Lil Yachty on His Success: ‘I’m the Face of the Youth, the New Sound’

Lil Yachty is opening up about his meteoric rise and the rapper is not shy about why he’s resonated so well with fans.

“I’m the face of the youth, the new sound. Nobody likes my truth,” Yachty told The New York Times of his success. “They relate to me because I’m so like them…but on a global scale.”

Interestingly enough, Yachty admits he couldn’t get into Kanye West’s studio back in January. “I sat in the hallway for hours while ASAP Rocky was in there. They wouldn’t let me in. By August, I was working with him.” He also got praised backstage at the Made in America Festival where he says Jay Z said his name before he introduced himself and President Obama’s daughters who were also there were huge fans of his.

As Yachty puts it, “I’m not a rapper, I’m an artist. And I’m more than an artist. I’m a brand.” It’s a bold statement but one the 19-year-old can back up with a long list of accomplishments from this year including modeling Kanye’s Yeezy line at Madison Square Garden, starring in a Sprite commercial with LeBron James, and more recently linking up with Nautica on a capsule collection for Urban Outfitters. 

It sounds like endorsements are something Yachty has thought about as he reveals what he’s noticed about brand relationships with rappers. “Rappers don’t have endorsements because of their images,” he explained. “Endorsement money is huge. And I care about my character…I don’t rap about drinking or smoking, ever, because I don’t do it. I don’t rap about anything I don’t do.” 

The end of the year has showed no signs of Yachty slowing down as he dropped collaborations with the likes of ASAP Ferg and Sean Garrett. 2017 is fated to bring more Yachty with the rapper’s debut album due out on Capitol Records early next year. You can read Yachty’s full New York Times interview here.