Lil Yachty performs during Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 13, 2023. Photo: Alive Coverage.

SAN FRANCISCO — Rapper-turned-rocker Lil Yachty delivered some unexpected twists at the Land’s End Stage on Sunday. The Georgia anative had the polo field filled. The energy was immediate, even before the set, when his DJ played a mix of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with bars of old-school rap. Unlike DJ Diesel on Friday, Yachty didn’t even need to ask anyone to raise their hands. The people were ready.

Lil Yachty. Photo: Alive Coverage.

Arriving onstage in an all-black outfit, Lil Yachty yelled “San Francisco!” and commanded the audience to “open it up.” From there he kicked off with “Coffin,” “Minnesota” and “NBAYOUNGBOAT.” The pogoing crowd sang the songs right back. Each one came at a frantic pace. The crowd was fully engaged, with a few being pulled from the front of the pit as the crush reached a crescendo. The rapper’s rhymes were tight.

The screens on staged flashed trippy imagery and airhorns were plentiful.

The hits kept coming from “Flex Up” and “Yacht Club” to “Pardon Me” and “Get Dripped.” The momentum kept building. The rapper didn’t address the crowd beyond revving fans up and keeping the flow going, leaving no opportunity to break the pace that he’d built. The first half of the set included covers of KYLE’s “iSpy” and DRAM’s “Broccoli.

“I need y’all to sing,” Yachty said, and the crowd abided.

Then, midway through, Yachty left for a pseudo intermission. A synth played as a psychedelic graphic displayed on the massive projection screens flanking the stage.

Lil Yachty performs during Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 13, 2023.

Yachty’s return marked the beginning of what was essentially an entirely different performance. Gone were the heavy beats and hip-hop flow. In their place was experimental classic-rock-infused psychedelia.

The rapper is touring in support of his latest album, Let’s Start Here, which brings a far more rock-centric sound. Much like Lil Uzi Vert, it comes amid other rappers making the genre shift. The sounds harkened back to Zappa, the Beatles and even shades of funk and disco. It seemed to take the crowd by surprise.

As a singer, Lil Yachty fared well, offering up some soft and soulful verses, venturing up into a falsetto. A funky and soulful band, with vocalist Diana Gordon, joined him on songs like “the BLACK seminole,” “the ride-” and “WE SAW THE SUN!” It may have sounded confusing to the hip-hop fans, but Lil Yachty sounded great fronting the band.

The conclusion was a little more of a head-scratcher. Yachty returned to the stage, again commanding people to “open it up,” as the energy began to rise again to a dramatic finish. Then there was an abrupt stop, with the DJ apologizing that he’d made a mistake. Perhaps they thought they had more time.