Lil Yachty Is Finding Himself In Michigan's Rap Scene
Packs Shipment No. 12
Lil Yachty couldn’t understand the hate. In an interview with HYPEBEAST last year, he admitted he was “trying to impress everyone else” when he stuffed overly melodic and colorful pop ballads into his debut studio album Teenage Emotions. Despite the focused aim for outside sounds, he still thought the songs were good and would hit with his young audience. Instead, it was a miss. His fans hated the stylistic choice and made sure to let the then-22-year old know.
“People were mean, and the hate… people hated me for no reason,” Yachty said on the most challenging part of hearing the criticism. “It was hard, and I was young. I had never dealt with it before.” The “bubblegum-trap” sound that was instrumental in getting the young, Atlanta-born rapper massive deals with Sprite and Cartoon Network began to sour under the heat lamps of national fame. The core fan base and interest he earned in 2015 was starting to waver.
In that same interview, Yachty said he wanted to get back to his “original” sound in his future projects. Back to something OG Yachty fans can appreciate. A year later, it looks like he has found that part of himself in an unlikely place—Michigan.
Specifically, in Detroit and Flint, two cities separated only by an hour and a half drive. There, a bold and eccentric scene is starting to captivate the country’s rap landscape, and in the past few weeks, Yachty has become a persistent figure in the city’s elite circle. In a write-up for “Krispy Boat,” an upbeat track with Flint’s KrispyLife Kidd that features Lil Boat, Pitchfork’s rap writer Alphonse Pierre said, “Lil Yachty wishes he was from Flint, Michigan.” It wouldn’t be surprising if Yachty has gauged loft prices in the city.
Yachty linking with Michigander spitters is nothing new, and the Great Lake state has seen rap prominence before with Big Sean and Danny Brown in 2011 and Tee Grizzly’s thunderous arrival with “First Day Out” in 2016. Those moments were only primers for what’s happening right now. The real Michigan renaissance Yachty reveling in is happening right now, and Sada Baby & Drego’s “Bloxk Party” in 2018 might have been the firework that started the whole thing.
In the video for “Bloxk Party,” a platoon of local Detroit rappers gather in Soul Train lines and dance on kitchen counters. Sada — a bearded gentlemen from Detroit’s east side who loves the color red and dancing in his videos — gyrated shirtless from room to room, comparing his drugs to the wrestler Brock Lesnar and his guns to NBA player Lauri Markkanen. It was gangster rap free to bend the constraints on what is actually gangster. No one is challenging Sada's street merits because he moves his shoulders and hips to brooding piano keys and soul thumping bass. Fans wanted more, and that’s when the floodgates opened.
The eruption of “Bloxk Party” in 2018 started to illuminate people’s eyes to the city’s sitting pool of talent. Fellow Detroit artists like Baby Smoove, Babyface Ray, and Veeze brought unmitigated cool and witty bars to battle-scarred Detroit drill beats. Meanwhile, younger rappers were creating a new lane entirely. Teejayx6, The Shittyboyz, Kasher Quon, and more introduced scam rap with ridiculous punchlines and flows that were too fast for the beat. The different styles emanating from the area created a lush ecosystem that could cater to anyone's needs.
Artists from across Michigan, like Flint and Beecher, reinforced that the Great Lakes State had something special not only found in Detroit. The expanding spotlight shined on YN Jay, Rio Da Young OG, and BFB Da Packman. A lot of them offer similar tastes—YN Jay’s elongated flow on “Coochie Scout” has made him one of Flint’s funniest stars; Rio Da Young OG is one of the city’s most technically sound spitters; and BFB Da Packman, who currently lives in Houston despite being a Flint native, has mastered comedic, self-deprecating raps about his weight, looks, and HIV status.
Yachty’s red hair or distinct vocal pitch isn’t weird or interesting enough to steal the spotlight when he hops on a song with a Michigan artist like Sada Baby or YN Jay. But it does bring him closer to 2016, back when he was a part of the Soundcloud era's vanguard. Back when his sound and style was new and refreshing. Songs like “No Hook” and “Fuck Up A Sack,” though they weren’t as big as the viral hit “One Night,” are what most fans miss from the 23-year old talent. His most recent tape, Lil Boat 3, is the closest he’s been to that form in years. The fun-natured style of Detroit’s rap scene allows Yachty to tap into his roots even further. In addition to Sada Baby, Yachty has been featured on songs with Michigan artists YN Jay, RNC Mike, and, most recently, Krispylife Kidd. The features keep coming.
Artists across the country are starting to follow Yachty’s lead. BFB Da Packman just teamed up with Wiz Khalifa, and Lil Uzi Vert tried his hand at YN Jay’s “Coochie Scout.” The rest of the country is starting to clamor for a piece of Michigan’s infectious sound. It’s inevitable that more rappers will try to hop on the hype in the future.
But Yachty has been able to build actual relationships with the artists he’s working with. “We fuck with each other more than just the music,” Sada says when talking about his relationship with Yachty. “That’s really the homie.” YN Jay flew out to record with Yachty in his Atlanta studio only a day after they first exchanged Instagram messages. Every new Detroit and Flint feature he makes entrenches himself deeper into Michigan’s graces. Those relationships will surely be featured on Yachty’s newest project, Michigan Boat Boy, a clear representation of how much Michigan has influenced Yachty.
“SB5,” with Sada Baby, was one of the first videos Yachty released with this new guard of Michigan artists. In one scene, Yachty is crouched and flailing his arms like a child while Sada humps the bare living room floor. In an earlier shot, Yachty raps to the camera about skipping school while Sada dances on top of the kitchen counter with a Stone Cold Steve Austin tee. Members of a vast rap entourage and weed smoke consume any empty space of a random suburban kitchen. At the end of video, Yachty leans over the house’s second-story railing and flashes a grin towards the camera.
Surrounded by some of Michigan’s new elite and rapping without worry from industry standards, Lil Yachty is really having fun again.
Welp, hope y’all enjoyed this edition of Packs. We back next Friday with a new delivery.
Between Packs, follow me on all the socials: @Tribecalledni on damn-near everything.
Until next time, be cool.