lil yachty dreads

Lil Yachty Braids: The Complete Guide for This Rapper’s Hairstyles

Lil Yachty braids are as unique and individualistic as the rapper himself. Since the day he arrived on the hip-hop scene with songs like “One Night”, “Minnesota”, and “Broccoli”, people have been impressed with his braids.

After achieving mainstream popularity, he has not gone for any style other than braids. Just think about him and you would find that you can’t imagine Lil Yachty without braids.

Even with his braids, he has not experimented too many times. However, there are a couple of braids styles that he has tried out.

Each one of these Lil Yachty hairstyles has been absolute bangers, just like his music. He brings some interesting twists on his braids that make them stand apart from the rest.

In this article, we will break down these amazing styles and talk about them in detail. So, read till the end to learn about the best braids styles of Lil Yachty.

Table of Contents

Lil Yachty Red Braids

Red braids with beads, lil yachty black braids, braids with bandana, french braids, braided pigtails, tied beads on the sides, loose top knot, multi-colored beads, frequently asked questions, final words, 9 exciting lil yachty braids styles you should try.

We have picked and compiled 9 of the most stunning braids styles of Lil Yachty for you. Go through this list to find out which style you vibe with the most.

Red braids have been the signature Lil Yachty hairstyle throughout his career. Even before he became a rapper or even had braids, he used to dye his hair red as a young man.

This red color has been a constant companion in his journey. Maybe that’s why for a long period of time we haven’t seen him with any other hair color. However, if I were you, I wouldn’t necessarily dye my hair red and would choose another color that’s more meaningful to me.

As for braiding your hair, you can go for simple box braids. I’d also recommend the two strand twist or three strand twist styles if your hair is still too short for braids.

This one is the Lil Yachty braids style. Without a doubt, this is his most widely recognized hairstyle. It’s probably the one Lil Yachty hairstyle you were aware of even before you started reading this article.

You should dye your hair before you start braiding if you want to keep it colored for a long time. If it’s a short-term commitment, then you can first braid your hair and then use a temporary hair color spray.

Lil Yachty also keeps his braids thin and has a good number of them. So, you have to divide your hair into many sections. When you are done braiding all the sections, you can attach the beads. Lil Yachty usually prefers transparent beads.

The Lil Yachty black braids style surprised a lot of people when he first appeared with it. They were just shocked that he had finally ditched the red color and went with his natural hair color.

He again surprised his fans when he attached diamond beads to his black braids. I am very much aware that it’s not a viable option for most people. You can just attach white beads if you want as that would create a cool contrast.

Lil Yachty also went for thicker braids this time. They were lesser in number as well. So, you won’t have to create that many sections for this one.

Lil Yachty seems to be a huge fan of bandanas. Back when he had red braids and even now, he seems to wear a bandana pretty frequently. It actually makes sense because wearing a bandana is one of the easiest ways of making your braids more striking.

There are two ways he styles his braids with a bandana. One is when he wears it just over his braids. Then, the braids come out from underneath the bandana.

The other style is when he wears it higher and lets a couple of his braids stick out from the top of the bandana. He has tried beads with both of these styles as well.

If you are looking for Lil Yachty without braids, this style is the closest thing you will find. This is unlike any other Lil Yachty braids styles and he pulls it off really well.

To get this style, you only need to have two long braids. First, you have to create a partition straight down the middle. Then, you need two braids at the front. Both braids will start from the partition, go sideways, go halfway around your head and then fall at the back.

I would also keep my front hairline tidy and crisp for this style. The rest of that hair that’s not braided should be slick and close to the scalp.

This is a unique Lil Yachty hairstyle that he has come up with just by tying up his braids in a certain way. I can’t be entirely sure if he intentionally wanted to create a pigtail-inspired style. But, the style certainly looks like that.

You have to create a middle partition for this style as well. Then, you have to take all the braids from one side and tie them up on that side of your head. Do the same for the other side as well.

There will be a couple of loose braids at the front and the back of your head. Also, this style works better with beads because then it has more texture and character.

You have to attach beads to your braids for this style. Beads are necessary to create this distinct look. Also, make sure that there are 4-5 beads for each braid.

You have to create a middle partition to begin. Then, you have to create scalp braids that go sideways. Just like French braids, these braids will go from the partition to the opposite side of your head.

Finally, you have to take all your braids from one side and tie them together, kind of like the pigtail style. But, you have to tie them in a way so that only the beads are dangling from both sides.

This Lil Yachty braids style is really easy to get. Despite being a simple style, it actually is quite impactful and can give you an attractive look.

It is basically a top knot style where you take all of your hair and tie them right at the top of your head. But, you would not tie all your braids for this style.

Few braids need to be free. Lil Yachty styles it in a way that there are loose braids on the sides and the back. If you want, you can let a few of them fall from the front to your forehead.

This is the last Lil Yachty braids style on my list. This one includes beads as well. For this style, it’s better if you have thin braids and there are a lot of them.

The more braids you have, the better you will look. Also, the braids need to be longer. At the end of each braid, you will attach multiple beads and they will be of different colors.

You can just create a middle partition and let these colorful beads hang down from both sides. Feel free to choose any color you want.

We have already mentioned how popular Lil Yachty braids are. So, it’s not a surprise that there are tons of questions that are frequently asked about his braids. We’ll answer a few of them in this section.

How to get Lil Yachty Braids?

Well, you have seen from the list that there are a couple of Lil Yachty braids styles you can choose from. But, most of them include box braids and attaching beads to your braids. Check out this video to have a basic idea of how to braid your hair and attach beads.

Why did Lil Yachty ditch his red braids?

Lil Yachty has stopped dying his braids red, which he was doing for a long time. He said in an interview that dying his hair frequently was actually damaging his hair a lot. That’s why he stopped doing it before his hair got severely and irreparably damaged.

Through this article, I have shown you the best braided hairstyles of Lil Yachty. It is now up to you to decide which styles you want to adopt.

When you have braids, you have to be extra careful about maintenance. You can’t avoid providing the care that your braids need. I have a few suggestions that you can follow.

You must avoid making your braids too tight. If your braids are too tight, that can seriously damage your hair and might even cause permanent hair loss.

You also have to regularly hydrate and moisturize your scalp. Oiling your scalp is also a very positive practice. However, whatever moisturizer or oil you are using, make sure that those suit your hair and scalp.

Finally, sleep on a silk or satin surface. Also, wear a durag while sleeping to keep your braids fresh. Just follow these recommendations and rock your Lil Yachty inspired braids with confidence.

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We heard a new Lil Yachty at 'Austin City Limits' taping. More rock, less rap.

Fans expecting yachty's iconic mumble rap were shocked by the psychedelic rock inspired "let's start here.".

Lil Yachty began his Austin City Limits taping by introducing a completely new song to the crowd, one he has never performed in front of an audience. A couple of seconds later though, he waved it off. Another attempt went by, and the artist shook his head. 

“Keys off bro,” Yachty said.  

One more time. No dice, and the rapper and his band went back to try to fix the tech issue. 40 minutes later, Yachty opted to skip the song altogether. 

So instead, let’s start here. 

His band broke into the first song off his new album, “Let’s Start Here” (get it) with “the BLACK seminole,” as guitars riffed and percussion rifled across the Moody Theater. Fans who were expecting high hats, a booming bass and Yachty’s iconic mumble rap were introduced to a new artist, one that had swerved from his past as a SoundCloud rapper in favor of a new psychedelic rock-based style. 

Cool tunes for the hot nights to come: Get your Austin summer music guide here

Yachty played through the entire album, most of which seemed foreign to a confused crowd that may have been expecting some of his iconic hits such as “Broccoli” or “iSpy.” This was a completely different energy from the artist who first became known for a viral You Tube skit that featured his song, “One Night,” and who had once beefed with old-school hip-hop artists over so-called “serious music” vs. his freestyle rap that they believed made a mockery of the art.  

Yet, it was obvious from the very first lyric that left Yachty’s mouth that this was not something he was simply doing for kicks. Having collaborated with Mac DeMarco, members of MGMT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Chairlift for the album, it was clear that the 25 year old had a vision for his new phase. 

It’s not like he hasn’t released other albums over the year. Having started his career with the debut album “Lil Boat” in 2016, Yachty has released seven other projects since then, all variations of the style of rap that made him famous. However, like rappers before him, he looked to break through the identity that he’d crafted over his career with this new work. 

“I did what I wanted to do, which was create a body of work that reflected me,” Yachty explained in a Billboard cover feature. “My idea was for this album to be a journey: Press play and fall into the void.” 

And into the void he and his band did fall. Often, it felt like they were in a completely different space than the audience. They swayed on songs like “drive ME crazy!,” one of the funkiest bops of the night, infecting the mellow crowd with a melody so groovy that they couldn't help but dance.

Another highlight came right afterward, with “IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSion!!!!” Yachty's dreads swung back and forth as he headbanged to one of the more rock-inspired songs of the night.

Austin City Limits 2023: Daily lineups announced

Yachty was conversational and casual with the audience. Never too high, never too low - he had a humble sort of vibe throughout the night, seemingly content to let his fantastic all-black, all-female band take the spotlight whenever it was appropriate. There were also a couple of standout features. Teezo Touchdown delivered the only rap verse of the night, while Justine Skye and Fousheé’s vocals made appearances on several songs. 

At one point on “the BLACK seminole,” Yachty pulled up a stool and sat to the side, letting his guitarist steal the show with an incredible solo.  

“These black women are so talented and so f***** amazing...100% more talented than me,” Yachty said. 

He finished with a flourish on “REACH THE SUNSHINE.” Yachty's vocalists sang in harmony, soulfully fading into the distance as synth tickled in the background. He didn’t overstay his welcome or return for an encore. As soon as Yachty left the void, he was out of it. 

It wasn't the perfect night for the artist. The crowd never fully embraced Yachty's new style, and the debut of his new song had to be put on hold. However, it's only the starting point for the Georgia native and his new era.

“If you’ve never failed, you never know how great it is to truly succeed in something,” Yachty said. 

The taping will air on PBS this fall as part of Austin City Limits' upcoming Season 49. Yachty will also return to Austin for his slot in 2023’s ACL Festival. 

Find anything you save across the site in your account

Lil Yachty's Bead Game Is Strong

By Danielle Cohen

Welcome to another week of Grooming Gods. The boys are bleached, bouffanted, and goateed—plus one orange style for the books.

Instagram content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

From someone well versed in the world of neon dye, this stripped-back scruff and silver look is a nice surprise.

Kevin Abstract

A neat goatee for a neat matching short set.

Dominic Fike

Fike's rooty blonde is proof that the hair bleach journey looks great at every stage.

Donovan Wildfong

Nothing like a little anti-gravity model hair.

Never has a carrot top looked so good.

Troye Sivan

Mullet, bouffant, heartthrob curls…Sivan does it all with flair. 

Channel Tres

Even through iPhone blur, Channel's newly blonde dreads are a strong look.

Jaden Smith

Jaden has definitely been stealing skincare from his sister and mom—but the pearl power is all his own. 

Even without the signature bright red hue, Lil Yachty's bead game is strong. 

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Lil Yachty Says There's No Deeper Meaning Behind Decision to Ditch Red Braids

Some fans have ascribed meaning to Lil Yachty's aesthetic switch-up. The 'Lil Boat 3'-crafter, however, affirms there is "no strategy" at play.

Image via Getty/Paras Griffin

The Lil Boat trilogy comes to a close on Friday with the release of Lil Yachty 's  Lil Boat 3 , boasting the previously released "Split/Whole Time" and "Oprah's Bank Account," the latter of which features Drake and DaBaby .

The new era has fans ascribing meaning to a number of aesthetic and thematic possibilities, including Yachty's decision to forego the red braids look that was previously an ominpresent staple of his presentation as an artist. In a new interview with Highsnobiety , however, Yachty explained that the move is not indicative of anything as deep as fans might have assumed.

"Honestly, it was hard to maintain," he said in the new interview with Danny Schwartz, out this week. "The bleach was literally killing my hair. My hair was just dying. It's growing now. That's all. It's just hair. I just kept it red because I loved it. But it kept falling out. It never would grow."

He went on: "I think sometimes people just assume things are a lot more complex. In my world, it's just not that deep, bro."

View this photo on Instagram

Connecting the change to his approach to music as a whole, Yachty affirmed there is "no strategy" afoot. "It's just music," he said. "It's all fun to me. There's no strategy behind it, like, 'oh, his hair was red, it's black now. [He's] making evil rap music.' It's not like that."

Also in the interview, Yachty—who is said to have recorded the new album "four times from scratch" since sessions began in 2018—gave a similar explanation when asked if there's any thematic connection going on with the album trilogy.

"It's not that deep," he said. Peep the HS feature in full here .

Earlier this week, Yachty shared the video for "Split/Whole Time," which notably features an appearance by Playboi Carti. Revisit that below while wondering where Whole Lotta Red is.

View this video on YouTube

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First Look: Lil Yachty x Air Force 1

The current rap game's biggest sneakerhead receives his own collab. Releasing in 2024.

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. The opinions and information provided on this site are original editorial content of Sneaker News.

Update November 15th, 2023:  Lil Yachty’s upcoming Air Force 1 Low collaboration has surfaced in first-look imagery.

Lil Yachty may be well within his rights to be self-appointed as the rap industry’s biggest sneakerhead. Having shown off his vastly expansive sneaker closet(s) on a number of occasions, the two-time Grammy nominee is taking one step closer to cementing his top status with a reported Nike Air Force 1 collaboration in the works.

As Yachty walked through the aisles of Cool Kicks LA, he picked up Travis Scott’s recent AF1 Low “Utopia” and mentioned that he has his own version of the iconic circa 1982 silhouette on the way. While Darnell Boat quickly swerved any and all follow-ups knowing he had already shared too much, it was later revealed that Yachty has been pushing to collaborate on his own shoe for seven years.

The Atlanta-born artist previously signed with Reebok as a brand ambassador in 2017 but as of recently, Yachty has been sporting swoosh-exclusive footwear; from snacking on a box of Fruity Pebbles at the Nike World Basketball Festival in NYC to recently showing off a pair of the CPFM x Nike Flea 2 alongside the Nike ACG Air Pumori Snowboard Boots.

In the midst of November, Yachty revealed a first look at his upcoming collaboration via the Close Friends feature on his Instagram. Showing off the upcoming collaboration while at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, the low top trim bears a supple tumbled white leather upper with dark navy contrasts that adorn the tread and inner lining. Shout outs to his Concrete Boys label are found throughout the box and along the heel overlay’s stickman figure while Yachty’s signature adlib “It’s Us” adorns both the cobranded tongue tabs and photo blue insoles.

The Lil Yachty x Nike Air Force 1 Low “Concrete Boys” is currently expected to release in 2024. Could there be a potential initial drop at ComplexCon? Stay tuned for future details.

Initial Info: lilyachty / coolkicksla

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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.

Buy the Lil Yachty issue of The FADER , and order a poster of the cover here .

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.

Lil Yachty Launches Concrete Rekordz in Partnership with Quality Control/HYBE

Hip-hop sensation Lil Yachty unveils his latest venture, Concrete Rekordz, in collaboration with Quality Control Music/HYBE. The announcement coincides with the release of the music video “Family Business” by Concrete Boys’ Karrahbooo and Camo!.

Concrete Rekordz will serve as the home for Concrete Boys, comprising Lil Yachty, Karrahbooo, DC2TRILL, Draft Day, and Camo!. Their debut compilation album, “It’s Us Volume 1,” is slated for release on April 5th.

Introduced during Lil Yachty’s The Field Trip Tour, Concrete Boys gained rapid traction with their single “MO JAMS,” amassing over 2 million views on YouTube. With Lil Yachty’s guidance, the group is poised to make waves as culture shifters in the music industry.

Beyond his rap career, Lil Yachty assumes the role of record label executive with Concrete Rekordz, further contributing to the growth of Quality Control Music/HYBE. With their combined efforts, the label aims to continue shaping the future of hip-hop and beyond.

Speaking on the collaboration, Quality Control Music COO and co-founder Kevin “Coach K” Lee said, “Yachty has always had profound vision since the day we met and to see him take his curatorial magic and expand it to discover and enhance other artists is exciting to me. ”

Label CEO and co-founder Pierre “P” Thomas also adds, “I’m excited to see Yachty step into the role of executive alongside being one of the most formidable creatives in the world with such an eye for talent. Karrahbooo is a star and they are all going to be the new wave of cool that can bring something different to the culture that is so badly needed.”  

You can see the video for “Family Business” below.

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Lil Yachty Has A Theory As To Why Rappers Are So Angry: "They're Ugly"

Lil Yachty thinks he's "gorgeous."

Lil Yachty says that the reason rappers can be "so angry" is because they're "ugly as f*ck." He teased the hip-hop community in a video circulating on social media while calling himself "gorgeous." "I personally think that rappers are so angry and so mad and so 'grrr' all the time because they're ugly as f*ck," he joked.

Yachty added: "A lot of rappers don't like what they see when they wake up and they realize that they probably only get women because they get money. Me, on the other hand, I'm gorgeous. And, it's like I'm happy, life's great. I got some money, decent looking. I smell great."

Read More:  Lil Yachty Drops By For His "On The Radar Freestyle"

Lil Yachty Performs During Austin City Limits Music Festival

Fans overwhelmingly trolled Yachty in response to the video when XXL shared it on Instagram. "Then you must be the angriest rapper alive," one user wrote. One more joked: "The grunt he made sounded like a troll from the hobbit." Another labeled the joke cringe-worthy: "I f*ck with yachty but dude kinda became cringey after him and drake became more close and his artist that he has on his label are not that good." Check out Yachty's full video below.

Lil Yachty Trolls Ugly Rappers

Outside of talking about his looks, Yachty recently launched Concrete Rekordz in collaboration with Quality Control Music/HYBE. The imprint will host the Concrete Boys, comprised of Yachty, Karrahbooo, DC2TRILL, Draft Day, and Camo! They'll be dropping their debut album, It’s Us Volume 1 , on April 5. Yachty first introduced the group during his The Field Trip Tour . They just dropped a new single, “Family Business," ahead of the compilation album. Be on the lookout for further updates on Lil Yachty as well as the Concrete Boys on HotNewHipHop .

Read More: Lil Yachty's Concrete Boys Drop New Banger "FAMILY BUSINESS"

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Self-Proclaimed ‘Gorgeous’ Person Lil Yachty Theorizes Being ‘Ugly As F*ck’ Is What Makes Some Rappers So Angry

Hip-hop, more than most other music genres, is full of beef. There’s a whole thing between Drake and Kendrick Lamar right now. Azealia Banks is usually saying something about somebody (most recently, it was Beyoncé ). Kanye West is upset with Kai Cenat . As for the reason behind all this anger, Lil Yachty thinks he has the answer.

In a video that made the rounds online over the weekend, Yachty says, “I personally think that rap n****s are so angry and so mad and so ‘grr’ all the time because they ugly… as f*ck. A lot of rappers don’t like what they see when they wake up, and they realize they probably only get women because they have money. Me, on the other hand, am gorgeous. And it’s like, I’m happy, you know? Life’s great. I got some money, decent looking, I smell great.”

Lil Yachty says rappers are mad because they're "ugly" 😂 pic.twitter.com/tEfVRV9hdv — HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) March 30, 2024

Yachty, of course, has a strong sense of humor, so he’s likely joking around, at least a little bit, here.

Appearance aside, Yachty certainly has a lot to be happy about at the moment. A few days ago, it was announced that he teamed with Quality Control and HYBE to start his own record label, Concrete Rekordz .

Lil Yachty Launches Concrete Rekordz With Quality Control/HYBE, Shares New Single Off Upcoming Compilation Album

Lil Yachty is officially running the show with a new venture under his belt, Concrete Rekordz.

The rapper, who once said "hip-hop is in a terrible place," is bringing some new stars into the genre, including Karrahbooo, DC2TRILL, Draft Day, and Camo!. The artists will also appear on Concrete Rekordz compilation album It’s Us Volume 1, scheduled to release on April 5. The artists were first introduced during Yachty's Field Trip Tour last year, which continues for the European leg this spring.

In addition to the news, Concrete Rekordz, also known as Concrete Boys, dropped a new single, "Family Business."

"Yachty has always had profound vision since the day we met and to see him take his curatorial magic and expand it to discover and enhance other artists is exciting to me," stated Quality Control Music COO and co-founder Kevin “Coach K” Lee in press materials.

“I’m excited to see Yachty step into the role of executive alongside being one of the most formidable creatives in the world with such an eye for talent," added QC CEO and co-founder Pierre “P” Thomas. "Karrahbooo is a star and they are all going to be the new wave of cool that can bring something different to the culture that is so badly needed.”

Check out music videos and an On the Radar cypher from the Concrete Rekordz roster below.

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