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By Sheldon Pearce

self-released

March 17, 2016

Atlanta’s Lil Yachty is a pure creation of the Internet. His cult hit "1 Night" found most of its audience through a viral sketch comedy video , and before that, he was being plugged on Twitter  by Ian Connor, a stylist and web curator known mostly for his connection to  A$AP Rocky . He’s indebted to Lil B , too, with free-form verses that mimic Based Freestyles and a carefree energy reminiscent of the Based God’s Myspace days. In short, Yachty thrives in Rocky’s post-regionalist rap universe, a space defined by digital platforms rather than geography. One of his producers goes by Digital Nas. He is definitive proof that modern rap has no gatekeepers, and Soundcloud rap’s laziest possible copy-and-paste job.

There isn’t a single thing Lil Yachty’s doing that someone else isn't doing better, and in richer details. On  Lil Boat , his debut mixtape, he makes a grating mess of these varying influences. The most obvious creative inspiration is iLoveMakonnen , which becomes especially clear on "Good Day," with its creaky falsetto and warbling melody. But Makonnen brings warmth and a feeling of ease to his tracks, while Yachty is constantly straining, as if just getting the words out of his mouth is a struggle. His rapping is jerky and his voice is so flat that Auto-Tune itself seems to buckle under the weight.

Yachty’s main selling point is "fun." This is all supposed to seem easy and unbothered, and it does on cheery tunes like “Wanna Be Us” and “Run/Running.” But everything feels unfinished or undercooked—a handful of songs are just a single verse and a hook, with no clear relationship between the two. So a song like "Not My Bro" opens with a bang and then shrinks back into nothing, a series of pitchy, singsongy whines. It's a lot of things —irritating, boring —but "fun" isn't one of them.

Yachty’s simplicity works in his favor when it comes to catchy hooks. On the better songs here, he sings/raps over bubbly, retro N64-sounding productions (mostly produced by Burberry Perry) that convey childlike wonder and amusement. But the hooks don’t do nearly enough to balance out Yachty’s painful shrieks, and many of his ideas aren’t just basic, they’re sloppily executed. Attempting to form a working model out of the flotsam of the moment is a fool’s errand. But what else is to be expected of a prisoner of shifting tides?

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Why Lil Yachty Says It’s Time to ‘Wake Everybody Up’

After laying relatively low in 2019, the Sailing Team's captain returns with a massive chip on his shoulder to put a bow on his momentous Lil Boat series.

By Michael Saponara

Michael Saponara

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Lil Yachty is coming for his respect. After not releasing any projects and remaining relatively quiet in 2019, the Sailing Team’s captain returned in May with a massive chip on his shoulder, to put a bow on his momentous Lil Boat series with the third and final chapter.

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The series is something the 23-year-old holds near and dear to his heart, as it served as his introduction to rap’s mainstream and put him on the map just a year after graduating high school. With the stakes raised at a pivotal point in his career, Yachty went back to the drawing board five times wiping the slate clean until he found the desired patina for LB3 to take shape.

On the set, Boat blends melodic bubblegum trap that sounds as if there’s something lodged in his throat and the loopy rhymes of vintage Yachty, alongside a myriad of special guests to execute the project’s vision. The rapper also notches three co-production credits on the album as well.

Yachty has remained low-key inside his ATL mansion for much of the quarantine. He’s dabbled in his fair share of playing video games, recording new music, continuing his kids’ menu diet of waffles, pizza, and chicken nuggets — which he combats with some yoga and hitting the gym to balance “eating like an eight-year-old and trying to be healthy at the same time.”

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Rihanna speaks out after days of 'devastation, anger, sadness'.

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on Memorial Day, the ensuing protests setting the city ablaze saw Yachty’s infectious “Minnesota” hook take on a new meaning. “You need to stay up out them streets if you can’t take the heat,” he raps on the icy 2015 track.

After collecting his thoughts for a couple of days and even debating making the trip to Minneapolis himself on LB3 release day, Yachty took action by donating $3,000 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and joined protestors (May 30) on the frontlines walking the streets of Downtown ATL. Yachty showed maturity and leadership beyond his years when getting on the megaphone to  deliver a powerful speech. “We gotta stand for something or fall for anything,” he proclaimed.

Dive into our interview with Yachty below, as he debates an artist’s responsibility to comment on social issues, always hearing the haters no matter what he does, how Drake ended up on “Oprah’s Bank Account,” and more.

Billboard: Wrapping up with Lil Boat 3 , what does the series mean to you?

Lil Yachty: It’s just where I started my music career. It will always have a special place in my heart. It’s what brought me into music. It will always be a very important project — both the first and the last one. I think they play a pivotal role, with the first one being my introduction and this third one being a stamp to remind people that I really do this s–t.

Your last album was Nuthin 2 Prove , but now it’s “ComebackSZN Boat” time with your Twitter name. Do you feel like you’ve got a chip on your shoulder with this project that you’re still right here?

[A] big chip. I feel like I took a long break and it’s time to wake everybody up.

You kicked off LB3′ s rollout with “Oprah’s Bank Account.” What did you think of the fans’ reception to it?

I think it was a good reception, but at the same time, a lot of people were upset — black people specifically — with the whole man in a dress thing, but it wasn’t that deep.

How did you get Drake on there? Did you guys talk about how that song ended up being the one that Drizzy broke the record with for most Hot 100 placements?

Drake actually asked me to be on there. I met Baby when he was doing a meet-n-greet and I hung out with him. [Drake] thanked me for it. I told him, “No need to thank me, sir. You did all the work.”

How did you end up linking with Tyler, Rocky, and Tierra Whack on “T.D.” and why did you sample that Tokyo Drift song?

Originally, that song was supposed to be me, Rocky, and [A$AP] Ferg. I guess Rocky played his verse for Tyler and then Tyler was like, “Oh, I’m getting on this.” Then I was like, “I know somebody that would kill everybody [on this].” So I reached out to Tierra Whack because she’s a really good friend of mine, and I really wanted her to have that look. I knew she was going to go crazy, which she did. I just love that song by the Teriyaki Boyz.

What was your role in the co-production of the three tracks you produced on the album?

I picked the sample for “Tokyo Drift.” For “Can’t Go,” I made the melody. For “Wock in Stock,” I did the 808s. It’s a difficult process.

Talk to me about “Till the Morning” with Durk and Thugger.

We’ve been sitting on that record for a very long time. I want to say it dates back to at least 2018. We just wanted to see who was going to drop it first. Yeah, we had all did it together. Durk is that n—a. He’s dumb-chill and humble.

The Boat Show has let fans into your life during quarantine. We see you eating waffles, pizza, chicken nuggets, hitting the gym, and doing some yoga.

I don’t know, I guess that’s a twist between eating like an eight-year-old and trying to be healthy at the same time.

I’ve been on the Mountain Dew Baja Blast wave. Are you a Baja Blast guy?

I f–k with the Baja Blast heavy. I like to go to Taco Bell and get it. It’s crazy, I’m a snack connoisseur.

Have you been playing a lot of Warzone as well?

I just got my first win with Tee Grizzley like two days ago. That game, I love it, but the Warzone ain’t easy. I’m a beast online — like Team Deathmatch. You got to move different on Search and Destroy.

I enjoyed your “Can You Stand The Rain” New Edition cover, but some people were hating on it.

People hate on me regardless, bro. It’s just a given. I’ll never be the most likable artist. I did that in 2017, bro. One night, it was like five in the morning, I was on IG Live with fans and I dropped it.

You still gotta keep the confidence up, though.

Oh, I’m that n—a.

How are you still keeping up with the shopping?

Bro, I shop every single day.

Are the stores coming to your place?

That and I do a lot of Grailed and eBay shopping. I had to change my username because it was too obvious at first. I’m on my ’85 collection right now. I’m trying to collect all of the 1985 Jordan’s. I got about eight right now, it’s just so expensive.

With the riots going on across the country in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, do you feel artists have a responsibility to speak out?

I feel like this is a tricky conversation. Some people generally don’t want to say something that would upset people, while other people are just minding their own business. It should resonate more if you’re a black man. It’s just difficult.

I’m not fuckin with what’s goin on in Minnesota, thinking bout flyin out there and walkin the streets with the people… what celebrity will meet me there? Dead ass — concrete boy boat (@lilyachty) May 29, 2020

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With its "once upon a time"-style introduction, Lil Yachty's debut commercial project starts off sounding a little like a children's book. When you read out his name with the mixtape's title—Lil Yachty's Lil Boat—it sounds like a nursery rhyme. It's an aesthetic symmetry that evokes youthful whimsy, which matches the rapper's slurred, lullaby melodies and the gleaming beats he splashes with playboy flexes and tales of aspiration. This is the stylistic mix at the heart of "bubblegum trap," a sound pioneered by Yachty himself. While he later dismissed the label, it remains an apt description for the mellifluous sing-song raps and lackadaisical flows that permeate the star-making project. Checking in at 40 minutes, the mixtape introduces fans to two central characters: Lil Boat and Lil Yachty. Boat is his more aggressive alter ego, while Yachty is the friendlier, even more melodically inclined variant. The two identities grow further apart in subsequent projects, but on Lil Boat, they both thrive on warbles you might mumble under your breath. For "Minnesota," Yachty floats over rainbow keys that could come from an ice cream truck, threading flexes with off-kilter warnings about life in the trenches. Verses from Quavo, Skippa Da Flippa, and Young Thug further embed it with a grit that's at odds with the toddler-friendly instrumental, giving it a delectable layer of irony. Yachty surfaces again on "Good Day," with his Auto-Tuned vocals coloring a fly guy's wonderland. Peeking from behind the neon haze, Lil Boat emerges on "Not My Bro," a casual dismissal of would-be hangers-on. Meanwhile, on "Interlude," Boat unloads a barrage of death threats, packaging them in a dazed beat and a murmur that sits opposite Yachty's sugarcoated melodies elsewhere on the project. With Boat fading into a malaise as he cruises above the opiate synths, it feels like a foggy daydream. If this were an imaginary world, "One Night" would be its first monument. After going viral in a comedic video, the track picked up millions of streams, propelling Yachty from ambitious college dropout to ubiquitous internet presence. Fusing muted synths with a drowsy melody, the track was a player's anthem for the new school—and the beginning of Yachty’s extremely online Gen Z fairy tale.

March 9, 2016 13 Songs, 40 minutes ℗ 2016 Quality Control Music, Capitol Records and Motown Records

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Hip-hop stars Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty closing out Milwaukee's Summerfest

Pop artist fletcher also booked for bmo pavilion summerfest show.

Summerfest will wrap up the 2024 edition with a stacked hip-hop show at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

Lil Uzi Vert — whose three studio albums from 2017 to last year's "Pink Tape" have all hit the top of the Billboard 200 — is leading a five-act bill July 6 that includes fellow heavy hitters Lil Yachty and JID, plus up-and-comers Rico Nasty and LIHTZ.

Currently, the Summerfest date is the only show on Lil Uzi Vert's schedule aside from Coachella in California next month.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at the box office (200 N. Harbor Drive) and summerfest.com . Prices have yet to be announced but will include Summerfest general admission July 6.

This is the seventh of nine amphitheater shows announced for the Milwaukee music festival, returning June 20 to 22, June 27 to 29 and July 4 to 6.

The others: Kane Brown with Kameron Marlowe and Nightly (June 20); Motley Crue with Seether and Buckcherry (June 21); Tyler Childers with S.G. Goodman and Adeem the Artist (June 28); Keith Urban with NEEDTOBREATHE and Alana Springsteen (June 29); AJR with Carly Rae Jepsen and Mxmtoon (July 4); and Maroon 5 (July 5).

Pop artist FLETCHER booked for BMO Pavilion Summerfest show

The Lil Uzi Vert show wasn't the only Summerfest show announced Monday. Pop singer FLETCHER, who won Outstanding Music Artist at the GLAAD Media Awards last year, will play the BMO Pavilion on June 29.

Reserved seats also go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Prices have yet to be announced, but tickets will include Summerfest general admission June 29. Additional seating will be available for the show on a first-come, first-served basis for Summerfest general-admission ticketholders.

Seven other BMO Pavilion concerts have already been announced for the Big Gig: Brittany Howard with The War & Treaty (June 20), Goo Goo Dolls (June 22), Muna (June 27), REO Speedwagon (June 28), Mt. Joy (July 4), Bryson Tiller (July 5) and Ivan Cornejo (July 6).

The nearly full headliner lineup is expected to be released this month.

Summerfest 2024 predictions: 25 artists we think (or hope) will headline the Milwaukee festival

What to know: Milwaukee's Summerfest reveals fest's economic impact down slightly over the past decade

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