YT…..Beyond Young and Talented!

During my first year at Auburn in graduate school, I attended a Pirate’s Booty (thematic in the sense that everyone dresses up like Captain Jack Sparrow) party hosted by the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity chapter. I remember thinking that the band that night was just okay as they jammed out on a fabricated pirate ship stage. During one of the band breaks, an artist by the name of YT (Young and Talented) stepped up to do a few of his own original HipHop songs. First of all, I was completely thrown off because the guy was white. I thought the performance was going to be some kind of Weird Al Yankovic impersonation. When his first song “Treat Me Right” started playing, I was slowly becoming more and more impressed with each lyric he continued to say. I was enthralled by seeing such a random performance by what appeared to be a professional artist in Auburn, Alabama. Let’s just say when I heard the song “Auburn Boys” that kind of explained everything. YT or as some call him by his real name Andrew Mannheimer was a student at Auburn in his senior year. I did not really think much of it at the time (getting his number and where that might later lead), but as a freestyler myself I got Andrew’s contact information to maybe randomly get together and goof off with some music endeavor. I am still waiting on that day when JLCurly or JLC3 can pop out the box with YT! What a dynamic duo that would be?!?!

Anyway right now that may not exactly be my calling! This past year I managed a small music festival at the Forest Ecology Preserve called ForestFest even as original as that sounds. I quickly remembered YT and his dedicated following here in Auburn. So I thought it would be a get act to add to the lineup. So I quickly made contact to ask if he might be interested. Of course, any reason to return to Auburn seems to be good enough for Andrew to come visit because like many students his blood bleeds orange and blue.

As I got to know Andrew more and more, my respect for him as a person grew more rather than just what I saw in a performance. It is easy to swing into a performance and change your facework in front of a camera or an audience letting the attention go to your head. While he might like the attention as anyone receives attention would, Andrew seems to realize that his gift to rhyme is a gift of the Lord with the “faith of a mustard seed.” Some of his songs might be beneficial for the party scene as “We Ridin,” “Beatin’ Down the Block,” or doing the “YT Shake,” but one observation and fact remains true. This artist has an ambition beyond the music. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke up. He doesn’t cuss. He doesn’t wear your typical MTV rap gangsta gear. He is just a Christian guy doing what he enjoys and loves in his own artistic mentality. He is genuine giving the performance of life his very best efforts to become more than the average or normal person. Andrew was quick to remind me during his most recent visit that normal people do not settle for apathetic excuses in quitting. He encouraged me write whether it be one book, two, or three because at least for right now that is my dream. The beginning is fun. The end is fun. But sometimes in the middle of the task it becomes a grind, but whether you push through the grind to achieve a dream is what makes you different. Christ did not create believers to just sort of do what our passions aspire to be. He made us to chase after Him in the pursuit of those dreams. I think Andrew understands that. “I have been chasing this dream for way too long and by the power of Christ become way too strong” ....the more you chase something the stronger you become to attain it! As I write more and more, this is what I must come to realize.

I have attached one of his more popular videos “We Ridin.” If you want to be introduced to YT’s sound, this might be a worthwhile place to start. Enjoy and thanks for reading.