “built different,” “killers” and “aggressive as hell,” students wrote.
“Oh my God,” Yachty responded. “Y’all should do something about the geese!”
But Yachty didn’t only joke around; he was also somber at points, too.
Lil Boat reflected on when he realized he had made it big and got a reality check from UB students about the value of a dollar.
“I realized I was famous when I met Beyonce and Jay Z and they knew who I was,” Yachty said.
When one student asked what the most money he ever dropped on a pair of shoes was, Yachty replied: “Most expensive sneaker I have is probably between $13,000 and $15,000.”
Some students, who misheard the reply, thought Yachty claimed to have spent “only $15,000” on shoes. Those students took to the Zoom chat to let the rapper know that $15,000 could pay off nearly a semester’s worth of UB tuition and living expenses
Regardless of whether Yachty said “only” or not in his original statement, he apologized.
“Only $15,000? Did I, did I say only? I didn’t mean only, not only. Oh. I’m sorry guys I didn’t mean only,” Yachty said. “No! No! No! You’re not poor. I didn’t mean only $15,000. My bad, I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”
To lighten the mood, Yachty showed students his high school senior photo, where he sported a bright red head of hair that clashed against the classic blue background of a senior portrait studio.
In one of the night's most memorable moments, Yachty told students he doesn’t smoke weed anymore. He made the comment after multiple students sent messages in the chat alleging that he was high for the call.
“Why don’t you smoke?” Yachty read aloud from the chat.
“Weed makes me extremely paranoid,” he replied. “It’s not my thing.”
The Zoom call was littered with TikTok references. Yachty frequently yelled “sheeesh,” and made the ice-in-my-veins pose. He even shared some of his favorite TikToks with the audience and shouted out his favorite TikToker (@tpbaby2000).
Lil Boat also shared his five favorite artists: Frank Ocean, Chris Martin, Kanye West, Kid Kudi and a fifth-place tie between Chief Keef and Yung Thug.
This event marked Lil Yachty’s second appearance for UB students.
Yachty was a part of the Fall Fest lineup in 2016, along with Travis Scott, Rae Sremmurd and D. R. A. M. Yachty said “I was [just] a child then” and that he would love to perform at UB again if the opportunity arises.
At the end of the call, Yachty thanked everyone for coming and said it was one of the best Zoom calls he has done with college students.
“You guys are the funniest chat I’ve ever done this with,” Yachty said. “This was fun guys, I had a really good time. And I wanna thank every single last one of you guys for coming out and vibing with me.”
The news desk can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
