why is lil yachty called boat

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How to Tell the Difference Between Lil Yachty and Lil Boat

Atlanta-based mumble rapper Lil Yachty released his debut studio album,  “Teenage Emotions,” on May 26 and reintroduced us to his alter egos: Darnell Boat and Lil Boat.

Much like in Lil Yachty’s 2016 mixtape release, “Lil Boat,”  the red-mustachioed and wigged Darnell Boat introduces listeners to his nephews, Lil Yachty and Lil Boat, in the intro of the album. “Yachty and Boat have been working so hard over this past year, and we just want to welcome y’all to ‘Teenage Emotions,’” says Darnell Boat in the first song of the album, “Like A Star.” “They both have lots to say…this time I think Yachty wants to go first.” After, Uncle Darnell effectively leads fans into a concept album that displays the two distinct rap personas of Lil Yachty.

It can be difficult to differentiate between both Lil Boat and Lil Yachty as a first time listener. There are, however, a number of distinguishing traits displayed in both of their approaches to music and lyrics that can help successfully identify who’s who.

Music Style

In an interview with Genius , Lil Yachty said that the defining characteristic of Lil Boat is aggressiveness.” That word sums it all up, as Boat is the more masculine, foul-mouthed, confident rapper of the two. Boat seems to come out and say the things that Yachty feels he couldn’t get away with, while laying down dark and dirty verses to Atlanta-style trap beats in tracks like “DN Freestyle” and “Dirty Mouth.” “It’s all in production,” says Yachty in the interview. “If the beat is like, heavy hitting, that’s Boat.”

Yachty prefers the lighter tones of music, the kind of sound that he’s dubbed as “boat music” in the past. Tracks on the album such as “Better,” which features steel drums reminiscent of Jamaican island music, as well as the heavy-synth eighties-style track, “Bring It Back,” with a sprinkle of a saxophone solo, are all Yachty creations. He tends to lean toward high-pitched, heavily auto-tuned singing, as opposed to forced attempts at mumble rapping like Boat. Positivity and good vibes are common themes in Yachty’s lyrics.

In his bars, Lil Boat is, without a doubt, the typical misogynistic rap star that displays women as sexual objects. Constantly referring to women as “b*tches,” Boat likes to brag about having multiple women that only serve the sexual needs of him and his friends. Boat is only interested in what women can give him, and in songs like “Peek A Boo,” he shows just how little he cares about having meaningful relationships with them with lines like, “F*ck her then f*ck on her sister, I’m ruthless.”

“It’s not Yachty man,” says Yachty in response to that lyric in a separate interview with Genius . “In interviews, that’s Yachty. But that on that paper, that’s Lil Boat. He’s a ruthless dude. He don’t care. Yachty is a nice dude. That’s not him. At all. That n***a Boat, he crazy, know what I’m saying? You never know what he might do.”

Romantic, monogamous, vulnerable and semi-respectful, Yachty has a different approach to love. In tracks like “Forever Young” and “Lady In Yellow,” he sings about wanting to be together forever with his only girl. Showing more awareness of a woman’s agency over her body, Yachty is more concerned with pleasing women and doing what they want.

Though put rather ineloquently, lines like “Baby can I f*ck with you?” and “Let me love on you” are examples of Yachty showing a slight concern for consent. This is in sharp contrast with Boat’s lyrics calling for multiple women to perform oral sex on him, or “Blow like a cello,” which is probably the greatest lyrical oversight in history.

In short, if someone on Tinder were to find Twizzler-hair and multicolored mouth grills attractive, then they should swipe left on Boat and swipe right on Yachty.

It’s not hard to figure out how Boat feels about fame, as Boat is an acronym for “Best of All Time,” according to a tweet from Lil Yachty’s official account. Self-assured and confident, he’s been presenting himself as the self-proclaimed “King of the Teens” since his beginnings. Riding the fame and all that comes with it, Boat likes to rap about the money, cars and diamonds that he didn’t have just a few short years ago.

In contrast, Yachty is unsure of his standing as a public figure. In “Say My Name,” Yachty redundantly sings, “I want you to say my name, say my name, say my, say my name in the crowd,” hinting at his concern for how he is received by his audience, and the popularity he amasses from his fans. Yachty claims to be a normal teenager, (as normal as a six-figure teen can be), and with the emotional years of adolescence comes an inevitable uncertainty of his place in the world.

On Family and Peers

“I didn’t ask for respect, all I care about is that check,” raps Boat on “Dirty Mouth.” Boat doesn’t care about what people think, and he definitely doesn’t care about what the haters are saying about him. He’s just there to do him, and also attempt to emasculate his rivals by acting hard and likening them to female genitalia, like in “FYI (Know Now).”

Yachty is constantly singing about the “ice” on his mother’s wrist, or alluding to the hundred pairs of shoes his sister has in her closet in interviews. He cares about his family and he attributes a lot of his success to his mom. In the intro he sings, “Look mama you made a star,” and the outro, “Momma” is completely dedicated to her, bringing the gratitude full circle.

In his music, Yachty emulates the man that his mom raised him to be, while Boat is the reflection of Yachty as he sees himself fitting into the hip-hop world.

How It Comes Together

Listening to Lil Yachty’s discography is a human behavioral experiment on the effect that constant exposure to something initially unpleasant can have on the subject’s opinion. Someone once likened it to eating vegetables; they taste terrible at first, but become pretty good after recurring exposure. Nothing else captures the initial resistance to Yachty and Boat’s dichotomy and the new sound they create together; in addition to, the acceptance and appreciation by the listener that soon follows.

In its first week, only forty-six thousand copies of “Teenage Emotions” were sold. Lil Yachty’s heavy streaming presence on sites like Soundcloud , where he originally gained his cult following, and apps like Spotify , may have something to do with low sales, but he’s going on tour and working on new music regardless of its success.

Either way, Lil Yachty and his alter egos have undoubtedly made a name for themselves in the genre, whether they’re loved or hated; there are plenty who do both.

Brittany Sodic, University of North Texas

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Brittany sodic, university of north texas journalism - digital & print.

[…] To view the featured image click here To view the above image click here […]

[…] sides of the same coins, alternative personas of the same man. Yachty himself has stated that his alter-ego Boat is “crazy”, a fact we can see in how wildly different and more aggressive the lyricism is […]

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With his debut mixtape, ‘Lil Boat,’ Lil Yachty fully shed the mumble rap label, transitioning from SoundCloud sensation to major label star.

Published on

Lil Yachty’s debut mixtape, Lil Boat , is one of the pre-eminent releases of the SoundCloud era. Released on March 9, 2016, it made Lil Yachty a star, spawned multiple hits, and further legitimized the DIY-style rap that emerged at the beginning of the decade.

The Atlanta MC entered the crowded rapper-singer fray with a work that’s split into two distinct sides, seeing him grapple with dueling elements of his personality and career. The first half of Lil Boat sees Yachty flex his flow, while the second half finds him crooning in AutoTune. That may be a slightly reductive way to look at the collection (in reality, he does both throughout), but there’s certainly a kind of TI vs TIP split-personality concept to the whole affair. Yachty uses his style to demarcate who is who, and, despite his glee throughout, Lil Boat is a surprisingly subtle work for the chaotic time it represents.

Listen to the best of Lil Yachty on Apple Music and Spotify.

From Stage To Page: 10 Musicians Who Are Also Published Authors

The making of rick ross’ ‘deeper than rap’, a standout work.

Yachty’s debut mixtape is a standout work for the usual reasons – great name, great cover, and two singles that will forever be associated with Yachty and the era from which he emerged: “One Night” and “Minnesota.”

As a title, Lil Boat was perfect. Serving two purposes at once, it created a fitting alt.moniker for the MC while helping a lot of people to pronounce his name (did you actually say it like “yacht”?). Nautical luxury isn’t the most commonly-evoked lifestyle in hip-hop (outside of Puffy), so that theme alone was enough to put Yachty in his own lane. And then there’s the artwork: not a yacht, barely even a boat; it’s basically a little wooden dinghy. Beautifully composed, the image looks like a classical painting, bordered in a red that matches Yachty’s hair. It’s almost Americana in tone – though Yachty’s music is anything but.

All hail “King Of The Youth”

Yachty may be poised and confident on that cover, but he’s also lost in the gloom at sea – an apt metaphor for the musical style he was leading. While not traditional in any sense, Yachty is honest with his emotions in a way that younger generations have always been, and Lil Boat found him attempting to navigate his way through the emotionally turbulent years of his late youth. Shortly after his breakout, Yachty would declare himself “King Of Teens” or, alternatively, “King Of The Youth.” This might have sounded ridiculous to adults who weren’t even sure how to pronounce his name, but those adults were no longer in charge. Lil Yachty was not part of some hip-hop assembly line; like other DIY pioneers before him, Yachty and his crew were making these songs at home, often in a matter of minutes.

Outside of the Vikings football team and Ice Cube ’s “What Can I Do?,” Minnesota doesn’t get name-checked very often in hip-hop. Simply naming a track after a state was seemingly in line with the aforementioned “half-Americana, half trolling” theme of Lil Boat – but, of course, the song isn’t actually about Minnesota. It’s more of a celebration of Lil Yachty’s arrival on the scene. The draw and significance of having both Quavo and Young Thug on a song in 2016 is hard to overstate, and their guest appearances turned “Minnesota” into a certified-gold hit. At the time, Quavo was just months away from releasing “Bad And Boujee,” while Thug was fresh off Barter 6 and in the middle of his Slime Season run. Together, he and Yachty appeared at Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion show, on February 11, where The Life Of Pablo received its public unveiling. Just two days after releasing his debut mixtape, Yachty was at the epicenter of one of hip-hop’s biggest cultural shifts.

Unprecedented moves

Lil Boat was big enough that Burberry Perry – Yachty’s right-hand man at the time and the producer behind most of the mixtape – came under pressure from the fashion label Burberry and was forced to change his name. That wasn’t exactly an unprecedented move, but the speed with which it happened certainly was. It’s not often that an internationally renowned fashion house serves a cease-and-desist to a kid who got famous on the internet and was barely old enough to vote.

Perry’s production on Lil Boat ’s lead single, “One Night’ (Yachty’s best-known song to date), guided the way for the rest of the collection. Even the beats he didn’t produce fall right in line, all cascading bells, and whistles alongside keys that let you hear Yachty’s grin throughout.

Lil Yachty’s emergence closely resembles that of the Odd Future collective, who, years earlier, more or less launched DIY rap on the internet (depending on how you view Lil B’s rise to fame). Seemingly overnight, Yachty was partnering with Urban Outfitters and the aptly titled Nautica clothing brand. His rapid ascent would have sounded like fan fiction just a few years earlier but, after his breakout, many artists began following his path to fame on a regular basis.

Having hit it big in such a short space of time, Yachty wasn’t about to slow down. He went on to guest (and absolutely steal the show) on “Broccoli,” a DRAM song with a Yachty-perfect beat. As one of the stars in Quality Control ’s shining roster, Yachty was operating alongside some of the biggest acts in hip-hop. With Lil Boat, he fully shed the “mumble rap” label, completing the transition from SoundCloud sensation to major label star.

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Why is Lil Yachty Called Lil Boat?

• Feb 20, 2024

Sailing through the waves of the music industry, Lil Yachty has captured the hearts of fans worldwide with his catchy tunes and unique style. But why is he called Lil Boat?

The Origins of Lil Yachty

Before he adopted the moniker Lil Boat, the Atlanta-born rapper was known as Miles Parks McCollum. In his quest for a distinct identity that would resonate with his audience, he ventured into the world of rap with a fresh perspective.

Credit: en.wikipedia.org

The Birth of Lil Boat

As Lil Yachty’s career started to gain traction, he decided to christen himself Lil Boat, inspired by his childhood nickname Yachty. The transformation was symbolic of his journey from a young dreamer to a seasoned artist setting sail on the vast sea of music.

Credit: www.udiscovermusic.com

The Symbolism Behind the Name

Lil Boat represents more than just a name change; it embodies Yachty’s desire to navigate his own path in the music industry, steering towards success despite turbulent waters. The moniker serves as a beacon of hope and determination for his fans.

The Impact of Lil Boat

With his infectious melodies and whimsical lyrics, Lil Yachty, aka Lil Boat, has become a prominent figure in the hip-hop scene. The name change not only marked a new chapter in his career but also solidified his place in the industry.

Embracing the Lil Boat Persona

Embracing the Lil Boat persona has allowed Yachty to express his creativity freely and connect with his audience on a deeper level. The moniker serves as a reminder of his roots and the journey that has led him to where he is today.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Lil Yachty’s transformation into Lil Boat is a testament to his growth as an artist and his unwavering commitment to charting his own course. The name is not just a title; it is a representation of resilience, ambition, and the spirit of exploration that defines his music.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is lil yachty called lil boat.

Lil Yachty is called Lil Boat because it represents his carefree and adventurous nature, just like a boat sailing through life.

What Inspired Lil Yachty To Adopt The Name Lil Boat?

Lil Yachty was inspired to adopt the name Lil Boat as a reflection of his love for the water and his desire to be a refreshing presence in the music industry.

How Did Lil Yachty’s Stage Name Gain Popularity?

Lil Yachty’s stage name gained popularity through his unique style and catchy music, which resonated with a generation looking for something fresh and different.

Does Lil Yachty Have Any Songs Related To Boats?

Yes, Lil Yachty has released songs like “Minnesota” and “One Night” where he references boats and sailing, showcasing his affinity for the theme in his music.

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Lil Yachty: The Boundary-Breaking Prince of Hip Hop

• by history tools
• November 19, 2023

As a long-time Lil Yachty fan, I‘m excited to provide a detailed overview of this unique, influential hip hop artist. Here‘s the essential info you need to know:

American rapper/singer Lil Yachty gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his unique "bubblegum trap" music. With his playful lyrical style and relentlessly positive personality, Yachty has become one of the most refreshing new voices in hip hop.

Biography and Early Life

Lil Yachty grew up as Miles McCollum in the Atlanta suburbs. He was raised by a single mother along with his three siblings. As a socially awkward teen, he found solace in hip hop and taught himself to rap and produce beats on his laptop.

Yachty adopted his nautical stage name after developing a fascination with the hip hop group The Sailing Team. While briefly attending high school, he got suspended for poor grades before dropping out to focus on music full-time.

Rise to Fame

Yachty first exploded onto the SoundCloud scene in 2015 with tracks like "Minnesota" and "One Night." His laidback rapping blended with sugary sweet R&B melodies created a distinctive youthful sound now dubbed "bubblegum trap."

After getting co-signed by hip hop collective Quality Control, Lil Yachty released his viral debut mixtape Lil Boat in 2016. Led by hits like "1Night" and "Broccoli," the mixtape propelled Yachty into the mainstream and peaked at #2 on the Rap Charts.

The young Atlanta sensation cemented himself as a new prince of hip hop by landing endorsement deals with Target and Sprite. His infectiously playful image resonated with youth culture and amassed Yachty millions of teenage fans.

Music Style & Impact

What separates Lil Yachty is his refreshing, unapologetic rebelliousness. While old heads criticized his distorted vocals and lack of bars, Yachty laughed his haters off and forged his own lane.

His ambient, sun-soaked production and earnest lyrical content defied hip hop conventions. Yachty even boldly proclaimed he "does not care about lyrics" in a heated viral debate with rapper Joe Budden.

Yet his signature sound undoubtedly left a mark. Yachty demonstrated melodic rap could dominate the mainstream and opened the floodgates for similar artists like Lil Uzi Vert. While his own bars are simple, his cultural impact is undeniable.

Notable Achievements

• 4 studio albums, including 2 Top 5 Billboard 200 projects
• Sold out first headlining tour in 2017
• 14 Billboard Hot 100 hits like "iSpy" and "Oprah‘s Bank Account"
• Over 5 million digital singles sold
• Launched his own fashion line with Nautica & Urban Outfitters
• Starred in HBO series Euphoria and films like How High 2

For a young artist of only 26, Yachty boasts an impressively extensive resume. His cultural influence even earned him a spot performing at Obama‘s White House in 2016.

Why Lil Yachty Matters

As a long-time fan, here are just some of the reasons I feel Lil Yachty matters both as an artist and role model:

• He celebrates individuality and self-love. Yachty reminds people it‘s cool to just be yourself, regardless of what anyone else thinks.
• His positivity is infectious. While plenty of hip hop fixates on darkness, Yachty provides a reminder to keep our heads up.
• He makes hip hop fun again. With his oddball samples from Rugrats and joyful energy, Yachty takes the music back to carefree basics.
• He inspires underdogs. Coming up as a social outcast, Yachty gives hope that with determination and creativity, anything is possible.

Fun Facts About Lil Boat

• He‘s a skateboarding enthusiast and even has a skate crew called The Sailing Team.
• Yachty collects rare basketball cards and considers it one of his biggest passions. His card collection is worth over $500,000!
• Before rapping, he did some modeling work and walked runway shows for Kanye‘s Yeezy fashion line.
• Yachty admits he still lives with his mom in his hometown of Atlanta.
• His real name "Miles" is a nod to legendary jazz musician Miles Davis.

The Future is Bright for Lil Boat

Even after breaking through in monumental fashion, at just 26 years old, Lil Yachty is truly just getting started. He continues dropping acclaimed projects, starring in films and TV shows, and expanding his fashion empire.

Yet no matter how massive a celebrity Yachty becomes, he never seems to lose touch with that sincere, youthful spirit that makes his music magical. For old and new fans alike, it‘s exciting to think what the future has in store for the King of Teenage Emotions himself.

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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.

See latest videos, charts and news

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.”

Trending on Billboard

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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Lil Yachty is no stranger to breaking the internet. In March, he dropped the track “Oprah’s Bank Account” featuring Drake and DaBaby along with a nine-minute visual that lampooned the entertainment mogul, played by the rapper himself, and her talk show. The clip was directed by Director X and featured Yachty costumed in a dress and high heels and ignited its share of backlash. One Twitter user on Twitter claimed the artist “fell off” and was just trying to “sell records.”

Yachty was quick to shut down such criticism, clapping back on social media: “Bitch, it’s just supposed to be entertaining… it ain’t even that deep, y’all N–a’s so in denial with y’all masculinity shit like this bother y’all.. Relax.”

Bitch it’s just supposed to be entertaining… it ain’t even that deep, y’all Nigga’s so in denial with y’all masculinity shit like this bother y’all.. relax https://t.co/Ql2NZCdY1C — stealth level boat (@lilyachty) March 11, 2020

Still, it was a bold move to poke at the beloved celebrity and her deep pockets. Defending the clip, Yachty tells Variety , “I was trying to say Oprah’s rich as f–k. If you look like her bank account, then you look pretty damn good. It’s about being fine. Like, you look good!”

Signed to Quality Control / Capitol Records / Motown Records , the 22-year-old born Miles McCollum exploded onto the Atlanta rap scene four years ago with his standout single “One Night” and debut mixtape, 2016’s “Lil Boat.” Capturing a young fanbase with his playful hits, he’s been working towards releasing his multi-part Lil Boat trilogy, the final third chapter out today (May 29).

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With “Lil Boat 3,” Yachty enters a new phase musically. “Vibes,” says Yachty of the 19-track collection. “Seriously, it’s uptempo. I got some slappers on there and it’s fun.”

Yachty’s stats are impressive: over 3 billion streams across his music catalog. Still, he downplays his talents. “It’s what I do — make songs. I wouldn’t call it an ability, it’s a hobby [that] just comes to me.”

Yachty credits middle school, where he would “play and make spoofs,” for his humorous approach. That time in his life is also when he first heard Drake. “He’s one of my favorite artists since fifth grade,” says Yachty. “Now he calls me sometimes. It’s really cool.”

To have Drake as a friend is one thing, but getting him on a feature is a feat unto its own. “I mean, he’s the biggest artist in the world so he has to really want to do it,” says Yachty. “ I can’t speak for anybody else but for me, it means everything to have a Drake feature. I’m so thankful and appreciative.”

On “Lil Boat 3,” Yachty has more fire features, including A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator, Future, Young Thug, Lil Durk, Lil Keed, DaBaby and Tierra Whack. Draft Day appears on the track and in the video for “Demon Time.” Watch it below.

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Lil Yachty’s ‘Michigan Boy Boat’ Pays Tribute to the Hottest Rap Scene in the Country

By Danny Schwartz

Danny Schwartz

There is no regional music scene that has flourished the past two years like Michigan rap. And there is no bigger fan of Michigan rap than Lil Yachty . During this period, Yachty has spent a disproportionate amount of time hanging out in the recording studios and gas station parking lots of Detroit and Flint, ingratiating himself amongst the state’s premier street rappers and doing as the locals do — acting playful and dead-serious at the same time, rapping loose on fast beats, forgoing hooks, and stringing together verses out of darkly funny one-liners. Yachty has become a staple of Michigan posse cuts, appearing on tracks like “Flintana” and “Run Down” ; on “Royal Rumble,” from February, Flint bruiser RMC Mike proclaimed, “Me, Yachty, [Louie] Ray, [Krispy Life] Kidd, and Rio the Fab Five,” thus consecrating Lil Boat forever in Michigan lore.

Yachty’s love affair with Michigan rap culminates with Michigan Boy Boat , a 14-track mixtape that features a dozen-odd Michigan rappers, including Sada Baby, Tee Grizzley, Rio Da Yung OG, and YN Jay. Aside from the excellent “G.I. Joe,” an upbeat riff on Lil Boat 3 standout “Split,” the mixtape fully embraces the Michigan aesthetic. (And despite dropping five days ago, it’s not even Yachty’s most recent Michigan collab.) Michigan Boy Boat primarily succeeds as a celebration of Yachty’s passion for Michigan rap and the long-distance bromance and musical chemistry that he’s developed with his Midwestern counterparts. He fits naturally in this scene in part because the imperative to incorporate a heavy dose of humor gives him the opportunity to evolve his whimsical origins as the “King of the Teens.”

Yachty is a great ambassador for Michigan rap, but as Michigan Boy Boat illustrates, he’s far from the best practitioner of the style. He is the protagonist of the mixtape, but he isn’t its anchor. Solo joints “Final Form” and “Concrete Goonies” and the Swae Lee collab “Never Did Coke” feel unmoored without the grounding presence of a Michigander. At the same time, other tracks feel like the JV team going up against the varsity in an intrasquad scrimmage. Sada Baby outraps Yachty on “SB 2021,” a battle of libidos, but then again, whomst amongst us matches up well against Sada’s swashbuckling charm and knowledge of global cuisine (“ Brazilian bitch gon’ eat the dick like feijoada”). As the song ends, Yachty sounds distracted and hurried, as though the studio manager is urging him to leave the booth and wrap up his session. Similarly, on “Ghetto Boy Shit,” Yachty pales in comparison to RMC Mike’s burly charisma. To flow outside the beat is to superimpose a pocket, and on this track, Yachty fails to develop one. 

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The most exciting moments on Michigan Boy Boat come when Yachty fades to the middle ground and becomes just another one of the boys circled up in a cypher. On “Plastic,” he begins and ends his verse with a nod to Icewear Vezzo, rapping “ the way that Vezzo drive his Wraith, could tell he ain’t rent it” before seamlessly handing Vezzo the mic. Mixtape closer “This That One” feels like an old-school jazz cutting contest — six rappers hurtling forward together at breakneck speed, each one trying to sound more depraved than his counterparts. In this high-speed, communal environment, Yachty sounds at home.

[ Stream ‘Michigan Boat Boy’ here ]

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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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How Lil Yachty Became Michigan Boy Boat

Before the release of ‘Michigan Boy Boat,’ Lil Yachty sits for an interview about how his collabs with Michigan artists energized him to grow as a rapper.

Photo by Gunner Stahl

Lil Yachty has been spending a lot of time in Michigan lately.

Midway through one low-budget music video for a song called “Flintana,” he shows up in a parking lot with a crew of up-and-coming rappers from Flint: RMC Mike, YN Jay, and Louie Ray. At the beginning of the clip, there’s a disclaimer that says, “This song was made the night before, therefore nobody knew the lyrics,” and everything about it has the raw, spontaneous feeling of a collaboration that came to life on a whim at 2 a.m. In other words, it’s in a completely different universe from the glossy sheen of a song like “Oprah’s Bank Account.”

As Yachty lowers himself on the concrete and does push-ups at the end of Mike’s verse, you can’t help but wonder how the hell he ended up in a random Flint parking lot with a bunch of underground rappers in the first place. But he does such a good job matching the spirit of the song, context doesn’t really matter here. It’s all energy. After a few quick bars about pussy and a mouth full of gold, Yachty circles back with a couple Snoh Aalegra and Kevin Federline references to punctuate his second verse. And when he’s not rapping, he laughs along with punchlines from Mike, Jay, and Ray, hyping up his collaborators. “They have fun,” he says now. “They talk about all kinds of crazy shit.”

View this video on YouTube

Later, there’s a Lil Yachty sighting at a Detroit studio with Rio Da Yung OG , and he materializes on two more songs with YN Jay. As the year progresses, Yachty’s Michigan collaborations keep popping up online, and each time he tries out self-described “unorthodox” flows, pushing himself to wild new lyrical territory. On all of them, he sounds more energized than we’ve heard him in years. Before long, it’s clear Yachty has become an honorary member of the Michigan rap scene, home to some of the most exciting ( and quotable ) new artists on the planet. 

“They’re mad fucking lyrical in a weird way,” he points out. “The schemes and the cadences and the flows are so unorthodox.”

Yachty says these collaborations have taught him “how to have fun with it” again. He’s having so much fun, in fact, that he decided to make a whole mixtape and call it Michigan Boy Boat . The project will arrive on April 23, and judging by the tags on the announcement Instagram post , it will feature everyone from Veeze to Babyface Ray to Sada Baby to Icewear Vezzo. As Yachty puts it, the project is an opportunity to show love to the scene he’s grown to care about so much.

As the release date nears, the 23-year-old rapper hopped on the phone with Complex to talk about Michigan Boy Boat, three other projects he’s working on, a night in the studio with Freddie Gibbs, and more. The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.

How did you first get plugged in with the Michigan rap scene? I’ve always loved Detroit rap. I used to work with Pablo Skywalkin back in 2016. And I always loved Tee Grizzley. “First Day Out” was such an insane song, and I thought he was so lyrical. So I was working with him, and then my best friend Mitch started putting me on to other rappers locally who were on the rise, and I just loved their beats and their rapping schemes. I thought they were so dope. So that’s how I got into it originally.

A lot of people were surprised to see you show up in so many music videos with underground rappers in Flint and Detroit last year. How did the collaborations start happening? I was reaching out to them, bro. I was just coming to them. I wasn’t afraid to show love, and I wanted to work with all of them. So I would just hit them up.

What is it about their music that made you want to work with them? They don’t care. They want to have fun. And it’s funny . They’re mad fucking lyrical in a weird way. The schemes and the cadences and the flows are so unorthodox. And the style of Michigan beats just forced me into this really weird scheme. You’ll see when this mixtape comes out. I just rap really unorthodox on it. A lot of people won’t like it. A lot of people think it’s offbeat.

View this photo on Instagram

Do you think these beats have pushed you to grow as a rapper? Yeah, I learned new schemes and cadences. And I learned to have fun with it. They have fun. They talk about all kinds of crazy shit. 

Michigan Boy Boat is on the way. What made you want to do a full tape with songs like this? I just wanted to show love. That’s it. I just wanted to show love to all of those guys and their talent. And I feel like I rap my best on those types of beats.

You sound really energized lately. I remember a few months ago, you jumped in Cardo’s room on Clubhouse and told everyone how excited you were about a verse you had just written. Yeah. That verse was so fucking crazy. I was sitting on the toilet.

Overall, it seems like you’re having a lot of fun making music right now. Oh, yeah. And I’m about to drop so much shit, it doesn’t make any sense. I’m definitely having fun. 

A couple months ago, you dropped “Hit Bout It” with Kodak Black, which was a crazy moment. What was that experience like?  We didn’t record it in person, but I did take a trip out there to shoot the video. When I recorded the song, I was on my Detroit shit. What happened was, I posted a snippet on my Instagram. And he was originally supposed to do a verse for “Pardon Me.” You know, because he was just pardoned by Donald Trump. Then he was like, “Man, I ain’t going to lie. I really want to get on this.” I was super excited, and we made it happen.

In the behind-the-scenes video, it looked like you guys have a tight bond together. What’s your relationship like, and how did that all go down? I don’t know how or why. It just kinda happened. I hit him when he was in jail, and I wanted to show support and that I was fucking with him. And he would call me every now and then. We’d chop it up and just talk. I think he really supported that and respected that. And when he got out, it was just love.

Speaking of collaborations, you were just tweeting about Freddie Gibbs assembling the Avengers for his next album. Yeah, I was with him last night. I put him on some Detroit shit. [Laughs.]

How did you guys link up? After I tweeted that, he DM’d me, like, “Let’s link.” And I was out here and I pulled right the fuck up.

What was that session like? I was super excited. He’s really fire. He’s like a legend. He was super cool. He’s like a gangster. He was super dope, and he’s older. The session was really chill. I didn’t stay long, unfortunately, because I had to go to a session with Mac DeMarco, so I did the song and left. But it was dope as fuck. He’s funny as shit.

You recently tweeted , “I be sittin back watching y’all assumptions on situations and y’all be so off. The internet just be making up shit.” Do you think people have misconceptions about you at this point? What do people get wrong? Yeah, [some people] think I’m gay as fuck. But I have a beautiful girlfriend. And before her, I had plenty of bitches. You know? So that’s a misconception. But I don’t give a fuck.

You’ve been writing songs for other artists a little lately, like “Act Up” for City Girls, which I think opened some people’s minds to how talented you really are. Is that part of the appeal? I love gaining my respect. 

As a songwriter for other artists, you have to put yourself in someone else’s point of view, and you’ve pulled it off really well so far. Why do you think it’s come naturally for you? Honestly, I was just bored, bro. One day I was in the studio, bored as fuck. And I was like, “Let me see if I can do this.” I did it.

Is that something you want to do more? I’ve done it a few times. I’ve done it. I stopped speaking on it.

I see. I was going to ask if you’d explore that more and ever write songs for pop artists or anything. Yeah, I’ve done some shit. I don’t want to get into it, but I’ve done some shit.

{ "id": 133906885 } “Just listen to the f*cking bars because I promise I’m rapping my f*cking a** off.”

I know you’ve been in the studio with Taz Taylor and the Internet Money guys. Can you talk about that? We’re doing an album. I’m about to go see Taz right now. He’s a fucking king. He’s a fucking GOAT. I have respect for him, 100%.

What have the sessions been like so far? I’ve been in LA three days, and we’ve already made 24 songs. We’re working hard, bro. It’s fun. It’s melodic. It’s fully melodic.

Oh, shit. So a totally different sound from this next Michigan Boy Boat project… Yeah, I got projects, man. I’ve got my project with Internet Money. I’m doing my project with Lil Tecca. I got my project with Working On Dying. And then I’ll start my album fourth quarter of the year.

So there’s lots of shit going on. I’m dropping a shit ton this year.

What made you want to make a bunch of different projects that show all your different styles, instead of just holding off and doing one big album? It didn’t start off that way. It honestly started off with me just fucking with all these guys that I fuck with. And they all love me for different things. Taz, he wanted to bring out my melodic side. You know, with Working On Dying, it’s just all types of heat.

Before you go, I wanted to ask about cryptocurrency. You created your YachtyCoin and then made an NFT. And I know you were an early investor in Dogecoin and SafeMoon and all this shit. How did you get into all of this? Well, my manager put me onto the whole YachtyCoin thing. This year and last year, I just took it and ran with it.

There are stories of people who invested early making ridiculous amounts of money. I know you were early, too. Have you seen crazy profits already? Oh, yeah. Ohhhh yeah . Mm-hmm. 

What should people know before they press play on Michigan Boy Boat when it drops? Just listen to the fucking bars because I promise I’m rapping my fucking ass off.

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Lil Yachty Apologized for Not Knowing What a Cello Was

By Jack Moore

Oh, Lil Yachty . It seems impossible for a rapper who is more meme than man, to somehow still be wildly endearing and yet here we are. Lil Boat himself just released an insanely catchy and often delightfully dumb album called "Teenage Emotions" and the D.R.A.M./Chance the Rapper collaborator is understandably having a good moment. But mixed into that moment is maybe my favorite case of a musician having to answer for a lyric that's ever occurred. This is better than Kurt Loder going after Jewel's poetry, and why? Well because Yachty did it to himself on Genius . It's hard not to love that.

So the song in question is "Peek A Boo" featuring Migos. Like all classic songs in the Great American Songbook, it begins with the words "play with that pussy like 'peek-a-boo'" repeated over and over again. But that's not the lyric in question. (I mean how could perfection be questioned?)

No, the lyric Yachty takes issue with is "My new bitch yellow / she blow that dick like a cello." That of course doesn't make sense as blowing on a cello won't exactly do much other than get you kicked out of the high school band and required to take drug tests to avoid suspensions. But rather than try to make sense of the nonsensical, Yachty took to Genius to explain.

"OK, let’s stop for a second. Before you come at me, I'ma let you know. I'ma blame my A&R. Because he listened to that song many times and he allowed me to say that.. I guess for a second, I thought a cello was a woodwind instrument and it is not. And nobody ever said shit. Nobody ever pulled up a pic and said, “Hey man. I don’t know if you know what this is, but it ain’t that.” I fucked up. I thought Squidward played the cello. He don’t. That’s a flute. I fucked up. But it do sound good."

You can watch Yachty explain that and more (including the whole "play that pussy like 'peek-a-boo'" thing too) in this video. The cello part begins at 2:40.

H/T Sarah Sahim.

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Lil Yachty Flexes New Nike Air Force 1 PE at Coachella

“concrete” and colorful..

Lil Yachty brought not only a lifesize boat to his Coachella performance but also a pair of new limited-edition pickups. The Concrete commander sat perched atop the boat, dangling a rock-solid set of colorful Nike Air Force 1s down below.

The AF1s take a low stature and appear in a vibrant trio of yellow, green and red hues – which marks a sharp pivot from Yachty’s last AF1.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty)

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Lil Yachty Fat-Shamed, Hits Back With Shirtless Photos: Im Tired of Yall

Lil Yachty is sick and tired of people telling him that he’s overweight, and he responded by posting a couple of shirtless photos to prove otherwise.

The fat-shaming isn’t entirely new for Yachty, but it’s been pretty consistent, especially under some recent photos he posted. There was one picture in particular that showed him posing in a white T-shirt in New York City that people dissed.

“U fat,” one person wrote.

“Gettin a little chubby Boat,” wrote another.

“Yachty been eating good,” a third person commented.

There’s was also someone who said the 21-year-old wasn’t necessarily big but would benefit from some consistent gym time.

“Man if you don’t get Yo old ass back up an do some lifting u gon get chubby like a wombat,” that person wrote.

In response, the “Do Not Disturb” rapper posted a photo of himself in green sweatpants to show that he’s more svelte than chubby. “Y’all buggin who fat,” wrote Yachty.

Then he shared a pic of himself in red sweatpants and explained why he may appear overweight to some people. Yachty also expressed frustration about all the fat-shaming he’s getting.

“I’m tired of y’all trying me like I’m just some large ass n—-,” he wrote. “I like big shirts and I got a chunky face.”

But unfortunately for the rapper, it didn’t seem like his posts generated many compliments or changed a lot of minds. In fact, the photos only seemed to spark more harsh criticism, and people took the opportunity to post jokes.

“He just wide,” someone wrote.

“You not fat boo but the way your body set up you 2 cheeseburgers away,” another person weighed in.

“He shaped like Tracy Morgan ,” a third person stated.

Yachty didn’t post any more shirtless photos after the negative feedback.

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