lil yachty i was 19 years old with 500k

About That Yacht Life: How Teen Rapper Lil Yachty Made It Big

Meet the 18-year-old Atlanta rapper and Yeezy model making waves.

It was 3 p.m. on a Wednesday in New York, and the 18-year-old rapper Miles Parks McCollum, known to everyone as Lil Yachty, could not stop yawning. His bedazzled grill caught the overhead light of a Chinatown hotel room with each Wookie-like yawp; beneath his beaded red braids, it was almost impossible to tell whether or not his eyes were open.

His voice, which had the hypnotic drawl of a Novocaine-induced stupor, only reinforced the appearance of sleepiness. Only when the subject of Supreme surfaced did he perk up: “It went from me going in there to shop, to them playing my music now,” he declared. His friend Chalis, who came up with Yachty in Atlanta, reminded him that they once saw Joe Jonas in the store. Everyone in the room, including other core members of the “Sailing Team”—producer “Burberry Perry” and “Bloody Osiris,” plus Yachty’s manager, who goes by “ Coach K “—busted out laughing.

“I forgot we seen him,” Yachty recalled with a smirk.

Yachty, who came to seemingly everyone’s attention when he modeled in Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 show, wore a velvet Supreme sweat suit and Gucci slide sandals. On his neck hung a sizable diamond-encrusted gold medallion with the letters “QC,” which stand for Quality Control. Having only started making music a year ago, this is apparently the prize for going from no one to someone, boy to man, boat to yacht.

Lil Yachty, Perry, Chalis, and Osiris

“In high school, there was a group of older kids who called themselves the ‘Yacht Club,’” Yachty said of his stage name. “I was trying to get in the club.” They eventually let him in, but he had to start from the bottom as Lil Boat, which has since become his alter-ego. “They’re the same person,” Yachty continued. “Same soul. Same body. But one is more calm and the other is more aggressive.”

Chalis, who is two years older, was one of the charter members of the Yacht Club. “We were starting waves,” he said. “We used to record in my closet in Atlanta. We had a bum-ass mic and we put a sock on it. We had nothing.” After graduating, Chalis sailed off to New York. Once he was installed there, Yachty sent him a list of kids he followed on Instagram for Chalis to befriend. The advance team set the table for last summer, when Yachty arrived in town to stay with Chalis; together, they broke onto the scene, successfully networking with the likes of Ian Connor and Eileen Kelly .

“I just thought I’d give it a shot,” said Yachty. “I just wanted to get cool.” He shrugged and then paused, as if his rapid success had finally just hit him. “I was just in a dorm room. I was at Alabama State—I was literally just there !”

Last week, Yachty attracted a crowd so large at his VFiles show that the police had to barricade the street. He then went on to perform at the Museum of Modern Art, followed by a show in Philadelphia with Young Thug. On Tuesday, he released his music video for “ 1 Night ,” which is quickly making its rounds on the Internet for its meme-friendly visuals. “He’s one of the most focused young guys I’ve ever met,” said Coach K, who’s worked with stars like Young Jeezy, Migos, and Gucci Mane. “He’s going to be really big .”

When he’s onstage, Yachty comes to life. In one clip of a performance posted to his Instagram, he jumps up and down so energetically that his sweatpants practically fall off. His hair thwacks his face in sync with the beat. He dives into the audience. He is buoyant, like, well, a yacht.

Yeezy Season 3 at Madison Square Garden. Photo by Getty Images.

“He’s got a lot of little white boy fans,” Osiris said of the usual crowd.

“Like lemme-get-a-pic-for-the-gram !” Burberry Perry chimed in.

Music is something that Yachty simply tried, and found that he had a knack for it. “Growing up, my dad used to play India Arie, Coldplay, and Paul McCartney ,” he recalled. His father, Shannon McCollum , is a photographer who’s worked with everyone from Outkast to Dead Prez, so maybe the spotlight is the beam by which Yachty was meant to chart his route. His raps, which have the same hazy quality of his speaking voice and are infused with nonchalant humor, have little to do with the trap artists—like Migos, Young Thug, Young Jeezy, and Future—that came before him in Atlanta. In fact, Yachty claimed he’s not interested in the genre; instead, he described his sound as “colorful” and “soft.”

Meet Lil Yachty, the Teen Rapper Making Waves

Louis Vuitton shirt, $850, louisvuitton.com ; Dries Van Noten tank top, $140, barneys.com ; Ami trousers, $355, amiparis.fr .

Raf Simons v-neck knit, $1,700, rafsimons.com ; Theory T-shirt, $75, theory.com ; Ami trousers, $355, amiparis.fr ; Converse sneakers, $55, converse.com ; Lil Yachty’s own jewelry.

Louis Vuitton shirt, $850, louisvuitton.com ; Dries Van Noten tank top, $140, barneys.com ; Lil Yachty’s own jewelry.

Prada shirt, $710, and sweater, $930, prada.com ; Ami pants, $350, amiparis.fr ; Falke socks, $28, sockhopny.com ; Louis Vuitton sneakers, $785, louisvuitton.com ; Lil Yachty’s own jewelry.

“When you think of trap, it’s like hard, gutter stuff,” explained Chalis, whose job description seems to be happily filling in Yachty’s long silences. “But we’re young kids; we’re not like that. Obviously, we love trap and are influenced by where we come from, but Yachty is fun. His voice is angelic! A lot of rap you can’t relate to, but Yachty is young. Not even a year ago he was a regular civilian.”

While Yachty claimed the only music he listens to is his own, his friends name-dropped people like Lil Uzi Vert , who is 21. “Why so many Lil’s?” I asked.

“It’s because everyone wants to be a kid again,” explained Osiris.

I turned to Yachty and asked him what else he might hope to accomplish next. He stretched out his arms and yawned deeply, and then mumbled something in his drowsy baritone.

“You want to what?” I asked.

Yachty stuck his hand down his Nautica boxer shorts and closed his eyes: “I just want to be mainstream.”

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How Lil Yachty Ended Up at His Excellent New Psychedelic Album Let's Start Here

The evening before Lil Yachty released his fifth studio album,  Let’s Start Here,  he  gathered an IMAX theater’s worth of his fans and famous friends at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City and made something clear: He wanted to be taken seriously. Not just as a “Soundcloud rapper, not some mumble rapper, not some guy that just made one hit,” he told the crowd before pressing play on his album. “I wanted to be taken serious because music is everything to me.” 

There’s a spotty history of rappers making dramatic stylistic pivots, a history Yachty now joins with  Let’s Start Here,  a funk-flecked psychedelic rock album. But unlike other notable rap-to-rock faceplants—Kid Cudi’s  Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven  comes to mind, as does Lil Wayne’s  Rebirth —the record avoids hackneyed pastiche and gratuitous playacting and cash-grabbing crossover singles; instead, Yachty sounds unbridled and free, a rapper creatively liberated from the strictures of mainstream hip-hop. Long an oddball who’s delighted in defying traditional rap ethos and expectations,  Let’s Start Here  is a maximalist and multi-genre undertaking that rewrites the narrative of Yachty’s curious career trajectory. 

Admittedly, it’d be easy to write off the album as Tame Impala karaoke, a gimmicky record from a guy who heard Yves Tumor once and thought: Let’s do  that . But set aside your Yachty skepticism and probe the album’s surface a touch deeper. While the arrangements tend toward the obvious, the record remains an intricate, unraveling swell of sumptuous live instruments and reverb-drenched textures made more impressive by the fact that Yachty co-produced every song. Fielding support from an all-star cast of characters, including production work from former Chairlift member Patrick Wimberly, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait, Justin Raisen, Nick Hakim, and Magdalena Bay, and vocals from Daniel Caesar, Diana Gordon,  Foushée , Justine Skye, and Teezo Touchdown, Yachty surrounds himself with a group of disparately talented collaborators. You can hear the acute attention to detail and wide-scale ambition in the spaced-out denouement on “We Saw the Sun!” or on the blistering terror of “I’ve Officially Lost Vision!!!!” or during the cool romanticism of “Say Something.” Though occasionally overindulgent,  Let’s Start Here  is a spectacular statement from hip-hop’s prevailing weirdo. It’s not shocking that Yachty took another hard left—but how exactly did he end up  here ?

In 2016, as the forefather of “bubblegum trap” ascended into mainstream consciousness, an achievement like  Let’s Start Here  would’ve seemed inconceivable. The then 18-year-old Yachty gained national attention when a pair of his songs, “One Night” and “Minnesota,” went viral. Though clearly indebted to hip-hop trailblazers Lil B, Chief Keef, and Young Thug, his work instantly stood apart from the gritted-teeth toughness of his Atlanta trap contemporaries. Yachty flaunted a childlike awe and cartoonish demeanor that communicated a swaggering, unbothered cool. His singsong flows and campy melodies contained a winking humor to them, a subversive playfulness that endeared him to a generation of very online kids who saw themselves in Yachty’s goofy, eccentric persona. He starred in Sprite  commercials alongside LeBron James, performed live shows at the  Museum of Modern Art , and modeled in Kanye West’s  Life of Pablo  listening event at Madison Square Garden. Relishing in his cultural influence, he declared to the  New York Times  that he was not a rapper but an  artist. “And I’m more than an artist,” he added. “I’m a brand.”

 As Sheldon Pearce pointed out in his Pitchfork  review of Yachty’s 2016 mixtape,  Lil Boat , “There isn’t a single thing Lil Yachty’s doing that someone else isn’t doing better, and in richer details.” He wasn’t wrong. While Yachty’s songs were charming and catchy (and, sometimes, convincing), his music was often tangential to his brand. What was the point of rapping as sharply as the Migos or singing as intensely as Trippie Redd when you’d inked deals with Nautica and Target, possessed a sixth-sense for going viral, and had incoming collaborations with Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen? What mattered more was his presentation: the candy-red hair and beaded braids, the spectacular smile that showed rows of rainbow-bedazzled grills, the wobbly, weak falsetto that defaulted to a chintzy nursery rhyme cadence. He didn’t need technical ability or historical reverence to become a celebrity; he was a meme brought to life, the personification of hip-hop’s growing generational divide, a sudden star who, like so many other Soundcloud acts, seemed destined to crash and burn after a fleeting moment in the sun.

 One problem: the music wasn’t very good. Yachty’s debut album, 2017’s  Teenage Emotions, was a glitter-bomb of pop-rap explorations that floundered with shaky hooks and schmaltzy swings at crossover hits. Worse, his novelty began to fade, those sparkly, cheerful, and puerile bubblegum trap songs aging like day-old french fries. Even when he hued closer to hard-nosed rap on 2018’s  Lil Boat 2  and  Nuthin’ 2 Prove,  you could feel Yachty desperate to recapture the magic that once came so easily to him. But rap years are like dog years, and by 2020, Yachty no longer seemed so radically weird. He was an established rapper making mid mainstream rap. The only question now was whether we’d already seen the best of him.

If his next moves were any indication—writing the  theme song to the  Saved by the Bell  sitcom revival and announcing his involvement in an upcoming  movie based on the card game Uno—then the answer was yes. But in April 2021, Yachty dropped  Michigan Boat Boy,  a mixtape that saw him swapping conventional trap for Detroit and Flint’s fast-paced beats and plain-spoken flows. Never fully of a piece with his Atlanta colleagues, Yachty found a cohort of kindred spirits in Michigan, a troop of rappers whose humor, imagination, and debauchery matched his own. From the  looks of it, leaders in the scene like Babyface Ray, Rio Da Yung OG, and YN Jay embraced Yachty with open arms, and  Michigan Boat Boy  thrives off that communion. 

 Then “ Poland ” happened. When Yachty uploaded the minute-and-a-half long track to Soundcloud a few months back, he received an unlikely and much needed jolt. Building off the rage rap production he played with on the  Birthday Mix 6  EP, “Poland” finds Yachty’s warbling about carrying pharmaceutical-grade cough syrup across international borders, a conceit that captured the imagination of TikTok and beyond. Recorded as a joke and released only after a leaked version went viral, the song has since amassed over a hundred-millions streams across all platforms. With his co-production flourishes (and adlibs) splattered across Drake and 21 Savage’s  Her Loss,  fans had reason to believe that Yachty’s creative potential had finally clicked into focus.

 But  Let’s Start Here  sounds nothing like “Poland”—in fact, the song doesn’t even appear on the project. Instead, amid a tapestry of scabrous guitars, searing bass, and vibrant drums, Yachty sounds right at home on this psych-rock spectacle of an album. He rarely raps, but his singing often relies on the virtues of his rapping: those greased-vowel deliveries and unrushed cadences, the autotune-sheathed vibrato. “Pretty,” for instance, is decidedly  not  a rap song—but what is it, then? It’s indebted to trap as much as it is ’90s R&B and MGMT, its drugged-out drums and warm keys able to house an indeterminate amount of ideas.

Yachty didn’t need to abandon hip-hop to find himself as an artist, but his experimental impulses helped him craft his first great album. Perhaps this is his lone dalliance in psych rock—maybe a return to trap is imminent. Or, maybe, he’ll make another 180, or venture deeper into the dystopia of corporate sponsorships. Who’s to say? For now, it’s invigorating to see Yachty shake loose the baggage of his teenage virality and emerge more fully into his adult artistic identity. His guise as a boundary-pushing rockstar isn’t a new archetype, but it’s an archetype he’s infused with his glittery idiosyncrasies. And look what he’s done: he’s once again morphed into a star the world didn’t see coming.

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Let’s Start Here.

Quality Control / Motown

February 1, 2023

At a surprise listening event last Thursday,  Lil Yachty   introduced his new album  Let’s Start Here. , an unexpected pivot, with a few words every rap fan will find familiar: “I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist, not just some SoundCloud rapper or some mumble rapper.” This is the speech rappers are obligated to give when it comes time for the drum loop to take a backseat to guitars, for the rapping to be muted in favor of singing, for the ad-libs to give it up to the background singers, and for a brigade of white producers with plaque-lined walls to be invited into the fold. 

Rap fans, including myself, don’t want to hear it, but the reality is that in large slices of music and pop culture, “rapper” is thrown around with salt on the tongue. Pop culture is powerfully influenced by hip-hop, that is until the rappers get too close and the hands reach for the pearls. If anything, the 25-year-old Yachty—as one of the few rappers of his generation able to walk through the front door anyway because of his typically Gushers-sweet sound and innocently youthful beaded braid look—might be the wrong messenger. 

What’s sour about Yachty’s statement isn’t the idea that he wants to be taken seriously as an artist, but the question of  who  he wants to be taken seriously by. When Yachty first got on, a certain corner of rap fandom saw his marble-mouthed enunciation and unwillingness to drool over hip-hop history as symbols of what was ruining the genre they claimed to love. A few artists more beholden to tradition did some finger-wagging— Pete Rock and  Joe Budden ,  Vic Mensa and  Anderson .Paak , subliminals from  Kendrick and  Cole —but that was years ago, and by now they’ve found new targets. These days, Yachty is respected just fine within rap. If he weren’t, his year-long rebirth in the Michigan rap scene, which resulted in the good-not-great  Michigan Boy Boat , would have been viewed solely as a cynical attempt to boost his rap bona fides. His immersion there felt earnest, though, like he was proving to himself that he could hang. 

The respect Yachty is chasing on  Let’s Start Here. feels institutional. It’s for the voting committees, for the suits; for  Questlove to shout him out as  the future , for Ebro to invite him  back on his radio show and say  My bad, you’re dope.  Never mind if you thought Lil Yachty was dope to start with: The goal of this album is to go beyond all expectations and rules for rappers.

And the big pivot is… a highly manicured and expensive blend of  Tame Impala -style psych-rock, A24 synth-pop, loungey R&B, and  Silk Sonic -esque funk, a sound so immediately appealing that it doesn’t feel experimental at all. In 2020, Yachty’s generational peers,  Lil Uzi Vert and  Playboi Carti , released  Eternal Atake and  Whole Lotta Red : albums that pushed forward pre-existing sounds to the point of inimitability, showcases not only for the artists’ raps but their conceptual visions. Yachty, meanwhile, is working within a template that is already well-defined and commercially successful. This is what the monologue was for? 

To Yachty’s credit, he gives the standout performance on a crowded project. It’s the same gift for versatility that’s made him a singular rapper: He bounces from style to style without losing his individuality. A less interesting artist would have been made anonymous by the polished sounds of producers like  Chairlift ’s Patrick Wimberly,  Unknown Mortal Orchestra ’s Jacob Portrait, and pop songwriters Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, or had their voice warped by writing credits that bring together  Mac DeMarco ,  Alex G , and, uh,  Tory Lanez . The production always leans more indulgent than thrilling, more scattershot than conceptual. But Yachty himself hangs onto the ideas he’s been struggling to articulate since 2017’s  Teenage Emotions : loneliness, heartbreak, overcoming failure. He’s still not a strong enough writer to nail them, and none of the professionals collecting checks in the credits seem to have been much help, but his immensely expressive vocals make up for it. 

Actually, for all the commotion about the genre jump on this project, the real draw is the ways in which Yachty uses Auto-Tune and other vocal effects as tools to unlock not just sounds but emotion. Building off the vocal wrinkle introduced on last year’s viral moment “ Poland ,” where he sounds like he’s cooing through a ceiling fan, the highlights on  Let’s Start Here. stretch his voice in unusual directions. The vocals in the background of his wistful hook on “pRETTy” sound like he’s trying to harmonize while getting a deep-tissue massage. His shrill melodies on “paint THE sky” could have grooved with  the Weeknd on  Dawn FM . The opening warble of “running out of time” is like Yachty’s imitation of  Bruno Mars imitating  James Brown , and the way he can’t quite restrain his screechiness enough to flawlessly copy it is what makes it original.

Too bad everything surrounding his unpredictable and adventurous vocal detours is so conventional. Instrumental moments that feel like they’re supposed to be weird and psychedelic—the hard rock guitar riff that coasts to a blissful finale in “the BLACK seminole.” or the slow build of “REACH THE SUNSHINE.”—come off like half-measures.  Diana Gordon ’s falsetto-led funk on “drive ME crazy!” reaches for a superhuman register, but other guest appearances, like  Fousheé ’s clipped lilts on “pRETTy” and  Daniel Caesar ’s faded howls on the outro, are forgettable. None of it is ever  bad : The synths on “sAy sOMETHINg” shimmer; the drawn-out intro and outro of “WE SAW THE SUN!” set the lost, trippy mood they’re supposed to; “THE zone~” blooms over and over again, underlined by  Justine Skye ’s sweet and unhurried melodies. It’s all so easy to digest, so pitch-perfect, so safe.  Let’s Start Here. clearly and badly wants to be hanging up on those dorm room walls with  Currents and  Blonde and  IGOR . It might just work, too. 

Instead, consider this album a reminder of how limitless rap can be. We’re so eager for the future of the genre to arrive that current sounds are viewed as restricting and lesser. But rap is everything you can imagine. I’m thinking about “Poland,” a song stranger than anything here: straight-up 1:23 of chaos, as inventive as it is fun. I took that track as seriously as anything I heard last year because it latches onto a simple rap melody and pushes it to the brink. Soon enough, another rapper will hear that and take it in another direction, then another will do the same. That’s how you really get to the future. 

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“I hate being alone. That’s why I like being with my friends: we’ve got energy, we’re social as hell. I’m not 30 or anything — I’m 19.”

It was early June when Lil Yachty said this to my face, the two of us finally finding solitude in his Midtown Manhattan hotel room, moments after he took a FaceTime about an $80,000 watch and just two months since I turned 30. I alerted him to my age, and we both laughed at this mildly awkward moment.

When he said he hated being alone, he wasn’t lying. I had trailed him for the past four days in Los Angeles — in cars, hotels, radio stations, restaurants, recording studios, television studios, and retail stores — always in the company of others. Though I was never able to get him alone during this West Coast stretch, I did leave L.A. understanding his likes and dislikes. If I were ever charged with outfitting his green room, I’d know not to get weed and liquor but Domino’s, soda, and Fruit by the Foot.

I’d seen him be exceedingly polite to his elders, laugh at offensive jokes, talk about girls with the moxy of a kid that just made Varsity, handle business in a manner well beyond his years, and yell at his father over the phone, repeating the phrases “I’m not a child” and “You’re treating me like I’m 12,” the argument lasting for so long that the Beats 1 staff was in a literal standstill, wondering if he’d ever hang up the phone and talk to Zane Lowe.

That uninhibited earnestness, blissful ignorance, and ever-connectedness to the grid makes sense for someone who named his debut album Teenage Emotion , then just a few days from being released. It’s an exhausting, almost campaign-like undertaking — to be the teen. But he’s also almost done. In August, his tour of duty concludes. Lil Yachty turns 20.

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Achieving fame for your movement as much as for your music is, to many, suspicious. Red flags are often raised when the public can’t figure out what they’re being sold, if this new, different thing is real or a joke, if an artist cares about their craft or is trolling for stardom simply because they can. Years ago, when Donald Glover — then just a successful comedian — introduced the world to Childish Gambino , a die-hard fanbase emerged, as did an equally large contingent of haters and skeptics. Some people just didn’t like the music, from his voice to his subject matter, but most of the distrust was due to the assumption that this was nothing more than a vanity project. And when that happens in hip-hop, a notoriously proud universe, it’s often frowned upon.

In the past year, Lil Yachty has been an easy target for those who simply can’t figure him out. While speaking to Zane Lowe, he went on about the music he likes and his inspirations, a list that, seen through a cynical lens, may be random for the sake of being random and, through another, completely understandable. In a matter of minutes, he brought up Nelly and Tim McGraw’s “Over and Over Again,” Baby Bash, “Can You Stand the Rain” by New Edition, Slipknot, Gambino, and Fall Out Boy. When he got to Kid Cudi, he slowed down. Phrases he used to describe his love for Cudi included “relatable for emotional people,” “pioneer,” “dream journeys,” “dope sense of style,” “guardian angel,” and “tour guide.” These are the influences of a rapper who infamously said he couldn’t name five songs by Biggie or Tupac, then doubled down by calling Biggie “overrated.”

Both Funkmaster Flex and Joe Budden — hip hop’s current Statler and Waldorf — have taken issue with Yachty’s way of approaching life, Flex referring to him as a “mumble rapper” and Budden calling shenanigans on Yachty’s incessant positivity. For Budden, a man currently having a career resurgence purely off the strength of being a curmudgeon, Yachty was the perfect target. Unfortunately, it’s hard to win a shouting match against someone who won’t shout back. When Budden brought Yachty on his Everyday Struggle web show and said, “You can’t tell me you wake up every day happy 24/7, because to say that you are lying,” Yachty responded with a soft seriousness: “When you come from living in a dorm room with no clothes, no girls, no cars, and then you go to having three cars, girls, and money, you can’t help but be genuinely happy that things are moving in a positive direction.” As for his response to Funk Flex, a man almost 30 years his senior, Yachty said on Instagram: “I’m just enjoying life countin’ up my change. None of this is that serious to me. Take a chill pill my guy.”

It’s a masterful, near-political dismantling of the old heads, just another thing that makes Yachty a heroic figure to many of his teenage peers and a thorn in the side of many of his rap elders. He is his own spin room, polling phenomenally in his district, even while outside detractors continue to get louder.

Still, inquiries into whether or not it’s all a schtick aren’t without warrant. And the more you keep digging, with the young rapper constantly providing reasons for you to question the seriousness of his professional existence, the more you’re forced to realize that the teens have changed the rules, and the easiest way to get left behind is to get hung up on reality.

Atlanta, Georgia, hosted the Summer Olympics in 1996. A year later, Lil Yachty was born Miles McCollum in Mableton, a northside suburb. He grew up mainly with his mother, but he remembers his father, a prominent hip-hop photographer, playing J Dilla in the house, and fondly calls back the first tape he ever owned: Kris Kross. Yachty’s upbringing was polar, some moments highly relatable, others not even close. While at Pebblebrook High School, his mother made him cut his hair — then long black braids — so he could get a job at McDonald’s. After his tenure of mopping floors began, however, everyone around him started to colorfully style their hair. The result: the Yachty that visually stands out from the pack, his signature mop of red braids now famously adorned with beads that chandelier on his face. At the start of the summer of 2015, he moved himself to New York City, doing what so many others do — trying to get noticed. By August, he was back down South, arrested for credit card fraud.

The arrest proved to be a hurdle, but in no way a roadblock. His ability to make connections proved to be his truest early skill. By February of 2016, his public existence of a few songs, a look, and an Instagram account made it to Kanye West, who put him in his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show. In March, he put out his debut mixtape, Lil Boat, which included the breakthrough hit “Minnesota.” In April, he contributed the catchy opening verse to the D.R.A.M. song “Broccoli,” a radio mainstay. In May, he released the video for “1 NIGHT,” which is like rolling Tumblr, MGMT, Lisa Frank, and Montauk into four minutes of film. That same month, he appeared on Chance The Rapper’s critically adored Coloring Book . Like that, Yachty had arrived — a snowball effect of success.

In June, he did his first interview on New York City’s famed Hot 97, in which many of his ongoing conversation tropes appear: explaining the youth, discussing fans online, debating old vs. new rap, and talking about how much money he’s made in a relatively short amount of time. “Yachty’s always gotten it,” Hot 97 personality Peter Rosenberg told me. “We had to have the old heads conversation, but we liked him personally. He’s wise beyond his years for sure.”

As 2016 trucked along, he made the XXL Freshman list and signed with Quality Control Records, the home of then-rapidly rising trio Migos . By October, Yachty was in a Sprite commercial with LeBron James. Once caught scamming, he was now in a very real position to not only pay for things, but to provide. Yachty, truly a mama’s boy, routinely acknowledges how he “over-spoils” his mother. But it’s clear how much he loves her, and the feeling is mutual. When I was sitting with one of Yachty’s publicists during a photoshoot in New York, she showed me a text from “Mama Boat.” It was a lengthy Flipagram slideshow she made of photos of her son as a child: class pictures, mother-and-son shots, the requisite naked baby photos. It went on for so long I thought I’d blinked and it was actually on a loop. But no. It was still going. Because moms.

Talking about the cuteness of little Lil Yachty was a far cry from how we began. I’d met him for the first time a week earlier, on a Tuesday morning at Los Angeles’s Power 106 radio station, before he was slated to be a guest on The Cruz Show . Within seconds, I was already confused. I extended my hand for a shake and Yachty, his assistant, Nick, and his security, Twan, all opted for the pound. As I followed them into the green room, the three passed around hand sanitizer. None of them had even looked me in the eyes. The first thing I wrote down: “brats.”

The exception was Yachty’s manager, Kevin “Coach K” Lee. Seeing Coach, I lost interest in Yachty. Atlanta is a big city, but damn near microscopic when you have two black people of a certain age both intertwined with the city’s music landscape. Within minutes, our name game had gotten lengthy, and in the green room both Coach and I FaceTimed a mutual friend, DJ Speakerfoxxx. As Coach ended the call, I looked up — Yachty had a different expression for me. Knowing Coach had garnered me a brief smile.

Wiping it quickly away, he found a marker and began writing on a nearby dry-erase board. As a guy from the station came to alert him that it was time to begin, Yachty left a message, seemingly to no one in the room.

“Shout out 2 the vegans.”

I hung back for a second and stared at the board. Yes, this was weird. It felt like I was being baited by a manufactured faux-savant. But it also felt oddly familiar.

Finally entering the studio, Yachty sat in a chair, surrounded by a bounty of candy. Questioned about his food choices, he responded, “I don’t eat fruit.” Who was this kid?

The interview was a buildup for the show’s now-viral, entertaining gimmick: having rappers read the children’s book Llama Llama Red Pajama over a popular beat while throwing in their own ad-libs. Before this happened, however, the hosts told Yachty that there was someone on the phone that wanted to congratulate him on his album. It was Lil B .

“He’s my inspiration,” Yachty said, stunned. “If it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t be here.” I thought back to the note he left on the dry erase board.

In 2011, the height of the cult of Lil B, I saw his first show in New York at Hammerstein Ballroom. At one point, after the room full of teens were done throwing their shirts, chef hats, jewelry, shoes, and even a cell phone onstage as offerings to Lil B, he knighted a kid, said “I knighted him,” and declared, “Shout out to all my dudes that got hair on they chest. Shout out to all my dudes that got hair on they butts.”

At the time, the rap world was wildly divided on Lil B: was he a shame or a shaman? Six years ago, I was firmly convinced of the latter, often laughed out of conversations with rap purists for expressing a genuine appreciation for the liberating music and movement of Lil B. And now here I was, an older skeptic of a rapper who came up on Lil B, has a framed picture of Lil B in his Atlanta home, and, while more commercially popular, is essentially Charmeleon to Lil B’s Charmander.

Yachty acknowledged the connection on the show, saying that he admired the way Lil B connected to his fans, made his fans feel as if they knew him and that he cared. But even musically, there’s some connective tissue — lyrical moments of brilliance surrounded by stretches of “What is he talking about?” and “Is he a good rapper?”

Yachty’s process of making music, however, has been lauded by those who have worked with him. Atlanta producer Su$h! Ceej spent time toward the end of 2016 with him, and described studio sessions as “no pressure, all fun, all natural”: “He knows what beats he wants and is very specific with the sound he’s trying to create, freestyling everything at first and fine-tuning as he goes, making a lot of songs in a short amount of time depending on how many pizza breaks or what video games are in the other room.” As for Cleveland’s TrapMoneyBenny , who produced Teenage Emotions ’s final track, “Momma (Outro)” : “He’s one of my favorite people to work with.”

The combination of lyrical question marks, cosigns, and an intense connection to fans are the hereditary traits between The Based God and Lil Boat, resulting in rappers who are both atypical and vulnerable. And for anyone who has a rigid idea of how a rapper should act, it’s uncomfortable.

This connection to his fans trumping all was on full display back at the Beats 1 offices. Yachty sat in a chair, smiling from ear to ear, surrounded by producers and cameras, preparing to FaceTime fans for a segment. He’d just launched into yet another Fruit Roll Up as they waited for a guy named Lars from Norway to answer the phone. Lars never answered. “I get it, my family would murder me if I was talking on the phone at that hour,” Yachty said. “But no lie, if I was Lars, I would have taken that beating.”

The second person picked up. “It is I,” Yachty said. A guy wanted advice about how to find a girl he met in a moshpit at his concert. Instead of giving him a short answer, Yachty earnestly went through the most logical ways to track her down. “Go through the hashtags,” he said. “Or maybe she’ll hear this? You never know.” It was clear this was his happy place: talking to fans. The next caller was a woman. As soon as Yachty popped up, she began to cry. “Ohhhh, don’t cry,” he said, his face playfully scrunching up.

A third caller mentioned that she wished her boyfriend were there, because he’s a huge fan. Yachty suggested that they get his number. The girl was shocked, as was everyone in the room. They got the boyfriend’s number and called him. He freaked out. “Weird, I’ve never called another girl’s boyfriend,” Yachty said in a deadpan.

The entire room, once doing a great job holding back laughter, could no longer contain silence. It was like watching a 19-year-old black, male Delilah, from the calming voice, mild demeanor, extreme comfort as he talked to strangers, and genuine care about people that like him. “That definitely wasn’t the first time I’ve FaceTimed with fans,” Yachty said afterward. “It was just the first time it was recorded. I used to do that shit just for the fun of it.”

He’s not always so positive, though. Just 30 minutes earlier, he was forced to experience the full onslaught of the content machine. Two men talked to him about Musical.ly, a video social network app, while he wore a crown and giant star shades. He wore an unchecked pout on his face. In this moment, I was watching the self-proclaimed champion of youth age out of something.

“Some of that shit is so lame,” he later told me. “I push this ‘king of the teens’ shit, but they be thinking teens like 13. On some super corny, under-underage shit. It happens all the time.”

With each passing day, I became more interested in sitting down privately with him, finding out what he was like once all the distractions disappeared. Yet as we spent more time together, that sit-down also started to feel less essential. Not only was I getting the real him, all the time, but the distractions were never going to disappear.

At first, it was slightly off-putting to watch him seem uninterested in the beginning of interviews and side conversations. Yachty doesn’t necessarily love being on all the time, and his days in a press cycle often involve a great deal of stasis followed by the immediate ask to be Lil Yachty The Rap Star. But the more I saw, his changing moods yet constant effort became increasingly relatable and human — he’d set himself up to be a machine, within the machine.

Maybe Yachty will become a marionette like so many other celebrities, a rapper that promotes more brands than has songs. So far, he’s done a Target ad with the pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen and has a partnership with Nautica , in addition to Sprite. Or perhaps he’ll gravitate in another direction and just be subversive for the sake of drama, another thing he has experience in, from tweeting “fuck J. Cole” to a past beef with Soulja Boy over a fashion model.

Listening to his album Teenage Emotions , it’s an identity crisis. It’s what you expect from someone being pulled in 10 directions at once, caught between youth and adulthood. On “X Men,” arguably the album’s gulliest moment, he still finds a way to do it with a slight wink, ending a verse with, “All of you niggas is marks/ You stinky and dirty like farts.” It’s as if he’s trying to find the right way to rebel, this album showing the various lanes that he might pick: hard and tough, sweet and romantic, young and goofy.

Right now, though, he’s opting out of a singular path, primarily choosing calm and collected. I pushed him on talking about Lil Uzi Vert , for example, with whom a rivalry had been suggested in an earlier radio interview, his answer prompting a clickbait-drenched blog post suggesting there was beef. That bothered Yachty. “Me and Uzi aren’t friends,” Yachty calmly offered. “We used to be cool. It’s not beef, it’s just competition. That’s all it is. We’re not friends.” He says what’s on his mind, and he’s quite personable, eventually. Just sometimes it takes a bit for him to recharge the battery.

The morning after Yachty’s full day of radio, he turned his attention to doing television. And on set in the CBS Studio Center lot, the room just let out a collective gasp. Did Martha Stewart realize what she just said to Lil Yachty, out loud, in front of an entire studio audience? Yachty had just come on stage as a guest on the weed-and-euphemism-filled circus that is Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party , a VH1 show that often makes SNL’s “What’s Up With That?” sketch look like Catholic mass.

It was clear the only prep Martha received about him was that he didn’t drink or smoke, so she talked to him like an innocent child. When it was time to discuss the Teenage Emotions album cover — an artistic exercise in inclusion — the image was not available. The network hadn’t gotten the image cleared. Taping stopped and the Doggfather stood up, chastising the powers that be for never getting stuff cleared. In a very loud, swear-filled finger wag, Snoop appropriately referred to Yachty’s album cover as “this nigga’s shit.” So Martha, sitting at a table with her co-host, Yachty, comedian Gary Owen, and actress Laverne Cox, leaned over — while wearing a sari for their Indian food-themed episode — and, both maternally and ignorantly, said, “Yachty, does it upset you when Snoop says ‘nigga shit?’”

The room filled with every imaginable reaction: anger, horror, embarrassment, laughter, joy, pain. Throughout the exchange, Martha Stewart did not seem to understand what the big deal was. Yachty’s reaction: a huge smile. It had been a long morning of sitting and waiting, following a day of interviews that involved a great deal of sitting and waiting. Once he finally made it on stage, he was charismatic, but seemed to be running on fumes. When Martha had her record scratch moment, though, Yachty came alive. By the end of the show’s taping, he was playfully running around the stage with Snoop, avoiding a crew of belly dancers that had just brought out a giant yellow snake, in this, a wildly appropriative episode of television.

The taping of the show lasted so long, Yachty missed his next engagement, a meeting at the Grammy offices to become a member. That meant the following stop was Urban Outfitters, to sign posters of his album cover. Pulling up to the Hollywood locale, however, we were early, a fact that puzzled Yachty almost to the point of embarrassment: “Wait, so y’all got me, the rapper, here first?”

It was true — it looked as if no one had come to see him. Twan, his security, countered with, “No, there’s a long line.” Everyone in the car thought this was just him being a supportive friend. But when the van circled the block, a long line snaked through a side alley, causing Yachty’s crew to erupt in laughter. Seconds later, a car drove by playing “Broccoli.”

“Ooh, that’s me,” he said, finishing a pack of M&Ms. Yachty was alive, yet again.

In our time together, the black Sprinter van we travelled in became something of a second home, powerless against the lull of Los Angeles traffic. The swings in his personality were on full display during these rides. Sometimes he was dead quiet, other times chatting on his phone, once or twice making fun of his boys for literally anything. It also was a time for him and Coach to catch up on news, like the moment Coach found out they were being sued over the song “Peek A Boo” by a rapper who made a song titled “Pikachu.”

Coach played “Pikachu” for the van and we all laughed. Yachty seemed a bit nervous, not knowing if this was real or not, but Coach reassured him that it was nothing. The brief back-and-forth was representative of their relationship, less of the typical manager-artist vibe and more super smart kid and wise camp counselor.

“It makes things pretty one-sided sometimes,” Yachty said of Coach. “Like, technically the manager works for the artist. What the artist says goes. But I know Coach always has the best intentions, so sometimes he just tells me what to do. And I don’t really have any say. I mean, I have a say so, but for the most part I don’t really care to say anything.”

The following day was Yachty’s final media jaunt before the release of Teenage Emotions . The excitement began at Mel’s Drive-In, a retro diner in Hollywood. The old-school feel of the restaurant echoed the attire Yachty would be wearing during his performance: a baby blue prom blazer, white tuxedo pants, and a white ruffled shirt a la Randy Watson from Coming To America . The restaurant overflowed with people having meals with their families, plus a scattering of teenagers who knew Yachty was en route. When he walked in, his red beads and camouflage jacket both matching and contrasting, the place became a zoo. Yachty stood on a table in a side patio amid screams of “Fuck Joe Budden” and kids offering him things they brought, from cash to their own shoes.

Yachty’s Lil B moment had come full circle. Attempting to give a speech, his words were drowned out by the throng of screaming fans. Finally, they got quiet and Yachty simply said, “Follow me.”

There were enough fans to fill Hollywood Boulevard, but we walked up the sidewalk. From a distance, it looked as if a young Venus Williams was leading an army with the tactical knowledge of Douglas MacArthur, and the masses were ever-growing. At one point, two teenage girls saw the Million Teen March, ditched their Uber ride, and ran across a busy intersection to join in.

Yachty brought his faithful to the entrance of the Hollywood Masonic Temple, home of the Jimmy Kimmel Show , then disappeared into the building. The mob scene was over, for now. The next few hours involved a soundcheck with the band at the outdoor stage and prep in the green room before the show. Yachty was back to more sitting and waiting, which didn’t bode well for his biggest television performance to date.

But just as his energy began to dip, the one missing piece of the puzzle exploded into his room, as if to make everything right: the Sailing Team .

Yachty’s crew from home had flown in from Atlanta, flooding the green room with bodies, dreads, and hugs just as Yachty prepared to hit the Kimmel outdoor stage. It suddenly felt like a party, and the smile on Yachty’s face was a smile I’d never seen, a smile I’d been waiting on. A pizza the size of an ottoman appeared. It wasn’t Domino’s or Papa John’s, but it was large enough to feed all his boys, so it was perfect. Yachty had all he needed: pizza, candy, and his best friends.

Hours later, after his Kimmel performance, the venue was a hotel ballroom full of pink and lavender balloons, a DJ, a photobooth, a stage, and people dressed up. His day had gotten even better. Yachty threw himself, and his friends and fans, a prom.

Of all the elements I’d watched him hop between in three days, this was Yachty at his best. He and the Sailing Team performed Yachty songs old and new. But, in a move you rarely see, they also rapped along and danced to other people’s songs. Jumping around and throwing water into the crowd, they were simultaneously attending their prom and that of the hired prom band.

And although it took him a little while, right before the buzzer went off on his teenage years, Yachty finally got what he wanted, what he deserved, what he earned. For one night, he was Prom King.

32 Facts About Lil Yachty

Written by Katheryn Benton

Modified & Updated: 10 Sep 2024

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

When it comes to rising stars in the world of music, Lil Yachty is a name that cannot be overlooked. This young and talented rapper has taken the industry by storm with his unique style and catchy tunes. But there’s more to Lil Yachty than meets the eye. In this article, we dive deep into the world of Lil Yachty and uncover 32 fascinating facts about him that you may not know. From his early life and humble beginnings to his meteoric rise to fame, we’ll explore the person behind the music. So get ready to sail away on the Lil Yachty adventure and discover the intriguing details that make him one of the most intriguing and influential celebrities of our time.

Key Takeaways:

• Lil Yachty, also known as Miles Parks McCollum, gained fame through his debut mixtape “Lil Boat” and is known for his unique style and positive attitude, inspiring fans with his catchy tunes and infectious energy.
• With a passion for music, fashion, and philanthropy, Lil Yachty continues to evolve as an artist, pushing boundaries and promoting creative freedom while maintaining a close bond with his loyal “Sailing Team” fan base.

Lil Yachty’s real name is Miles Parks McCollum.

Lil Yachty, born on August 23 , 1997, is widely known by his stage name but his real name is Miles Parks McCollum.

He gained fame through his debut mixtape “Lil Boat.”

Lil Yachty burst onto the music scene in 2016 with his debut mixtape, “Lil Boat,” which featured breakout hits like “Minnesota” and “One Night.”

Lil Yachty was discovered on SoundCloud.

Before his rise to fame, Lil Yachty uploaded his music on SoundCloud, where he gained a loyal following and attracted the attention of record labels.

He is known for his unique and colorful style.

Lil Yachty is often recognized for his vibrant hair colors, eccentric fashion choices, and signature beaded jewelry , which have become iconic elements of his image.

He is associated with the “mumble rap” genre.

Lil Yachty is often categorized as a mumble rapper, known for his melodic delivery and unconventional lyrics that prioritize catchy hooks over intricate wordplay .

Lil Yachty is a successful entrepreneur.

Beyond music, Lil Yachty has ventured into various business endeavors, including his own clothing line called “Nautica.” He has also collaborated with major brands like Target and Sprite .

He appeared in the film “How High 2.”

In 2019, Lil Yachty made his acting debut in the comedy film “How High 2,” alongside Method Man and Redman.

Lil Yachty is a self-proclaimed fan of all things nautical.

As his stage name suggests, Lil Yachty has a strong affinity for the ocean and all things related to sailing.

He has collaborated with many high-profile artists.

Lil Yachty has worked with several renowned artists, including Drake, Chance the Rapper, and Migos, contributing to their chart-topping songs and receiving widespread acclaim.

Lil Yachty is of mixed heritage.

With a mother of Afro-Haitian descent and a father of American and Barbadian heritage, Lil Yachty embraces his diverse background.

Lil Yachty has released multiple successful albums.

Since his debut mixtape, Lil Yachty has gone on to release several successful albums, including “Teenage Emotions,” “Lil Boat 2,” and “Nuthin’ 2 Prove.”

He has a strong online presence.

Lil Yachty is active on various social media platforms, where he connects with his fans, shares updates about his music, and showcases his personal style.

Lil Yachty has appeared in commercials.

His popularity extends beyond the music industry, as Lil Yachty has appeared in commercials for popular brands such as Sprite and Target.

He collaborated with Carly Rae Jepsen for a remake of “It Takes Two.”

Lil Yachty and Carly Rae Jepsen teamed up for a modern rendition of the iconic track “It Takes Two,” which was featured in a commercial for Target.

He has a loyal fan base known as the “Sailing Team.”

Lil Yachty’s fans, collectively known as the “Sailing Team,” are passionate supporters who embrace his unique style and music.

Lil Yachty has received both critical acclaim and criticism.

While praised for his distinctive sound and brand, Lil Yachty has also faced backlash for his departure from traditional rap conventions.

He voiced the character Green Lantern in the animated series “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.”

In 2018, Lil Yachty lent his voice to the character Green Lantern in the animated movie “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.”

Lil Yachty has a philanthropic side.

Despite his young age, Lil Yachty has shown a commitment to giving back by participating in various charitable initiatives and supporting causes that are close to his heart.

He has been nominated for several awards.

Lil Yachty’s talent and impact on the music industry have earned him nominations for prestigious awards, including the Grammy Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards.

Lil Yachty is known for his positive attitude.

Throughout his career, Lil Yachty has maintained a positive and upbeat persona, inspiring his fans with messages of self-love and acceptance.

He has a love for video games.

Lil Yachty has expressed his passion for gaming, often sharing updates about his favorite video games and engaging with his fans through gaming-related content.

He has a signature catchphrase: “Lil Boat.”

“Lil Boat” has become Lil Yachty’s notorious catchphrase, expressing his unique persona and reflecting his love for sailing and the open seas.

Lil Yachty appeared on the cover of XXL Magazine’s 2016 Freshman Class.

As a rising star, Lil Yachty graced the cover of XXL Magazine’s esteemed Freshman Class issue in 2016, solidifying his position in the hip-hop industry .

Lil Yachty is an advocate for creative freedom.

He encourages artists to express themselves freely and break boundaries, promoting a culture of artistic independence and individuality.

He has a distinctive vocal style.

Lil Yachty’s unique vocal delivery, marked by its melodic flow and autotune effects, sets him apart from other artists in the hip-hop scene.

Lil Yachty is a prolific songwriter.

Besides his own music, Lil Yachty has written songs for other artists, showcasing his versatility and talent as a songwriter.

He has collaborated with renowned fashion brands.

Lil Yachty has collaborated with fashion powerhouses like Nautica and Reebok, releasing limited-edition clothing collections and custom footwear.

He embarked on a successful music tour.

Lil Yachty has headlined his own tours, captivating audiences around the world and proving his ability to entertain and engage fans on stage.

Lil Yachty has a passion for anime.

Anime holds a special place in Lil Yachty’s heart, and he often references and incorporates anime themes into his music and visuals.

He has a close bond with his fans.

Lil Yachty values the connection he has with his fan base and actively interacts with them through social media, live streams, and meet-and-greet events.

Lil Yachty has a net worth of millions.

With his successful music career, endorsements, and entrepreneurial ventures, Lil Yachty has amassed a considerable net worth at a young age.

He continues to evolve as an artist.

Lil Yachty consistently pushes boundaries, experiments with different sounds, and evolves his musical style, ensuring his longevity in the ever-changing music industry.

These are just a few of the fascinating facts about Lil Yachty. With his unique style, undeniable talent, and vibrant personality, Lil Yachty has made his mark on the music industry and continues to captivate audiences worldwide. Are you ready to set sail with Lil Yachty’s catchy tunes and infectious energy?

In conclusion, these 32 facts about Lil Yachty shed light on the remarkable journey of this talented artist. Whether it’s his unique style, catchy tunes, or colorful personality, Lil Yachty has managed to capture the hearts and attention of millions. From his early beginnings as a SoundCloud sensation to becoming a prominent figure in the hip-hop industry, Lil Yachty has consistently pushed boundaries and proved himself as a force to be reckoned with.With his positive outlook on life, Lil Yachty has become a role model for many aspiring artists. He has shown that with determination, hard work, and a little bit of creativity, dreams can turn into reality. With multiple chart-topping hits, collaborations with industry heavyweights , and a growing fanbase, Lil Yachty’s career is only set to flourish in the years to come.It’s safe to say that Lil Yachty has cemented his place in the music industry as more than just a rapper. He is a cultural icon, an influencer, and a trendsetter. His success story serves as an inspiration to anyone looking to make their mark in the world of music. So next time you hear a Lil Yachty track playing, remember the incredible journey behind the artist responsible for creating it.

Q: How did Lil Yachty get his start in the music industry?

A: Lil Yachty initially gained recognition through SoundCloud, where he started releasing his music and building a following.

Q: What is Lil Yachty’s real name?

A: Lil Yachty’s real name is Miles Parks McCollum.

Q: How old is Lil Yachty?

A: Lil Yachty was born on August 23, 1997, making him [current age] years old.

Q: What is Lil Yachty known for?

A: Lil Yachty is known for his unique style of music, often categorized as “bubblegum trap,” and his vibrant and colorful personality.

Q: Has Lil Yachty released any albums?

A: Yes, Lil Yachty has released several albums, including “Teenage Emotions,” “Lil Boat 2,” and “Nuthin’ 2 Prove.”

Q: Who are some of the notable artists Lil Yachty has collaborated with?

A: Lil Yachty has collaborated with artists such as Drake, Chance the Rapper, and Migos , among others.

Lil Yachty's journey offers a glimpse into hip hop's vibrant tapestry. Dive deeper into this fascinating world by exploring fun facts about hip hop , interesting tidbits about rap , and enigmatic details about trap music pioneer Zaytoven . Each story adds a unique thread to the rich fabric of music history, inviting you to uncover the captivating narratives behind the beats and rhymes that have shaped generations.

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• Arts & Culture

The dark side of the boat: reviewing Lil Yachty’s Pink Floyd-inspired album

The Atlanta rapper’s ambitious ‘Let’s Start Here’ is exciting

Courtesy of Complex

“Let’s Start Here” takes inspiration from Pink Floyd.

Tabitha Cahan , Contributing Writer January 30, 2023

As a music aficionado, keeping up with Pitchfork is practically my religion. What I was not expecting on my Pitchfork feed, however, was a promotion announcing “Let’s Start Here,” Lil Yachty’s psychedelic rock album. Now this piqued my interest. 

Lil Yachty, or Lil Boat, as his fans refer to him, is an Atlanta-based rapper whose discography is, quite frankly, forgettable. His trademark over-autotuned vocals are outshone by rap powerhouse Travis Scott, and his instrumentals have rarely been described as inventive. With the exception of his TikTok-famous hit “Poland,” I couldn’t name a single one of his songs. 

Though Lil Yachty is categorized as a rapper, with his musical career being launched within the hip-hop genre, his fifth studio album, “Let’s Start Here,” is decidedly not rap. Best defined as a psychedelic rock album, “Let’s Start Here” is unrecognizable in comparison to Lil Yachty’s previous hits such as “Poland” or “One Night.” Taking the leap to enter a new genre that is relatively underused in terms of mainstream music is risky, but like Radiohead’s electronic album “Kid A,” this genre experimentation really paid off.

Could this be Lil Yachty’s “Kid A” ? To Radiohead fans everywhere, let me explain. No, I am not likening Lil Yachty’s previous discography to Radiohead — that would be preposterous. Radiohead is many things, and forgettable is not one of them. What I am more interested in is Radiohead and Lil Yachty’s refusal to be defined. I believe that “Let’s Start Here” is Lil Yachty’s rebellion against the confines of rap.  

Radiohead, pre- “Kid A,” was defined as a 90s Britpop band, likened to that of U2, Oasis, Blur, etc. “Kid A,” however, blew that definition completely out of the water. It was a dystopian electronic album, filled with soundscapes and entirely different instrumentation. As Pitchfork writer Brent DiCrescenzo aptly described it, ‘Kid A’ makes rock and roll childish.” It was one of the most shocking turns in their discography.

“Let’s Start Here,” executively produced by SadPony, was released on Jan. 27, 2023. Contributors and features include MGMT’s Benjamin Goldwasser, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait, Alex G, Mac DeMarco, Wimberly, Justin Raisen, Teezo Touchdown, Daniel Caesar, Fousheé, Diana Gordon, Magdalena Bay, Justine Skye and Nick Hakim. This lineup is completely unexpected but exciting nonetheless. 

In this psychedelic rock odyssey, Lil Yachty’s inspiration of Pink Floyd definitely shines through. Many songs on the album also sound similar to Tame Impala or even Childish Gambino’s “Awaken, My Love!” In this equally shocking left turn, Lil Yachty is redefining the creative limits of his music. 

The opener “the BLACK seminole.” beautifully exemplifies his Pink Floyd inspiration. This song feels like a direct homage to “Dark Side of the Moon.” Pieces of the song seem to be drawn from “Breathe (In The Air),” “The Great Gig in the Sky” and even earlier works like “Pigs (Three Different Ones).” Best described as a cosmic rock expedition, the track is a seven-minute journey into the world he has created. The instrumentals are transcendent — complete with a guitar solo, of course. Similar to “Everything In Its Right Place” from “Kid A,” it sets the stage for the songs to follow. 

The third track on the album, “running out of time,” is sung in part by Justine Skye and feels poppy and bright. The bassline is upbeat and funky, complementing the guitar riffs and swirling synths. Lil Yachty sings romantically, inviting the listener to stay up all night with him. I mean, if this is the soundtrack, I’m game. 

“THE zone~” also features Justine Skye, but it feels much more like the psychedelic powerhouse Tame Impala than the previous. Between the in strumentation and the hyperbolic lyrics “I’m so far gone,” this one truly feels like an acid trip.

On a more lighthearted track, Diana Gordon is the main singer on “drive ME crazy!”, and i t’s pure bliss. The instrumental is more minimalist in the beginning, honing in on Gordon’s voice. Toward the end of the track, there is a synth breakdown that cuts the song into half time, and we hear Lil Yachty rapping for the first and only time in the album. The string ending neatly ties the song up in a little bow.

In another track that sounds straight off a Tame Impala record, “sHouLd i B?” transitions perfectly into “The Alchemist.” The punchy drums and modulated synth make for two effervescent tracks. The breakdown in “The Alchemist” is accented nicely by Fousheé hitting her highest register.

The final track “REACH THE SUNSHINE.” sounds eerily reminiscent of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song.” “Pyramid Song” was originally intended as a track for “Kid A” before it was on “Amnesiac,” an album composed mostly of the b-sides of “Kid A.” The first line of “REACH THE SUNSHINE.” sung by Daniel Caesar, “Staring in the mirror, and what do I see / A three-eyed man staring back at me” has a flow comparable to Radiohead’s “I jumped in the river and what did I see? / Black eyed angels swam with me.” 

It is equally sparse in terms of instrumentation, until it reaches a crescendo about two and a half minutes into the song (almost the same time stamp as “Pyramid Song,” might I add). The crescendo transports the listener to the same pocket of the universe with a deep, synth-fueled surge. This feels more sinister than the Radiohead track — the anti-chorus is peppered with evil laughs rather than Thom Yorke’s signature croon. This track is Lil Yachty reaching his full potential. It is ethereal and otherworldly. The cacophony of the anti-chorus reaches new heights, and it’s exciting to hear. 

Whether my argument resonates with you or not, it is always exciting to see artists take risks. One cannot deny how ambitious of a move this is, especially given the constraints of being a trap artist. In the same vein as Radiohead, throughout his rise to fame, Lil Yachty has been mainstream. “Let’s Start Here” and “Kid A” show that an artist can completely change their trajectory. In an age with increasing amounts of cash-grab, radio-friendly drivel, albums like this give me faith in the future of music.  

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Joey • Feb 26, 2023 at 6:01 pm

Sophistication encapsulated in a article

Alexandra Falk • Feb 23, 2023 at 7:49 pm

I got into Wake Forest

Adam • Feb 1, 2023 at 11:10 am

Going to listen now

Preston • Jan 31, 2023 at 9:55 pm

Pigs was from Animals, which is not an earlier work than Dark Side of the Moon

G Lampa • May 15, 2023 at 12:20 pm

Bullseye. A little homework goes a long way. First track actually does harken back to pre-Dark Side stuff; specifically “Childhood’s End” 1972.

Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and more close out Milwaukee's Summerfest with a hip-hop feast

It's only fitting that Summerfest — one of the world's largest music festivals with more than 600 performances over nine days — should end with a massive show in its biggest venue, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

Hip-hop superstar Lil Uzi Vert closed out the Milwaukee fest's largest stage Saturday, a noteworthy booking considering the only other place they've played this year was Coachella, and they have no other appearances scheduled this year (so far).

But with all due respect to Uzi Vert, that's not what made this show massive.

It was the incredibly stacked bill leading up to the finale, with Lil Yachty, J.I.D., Rico Nasty, LIHTZ and a thrilling Milwaukee hip-hop showcase starring breakout rappers J.P. and 414BigFrank, with surprise appearances by SteveDaStoner and Mook G, plus Milwaukee spinner Djay Mando.

In total, there were nine rappers who performed at the amphitheater Saturday. The show lasted a full five hours, with 15 minutes max between sets.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

More: 'Thankful for the opportunity': Milwaukee rappers J.P., 414BigFrank mark Summerfest debuts

More: Ivan Cornejo, Anne Wilson, Amy Grant and the best and worst of Summerfest 2024's final day

Lil Uzi Vert ends Summerfest with a wild, rare show

That said, purists will scoff at the idea of Lil Uzi Vert being considered hip-hop, and their 45-minute Summerfest set wouldn't convince them otherwise. Rapping isn't the strong suit for the rap superstar, who went for long stretches across their songs not really rapping at all — including one somewhat tedious moment where they were trying to take a selfie on a fan's phone while the DJ blasted "Fire Alarm."

But Uzi Vert's appeal is that they are a walking, (sort of) rapping embodiment of Freud's concept of Id. And what they primarily wanted to do at this rare 2024 show is rock out.

For "x2," from last year's white-knuckle "Pink Tape" album — a song that sounds a bit like a Nintendo game soundtrack on steroids — Uzi Vert jumped the barricades to hang with fans at the base of a video screen, freaking out security. During "Amped," they were so hyped up they tossed an (unlucky) fan's phone that ended up on stage some 20 feet in the air, then for subsequent song "Pop," flung a microphone across the stage in a fit of passion.

Then later for a song that can aptly be described as their life's mission statement — "Do What I Want" — Uzi Vert dropped to their knees on a ramp on stage, in the center of a big ring of lights, where they were greeted with a deafening singalong. But it still wasn't loud enough for Uzi Vert, who orchestrated the crowd from their knees with waving arms, the singalong, seemingly at peak volume seconds ago, reaching greater heights.

Uzi Vert put a lot of energy onto that stage and was paid back from the crowd in kind, who supplied more electricity than even the DJ's bass-rattling song drops could muster singing and rapping along to Uzi Vert's unstoppable bangers like "20 Min" (including, for a minute, a cappella); their superstar-cementing blockbuster "XO Tour Llif3"; and their latest tsunami-level rager "Just Wanna Rock."

And while Uzi Vert's team made the curious choice to not let their set be filmed to be projected on the amphitheater's big screen, that didn't prevent the crowd way back on the bleachers from wilding out.

Lil Yachty has fun slipping into their old persona and songs

Lil Yachty has earned a reputation for being one of mainstream hip-hop's most admired weirdos, but even their recent output has managed to surprise, from last year's "Let's Start Here" album, which drastically switched up his style for a more psychedelic soul rock sound, and this year's "Bad Cameo," an often dreamy album made with Justin Vernon-loving English producer and songwriter James Blake.

"Cameo" didn't make a cameo during Yachty's nearly hourlong set, but it did begin with "Drive ME Crazy!" from "Here." But Yachty at the start of his set was surprisingly passive, the crowd, from my perspective, seemingly more excited to see Yachty than to hear Yachty take detours with newer material.

So, after a few songs, Yachty vowed to "turn this (expletive) upside down," delivering on that promise with "Slide" — a more straightforward, crowd-bouncing 2023 hip-hop track — and the audience transformed there for being happy Yachty was on stage to being thrilled to dance and rap to his music.

And that remained the mode, from both the rapper and his fans, for much of the rest of the set — aside from a touching moment when Yachty had the boisterous crowd join in a moment of silence in memory of Yachty's "Yacht Club" collaborator Juice WRLD.

If Yachty, at this stage of his artistic evolution, doesn't feel much connection with cutesy, nursery rhyme-like early hits like "Minnesota," "Broccoli" and "iSpy," he didn't show it, seemingly having as much fun vibing to those songs as his fans did nostalgically belting out their lyrics.

And while Yachty, like Uzi Vert, coasted here and there without much live rapping, he offered more than the main headliner, like an a cappella spin through "From the D to the A."

J.I.D. demonstrates superhuman spitting skills with opening set

J.I.D. accomplished the impressive feat of making Imagine Dragons seem cool in recent years with his dizzying guest verse on their hit “Enemy,” and his Summerfest set was an even greater demonstration of his superhuman skill.

His words flew so fast — but the enunciation still sticking with every syllable — that his rhymes outraced the speedy scroll of lyrics on the screen behind him for “151 Rum.” One could quibble that he announced it was his time to bounce five minutes before his set actually was supposed to end — but J.I.D. brought so much energy to thrillers like “Stick” and “Surround Sound,” and did such a good job convincing old hip-hop heads that the art of rap was in good hands, that he earned the right to hit the showers early.

Rico Nasty goes for the throat with visceral, fun set

Rico Nasty was no-nonsense for her 35-minute set, barely taking a break or talking to the crowd. But her personality was loud and clear.

Her brash, punk-inspired flow went straight for the jugular — even while it was peppered with some throat-ripping yells, eerily cutesy delivery a la early Nicki Minaj, and the occasional butt shake.

She never coasted on backing vocals either — her head-spinning delivery for “Cold” was especially fiery — and hearing her rap her signature song “Smack a (expletive)” over the beat for Ludacris’ “Move (expletive)” was an inspired flip.

LIHTZ doesn't fit bill, but makes lasting impression

On paper, LIHTZ was the most out of place of all the rappers on Saturday’s bill. While everyone else on stage had catalogs filled with high-energy bangers, the masked Philadelphia rapper specializes in softer, slower, melodic pain rap, with pensive piano and acoustic guitar the dominating sounds on “Mixed Signals” and “Serenity.” But LIHTZ was such a passionate presence on stage, with such a luminous flow — even expressed a cappella for a portion of “Broken Spirit” — that he was impossible not to like.

Milwaukee's own J.P., 414BigFrank, SteveDaStoner, Mook G, Djay Mando kick things off

Saturday’s amphitheater show at Summerfest was a celebration of some of hip-hop’s most exciting national talents — and that includes Milwaukee’s street rap scene, which has earned a place in that conversation.

For about five years, local rappers have earned hundreds of thousands, even millions, of streams for individual songs at a rapid clip. There have been record deals and glowing coverage from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and other major outlets. And Saturday, multiple buzzy Milwaukee rappers played Summerfest’s biggest stage.

Milwaukee’s premier party starter Djay Mando set the mood first, slipping in local rap gems like Munch Lauren’s “Big Money” and AyooLii’s “Schmackin Town” into his mix. Then came 414BigFrank, whose big, fun-loving personality instantly emerged for this year’s lowend breakout “Eat Her Up,” with Frank and about a quarter of the large on-stage entourage busting into some synchronized dance moves.

Unannounced special guest Mook G took the stage next for “Pay Me,” with another surprise guest, SteveDaStoner, rapping by his side. Stoner essentially has become the mascot for Milwaukee’s rap scene — and a popular guy eager for a selfie roaming the stages through the fest this year — and when he took over the set for his signature banger “RWS,” it was clear how Ludacris could have charmed enough by the guy to join him for a viral “free concert” stunt at 3rd Street Market Hall last month.

J.P., effortlessly translating the charm and charisma from his TikToks to a big stage, closed out this 25-minute Milwaukee rap party — a fitting choice considering none other than Lil Uzi Vert was the first famous rapper to endorse the Milwaukee rapper following his debut lowend single “Juicey Ahhh.” Alas, it didn’t make the set, but J.P. has since had an even bigger smash, “Bad Bitty” — arguably the biggest song ever from a Milwaukee-based rapper, with more than 19 million Spotify streams and counting. You better believe even the people toward the back of the amphitheater rapped “Bad Bitty” back to J.P. at the top of their lungs.

To see the scene celebrated on the biggest stage of Milwaukee’s biggest festival was a joyful achievement after years of unprecedented accomplishments. Here’s hoping it marks the first chapter of an exciting new beginning.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or  [email protected] . Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .

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Lil Yachty on Weight Loss and Haircut: 'I Did Not Stop Drinkin Lean For N***as to Bully Me and Tell Me I Look Like I Have Leukemia'

Yachty debuted a new look after he lost some weight and potentially cut his trademark braids.

Lil Yachty  is clearly not happy with certain comments he's received regarding his recent transformation.

On Monday, the 26-year-old took to his Twitter account with a post showing off a slimmer physique and new haircut. Yachty has maintained his braids throughout his career, but he appears to have cut them all off.

"She like my haircut, it turn her on!!!" Yachty captioned his tweet. He shared the same photos on Instagram of his new look with a caption that read, "i chopped da top, fukk it."

It seems like Lil Boat didn't get the reaction he wanted, though, as he returned with a new tweet that called out people who had been  "bullying"  him over his new look. According to Yachty, he didn't sacrifice to get this new look just for people to clown him.

"I did not stop drinkin lean for n***as to bully me and tell me i look like i have leukemia," he wrote.

When asked what's under the hat, he simply dropped an emoji indicating he's not sharing—yet.

He also reposted some jokes about his cut on his IG Stories:

Several rappers have joined the anti-lean wave, such as Offset, who kicked the drug earlier this year. In an interview with  Variety , Set explained his family pushed him to stop drinking lean.

"I put down lean. I was drinking my whole career. It opened my mind up, but I never thought it helped me create," he shared. "I feel like getting past that, cleaning up, and putting that message out."

The 31-year-old also praised wife Cardi B for sticking by his side as he went through the process of quitting lean.

"She always got my back, right or wrong," said the former Migos artist. "We both on the same mission to make each other better. We are a great team. We're a powerhouse at this point—icon status. We believe in God. We believe in family. We're going to keep winning."

Other rappers who have quit lean include  Moneybagg Yo , Sada Baby, and 600Breezy.

Lil Yachty Looks Back on ‘Let’s Start Here’ Leak: ‘The Saddest I’ve Ever Been’

Lil Yachty Reveals Tay-K Sent Him a Letter From Prison

Lil Yachty Calls Fans ‘Stupid’ for Thinking Drake’s Album Was Dropping Today, Almost Crashed His Car Listening to ‘For All the Dogs’

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Thanks to Nautica, Lil Yachty Has Officially Sailed Into the Fashion Game

There’s a kooky new kid on the fashion block and he goes by the name of Lil Yachty. The 19-year-old Georgia-born rapper, of “King Boat” and the crew called Sailing Team, first gained fame back in 2015 with his EP Summer Songs , the music of which he himself once dubbed “ bubblegum trap ” (he’s sampled sounds from Rugrats and Super Mario Bros.). His major entrée into style however came last year, when the sartorial world took notice of his beaded red braids, hot pink shirts, and preppy plaid vests. He also modeled for Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 show at Madison Square Garden and was a face of Nautica’s exclusive line for Urban Outfitters.

Now, Lil Yachty is continuing the relationship with his all-time favorite American sportswear brand, as it was announced today that he has signed on to be Nautica’s creative designer. In this new position he will release capsule collections throughout the year and model for ad campaigns. Along with the big news, fans were also treated to a sneak peek of what’s to come with the reveal of a limited-edition collection of logo-bedecked items curated by the lyricist.

Lil Yachty’s eccentric, playfully naïve swag is just the sort of attribute that makes this celebrity fashion mash-up stand out from all the rest. And it’s true of his everyday style game too. If you didn’t know, now you know: King Boat has just sailed into the new year as a fashion force to be reckoned with.

As proof, take a look at some of the well-dressed wild child’s brightest ensembles.