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A Boogie wit da Hoodie is no stranger to Syracuse. He performed at the New York State Fair in 2018 and at Syracuse University in 2016. But this performance, held in front of a virtual audience of over 400 attendees and live streamed on YouTube, was quite different.

A Boogie was the headliner for University Union’s virtual Juice Jam event on Sunday. The concert featured indie-pop band Beach Bunny and Dreamville’s Ari Lennox.

A Boogie wore a hoodie as he performed on a stage that DJ Ominaya backed. Above him was a giant inflatable hand — the same hand that he’s used as the cover art for his earlier albums, “The Bigger Artist” (2017) and “International Artist” (2018). A large screen behind the DJ booth projected the accompanying music videos for some of his songs during the performance.

The Bronx-based rapper started his set with one of his newer songs, “Bleed,” before switching to one of his greatest hits featuring Kodak Black, “Drowning.” He brought out friend and fellow rapper Trap Manny to perform their latest single, “Vroom Vroom,” along with “Hit ‘Em Up,” the song Trap Manny is featured on in A Boogie’s latest album, “Artist 2.0.”

By the end of his performance, A Boogie had changed from high top sneakers to slides and ran off the stage to interact with an imaginary crowd. He advised everyone watching to stay safe by any means and added that partying isn’t worth risking one’s health.

“Do what you got to do to stay safe,” he said.

Beach Bunny kicked off the virtual concert promptly at 7 p.m. with a handful of songs from the band’s latest album, “Honeymoon,” as well as songs from its older EPs. The band features lead singer and founder Lili Trifilio, who began her solo music career in 2015 before adding drummer Jon Alvarado, bassist Anthony Vaccaro and guitarist Matt Henkels to form Beach Bunny.

“Hey there, Syracuse,” Trifilio said before starting Beach Bunny’s set. “Thanks for rocking with us.”

They performed in a music studio and ran through their setlist fairly quickly, with little to no acknowledgments in between songs.

The stream included short breaks between each artist’s performance in which the screen switched to flyers of upcoming UU events and a loading bar that indicated when the next artist was about to go on.

Ari Lennox came on shortly after Beach Bunny and as the number of viewers began increasing. She stepped out in a copper-colored maxi dress, strappy heels and gold jewelry, and many viewers commented on the allure of her appearance.

Lennox, who is a member of rapper J. Cole’s record label Dreamville Records, performed a majority of songs off her latest and debut album, “Shea Butter Baby,” which dropped last year. The lighting of the room Lennox performed in changed colors with her songs.

“Sometimes you gotta talk your sh*t, Syracuse,” she said while performing her song “Whipped Cream.” “Right now, we’re going to get real sassy with it, okay?”

Toward the end of her set, viewers experienced technical difficulties and expressed concerns in the chat. UU advised the audience to refresh their browsers, and a viewer even suggested that Lennox’s talent broke the stream.

Before walking off, Lennox wished the best for her viewers.

“Keep killing it in school, stay focused and motivated, and all your dreams will come true,” she said. “I promise.”

Published on September 14, 2020 at 1:07 am