Music, it turns out, was something of an afterthought, despite his deep roots in Southern rap. вЂњThey relate to me because IвЂ™m so like them,вЂќ he said, вЂњbut on a global scale.вЂќ Nobody likes my truth.вЂќ Except the youth, that is. вЂњIвЂ™m the face of the youth, the new sound. вЂњI ask myself all the time, вЂHow do I always go viral?вЂ™вЂќ Lil Yachty said with a grin. has made him a punching bag for rap purists, the poster child for a style-over-substance new school dismissively dubbed вЂњmumble rap.вЂќ HeвЂ™s leaned into that mantle, so online schadenfreude bubbles up every time Lil Yachty, say, bombs a freestyle over вЂ™90s beats or fails miserably at dunking a basketball. (One had a hand-scrawled message: вЂњLETS BE RICH FOREVER.вЂќ)ДЄt the same time, Lil YachtyвЂ™s stated indifference toward the catalogs of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. Between looks, he dined on his preferred menu of DominoвЂ™s pepperoni pizza, candy and cookies, head buried in his two Louis Vuitton-cased iPhones.

While modeling for Nautica last month to his own personal playlist, Lil Yachty mimed air guitar to вЂњParadise CityвЂќ by Guns NвЂ™ Roses and boogied to Elton JohnвЂ™s вЂњBennie and the JetsвЂќ when he wasnвЂ™t belting Chris Martin ballads. Along with Kanye West and Kid Cudi, both of whom count as elder statesmen to someone born in 1997, his most direct influences include the cult-favorite, outre internet rappers Lil B and Soulja Boy, along with pop acts like Coldplay, Daft Punk and Fall Out Boy. вЂњWe are the youth!вЂќ goes another battle cry.ДЄs with his breakout viral hits вЂњ1 NightвЂќ and вЂњMinnesota,вЂќ Lil YachtyвЂ™s music relies less on technical rapping than on simple melodies that invoke warped nursery rhymes, with bright, bubbly production and an affecting falsetto smoothed with Auto-Tune. (Lil YachtyвЂ™s crew is known as the Sailing Team: вЂњIf youвЂ™re a fan of me, then you know my friends, because I push them just as hard.вЂќ) His most menacing raps can feel playful, his sexuality disarmingly juvenile and his boasts betray his age: вЂњParents mad at my ass вЂ™cause their kids sing my song in class,вЂќ he taunts while proclaiming himself the King of the Teens. Instead, Lil Yachty preaches an all-purpose positivity fueled by timeless adolescent ambitions: chasing girls, looking cool and hanging out with friends. And I care about my character.вЂќ He added: вЂњI donвЂ™t rap about drinking or smoking, ever, because I donвЂ™t do it. вЂњRappers donвЂ™t have endorsements because of their images,вЂќ he said. Yet even among the bevy of singular voices in the new Atlanta hip-hop scene, where male rappers can wear dresses and carry designer bags, moan about their feelings and dance with their hips, Lil Yachty is demonstrably odd, flaunting his indifference to rap traditionalism and aiming to remain somewhat wholesome: more schoolyard than trap house. An official debut album with Capitol Records is planned for early 2017. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his sweet-and-sour guest verse on D.R.A.M.вЂ™s вЂњ Broccoli,вЂќ Lil Yachty has modeled Kanye WestвЂ™s Yeezy line at Madison Square Garden, starred in a Sprite commercial with LeBron James and teamed up with Nautica on a capsule collection for Urban Outfitters. In addition to releasing the popular вЂњLil BoatвЂќ and вЂњSummer Songs 2вЂќ mixtapes, filled with his taffylike digital wails and cartoon melodies, and reaching No. вЂњIвЂ™m not a rapper, IвЂ™m an artist,вЂќ he said. Now, at the end of a career-making 2016, Lil Yachty seems more certain. вЂњI always knew I was going to be something,вЂќ he said. Listen to some of the best new recordings here. Classical Music: 2021 was a year of reawakening for the art form.Jazz Albums: Even the big-statement albumsВ this year had a feeling of intense closeness.Pop Albums: Recordings with big feelings and room for catharsis made the most powerful connections.Best Songs: A posthumous political statement and a superstarвЂ™s 10-minute redo are among the 66 best tracks of 2021.From Lil Nas X to Mozart to Esperanza Spalding here is what we loved listening to this year.

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