BY JOSEPH DEBELL, OPINION ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
After his Vancouver concert Saturday night, Lil Yachty owes his fans an apology — at the very least.
Yachty’s performance was cut short due to safety concerns after concertgoers stampeded the arena floor’s general-admission section. Numerous videos and reports from the concert detail the famous singer, rapper and songwriter inciting his audience to surge toward the stage by yelling “Fill it up!”
The safety concerns that led to the show’s cancellation directly correlated to Lil Yachty’s encouragement to breach the arena floor. Therefore, according to The Northern View, security had to pull the plug on the event.
I can understand that Yachty fans will be bent out of shape with their favorite rapper’s concert being halted five songs in. And while I would agree that we should appreciate the energy that artists bring to their performances, artists’ actions should not endanger the safety of their fans.
This crowd surge was eerily reminiscent of the stampede at late 2021’s Astroworld disaster, where eight died and hundreds were hospitalized. Seeing how Yachty’s recent concert occurred less than two years after such a tragic event, he should be more than cognizant of how egging on a crowd to rush toward the stage can be potentially dangerous, if not fatal, for his fans — especially when his fans are the very people that got him on that stage in the first place.
Even though the aftermath was not as calamitous as what occurred at the Astroworld or Woodstock 99’ disasters, what transpired at this concert was almost more egregious because it happened with flagrant knowledge of what might occur.
This entire Vancouver concert controversy doesn’t fit into the humorous and well-thought-out qualities Yachty’s music possesses.
This is disappointing because Lil Yachty has been one of the funniest artists on social media this year; all of this drama has me viewing him in a less-favorable, less-humorous light. It’s hard to be entertained by someone cavalier with people’s lives.
This all occurred after Lil Yachty illegally promoted cryptocurrency in March of this year, according to Pitchfork. Lil Yachty’s recent streak of controversies has led many fans of his to see him as more self-absorbed.
Yachty has a clear path to lessening such accusations. He needs to issue a public apology. Whether it be something as simple as an Instagram story, or something more formal, the decision remains up to Yachty. Either way, an apology is necessary.
debelljb22@bonaventure.edu
