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Watch Lil Yachty Rock a Bar Mitzvah

In the pantheon of rappers rocking rites of passage, this one ranks pretty high

by
Jesse Bernstein
February 23, 2018
(Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)
Lil Yachty performs onstage at night three of the STAPLES Center Concert, sponsored by Sprite, during the 2017 BET Experience at Staples Center on June 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.(Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)
(Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)
Lil Yachty performs onstage at night three of the STAPLES Center Concert, sponsored by Sprite, during the 2017 BET Experience at Staples Center on June 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.(Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)

Ostentatious displays of wealth that become so central to the performance that one realizes that, sometimes, it is the performance? Folks, we’re talking about rap, but we’re also talking about the mega bar and bat mitzvahs.

These mega b’nei mitzvot are the stuff of legend, the one that your camp friend from North Jersey whose dad is an accountant at a Big 4 firm told you about. They are, ostensibly, celebrations of a Jewish child’s acceptance of God’s commandments, a joyous occasion, one that should be celebrated. But then again, I once knew a guy who’d seen Pauly D from Jersey Shore at a bar mitzvah party. What was he doing there? Did he have a table setting card, and if so, did it say Pauly D or Paul DelVecchio? Did they have him DJ, or just walk around and be Pauly D?

Pauly D isn’t the point, of course. He was a walking table setting for that party.

And that desire, I can only imagine, was the impetus for this gem, first posted on Reddit:

That is Lil Yachty, sometimes referred to as Yachty, sometimes as Lil Boat. He is an unexceptional 20 year-old rapper from Atlanta who makes exceptionally fun music. I saw him at a show in New York once and I have rarely seen so many excited 16 year-olds in for the night from Westchester County light joints at the same time.

What is Yachty doing there? Killing it, apparently. “Ice Tray” is a banger. He’s the latest in a long line of rappers who’ve made appearances at b’nei mitzvot, and given the quality of the performance, I’m actually gonna rate this one pretty highly. Take a look for yourselves.

Jesse Bernstein is a former Intern at Tablet.