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Lil Yachty Thinks Hip Hop Is In A "Terrible Place," Blames "Quick, Low-Quality Music"
At Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians event in Brooklyn, New York on Friday (Nov. 10), Lil Yachty expressed his dissatisfaction with the current state of hip hop.
During his panel with Tierra Whack and Delisa Shannon, the Grammy-nominated artist didn’t hold back in his critique. He stated, “Hip hop is in a terrible place. The state of hip hop right now is a lot of imitation. It’s a lot of quick, low-quality music being put out. It’s a lot less risk-taking, it’s a lot less originality… People are too safe now. Everyone is so safe. I rather take the risk than take the L.”
In the discussion, “The Secret Recipe” hitmaker also praised former collaborator J.I.D for his continual risk-taking in music. “I love J.I.D,” Yachty explained. “J.I.D is such a beautiful person. He has the spirit of, like, a real Atlanta Negro, and he’s such a good, kind person, and he just always embraced me with open arms. So, I got nothing but respect for J.I.D. I never heard a bad verse from J.I.D ever.”
Notably, the pair previously worked together on “Half Doin’ Dope” in September.
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Meanwhile, Yachty’s latest album, Let’s Start Here, marked a significant departure from his typical sound. He steered into psychedelic rock with cuts like “WE SAW THE SUN!” and “paint THE sky.”
Despite positive critical reception and fan support, the rapper expressed confusion over being snubbed for a Grammy nomination.
“I just worked really hard from start to finish,” Yachty remarked. “I just don’t know. I handled it way better than I thought I did. Like, I thought I was gonna be like throwing s**t around like mad as hell, but I didn’t care.”
A number of the artist’s peers made the list, including Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, 21 Savage, Metro Boomin and more. Other notable mentions include Ice Spice, Doja Cat, SZA and Nicki Minaj.