Lil Yachty
When: 2nd May 2024
Location: O2 Academy
Lil Yachty is an American rapper, singer and producer known for a versatile take on hip-hop. Coming Glasgow’s O2 Academy on 2nd May 2024.
Miles Parks McCollum, or Lil Yachty. Emerged in the mid-2010s as part of a crop of young rappers that up-ended the hip-hop scene. They had little regard for the genre’s history or unwritten rules. More for ushering in its future by breaking or just plain ignoring them. Lil Yachty burst onto the scene with self-described “bubblegum-trap” sounds. Incorporating video game and cartoon samples, and kickstarted a new generation for the genre.
Growing up outside of Atlanta
Yachty grew up outside of Atlanta, the son of Shannon McCollum, a photographer who toured with hip-hop legends. At 18, Yachty started college at Alabama State University, but dropped out and moved to New York City in pursuit of a music career. In 2015, he released the singles ‘Minnesota’ and ‘One Night’. The latter of which went viral after accompanying a comedy YouTube video. Soon after, Yachty was launched even further into the stratosphere when he modelled for Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion show at Madison Square Garden.
In March 2016, Lil Yachty released his debut mixtape, Lil Boat. On which he introduced the fun-loving, carefree persona that marks him as an artist. On the back of this, he was named in XXL’s Freshman Class of 2016. He also featured on the single ‘Broccoli’ by DRAM. For which the pair received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and featured on Chance the Rapper’s track ‘Mixtape’ alongside Young Thug. In June 2016, he announced that he had signed to Quality Control Music, Capitol Records and Motown Records. Whilst in July, he released his second mixtape, Summer Songs 2.
2017
In 2017, Lil Yachty released his debut album, Teenage Emotions, which featured collaborations with the likes of Migos and Diplo. That year he performed at Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot and Wireless festivals. Amid a busy year of touring, plus made his TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He also branched out in his public image, appearing in commercials for Sprite and Target. As well as dropping a fashion collaboration with Nautica. In 2018, he released his second album, Lil Boat 2, and his third, Nuthin’ 2 Prove, on which he pivoted to a more serious and rap-heavy sound.
In 2020, Lil Yachty released his fourth album, Lil Boat 3, which featured a seriously impressive roster of guest appearances, including Drake, Future, ASAP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator. Later that year, he released the deluxe version of the album, Lil Boat 3.5. In 2021, he released a mixtape, Michigan Boy Boat, which saw him pay tribute to the titular state’s hip-hop scene, including features from Detroit rappers like Tee Grizzley, Baby Smoove and Babyface Ray. In 2022, Yachty released the standalone single ‘Poland’, which peaked at #30 on the UK Singles Chart.
2023
In 2023, Lil Yachty released his fifth album, Let’s Start Here, a left-turn on which he delved into psych-rock sonics. The collaborators on this record were less fellow MCs, more indie artists like Mac DeMarco, Alex G, and members of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, MGMT and Chairlift. In support of the album, he announced the Field Trip Tour, taking him across North America and the UK/EU, including a night at Wembley Arena.
