Lil Yachty views himself as an underdog, and so do some of his collaborators, as we learned Saturday. The conversation around Yachty's "underrated" status started with a tweet from Smokepurpp. "Bro this n***a @lilyachty sooo underrated," he wrote. "this n***a deadass got bars and people overlook him smh, definitely top 10 rn NO CAP." Yachty couldn't help but agree with the statement. "real underdog bruh, I can prolly out rap 75% of the new generation but n***as sleep on me," he replied. "Plus i ain’t got nothing to prove brother."
Lil Uzi Vert, who appeared on the same XXL Freshman list as Yachty, and was often placed in a similar "SoundCloud Rap" category, agreed with Yachty and Smokepurpp's statements. He quoted Yachty's tweet and cosigned it with a simple "FACTS."
When Yachty was challenged over his declaration that he had bars, he clarified his comments. "i never said i was a lyricist boi," he wrote. "i ain’t tryna be.. but i can rap. i can stick wit folks ona track I’m not xan rapper.. #heresurclout."
Yachty released his sophomore album Lil Boat 2 earlier this year. While still a fairly untraditional rapper by some standards, the project saw Yachty stepping up as an emcee. He recently appeared on Smokepurpp's "Do Not Disturb," which is where he initially impressed the Florida rapper. "He just freestyled that shit. Like 10 minutes, he was done with that shit. I was like, “Yo, you went off bro. You snapped,'" Smokepurpp recently told XXL. "I'm not gon' lie, his recording process, that shit is fire because he literally goes in a freestyles and it's like nothing to him. People don't give Yachty the credit that he deserves. He actually snaps. He actually says shit, he be coming with the metaphors and n***as don't give him credit for that. In my opinion, he's a good rapper—one of the best rappers out right now. From the new generation, there's a lot of n***as that don't really say shit but he a good rapper. He has different styles, he's versatile."
Listen to "Do Not Disturb" below.