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Kaytranada stands in a small room with walls lit by purple and pink mood lighting. He DJ’s with one hand while holding a glass of wine in the other. Wearing a dark blue T-shirt, a chain and black headphones, he grooves to his own music and makes eye contact with the camera, as if he were making eye contact with his virtual audience.

“How y’all doing? Hope y’all staying safe out there,” he said, greeting the audience before transitioning into his 2019 hit “DYSFUNCTIONAL.”

The Haitian-born Canadian DJ and artist performed a virtual concert Friday night for Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF students. Kaytranada’s livestreamed performance, hosted by University Union, follows last weekend’s virtual concert with singer-songwriter King Princess.

Throughout the performance, Kaytranada played many of his hit songs and remixes, such as “Go DJ” and “GLOWED UP.” Unlike the previous virtual concert, the chat feature on Zoom was enabled for his performance, allowing students to engage with one another and share their excitement.

At the start of the show, one viewer commented “YEAHHHH KAYTRA,” while another followed with “a vibeee.”

The screen showed the viewpoint from two different cameras, one of the soundboard and one of Kaytranada himself. The feature allowed the audience to jam out with him and watch him work the board simultaneously.

During his remixed version of the song “Be Your Girl,” originally written by Teedra Moses, the 27-year-old artist danced with the audience, grooving and running his hands down his torso. He danced frequently throughout the concert.

Kaytranada performed for nearly an hour with songs off of his 2019 album “BUBBA” and his earlier project “99.9%.” He also incorporated some of the tracks that gave him fame at the start of his career, including his remixed versions of Janet Jackson’s “If” and Sade’s “Kiss of Life.”

As one song smoothly transitioned to another, the Zoom chat filled with a constant stream of comments from students. Some were requesting songs, while others were praising the DJ for the opportunity to see him — even if through online means. Many thanked UU and some even asked for him to return to SU to perform live.

Students were quick to share how much they were enjoying the concert. One student wrote, “this is better than my Bat Mitzvah,” while others said, “best way to make quarantine epic” and “this is the best thing the university has ever done.”

Kaytranada didn’t talk much throughout the concert, except to occasionally check in with his fans; however, for his last song of the set, “GLOWED UP,” he hollered “Sing it with me y’all!”

He ended the show by thanking everyone in the audience.

“Syracuse University thank you so much for tuning in,” he said. “I really wish I was there with y’all.”

 

Published on May 9, 2020 at 12:03 am

Contact Gavi: [email protected] | @gavi_azoff