lil yachty 2016

• Entertainment
• Awards Shows
• Climate Change
• Nightlife & Dining
• Gift Guides
• Business of Art
• About Observer
• Advertise With Us

How Lil Yachty Made It From McDonald’s to One of 2016’s Most-Hyped Debuts

One of the buzziest and most-hyped names in rap today, lil yachty has had a break-out 2016 thanks to two acclaimed mixtapes..

One of the buzziest and most-hyped names in rap today, Lil Yachty has had a break-out 2016 thanks to two acclaimed mixtapes (starting with his debut, Lil Boat ), chart-topping singles (his collaboration with D.R.A.M., “Broccoli,” is rising up the Hot 100) and impressive co-signs (including the likes of Kanye West and Rick Rubin ).

Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter

Thank you for signing up!

By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.

For the soon-to-be 19-year-old Yachty, real name: Miles Mccollum , it’s a long way from growing up in Atlanta where his previous job was working at an area McDonald's (MCD) . Hot on the heels of his sophomore mixtape, last month’s Summer Song 2 , and the mainstream success of “Broccoli” and solo single “1 Night,” the Observer caught up with Yachty recently to discuss his rise, creative process, and the origin of his trademark red hair.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44j-sb1SRY&w=560&h=315]

Where are you right now?

I’m dying my hair right now in Atlanta.

Ah yes, your red hair has become a trademark. What made you dye it red?

I had a job at McDonalds and I had long braids with beads. So my mom made me cut it for a job interview. When I got the new job, I was upset at my mom because at the time nobody had braids or beads and then I had the same haircut as everybody else. One day on the car ride to work, she suggested that I dye my hair red. I guess she didn’t think I was actually going to do it, but I did it and it never went away.

What does she think of that red hair now?

She never liked it until it started making me money. [Laughs]

Well, congratulations on your success. Not only do you have “1 Night” on the charts, but D.R.A.M’s track “Broccoli’ that you’re featured on is a hit as well. What was your experience like creating “Broccoli”? It’s such a jam.

We made that one in Los Angeles. I met D.R.A.M. through Rick Rubin and they really wanted me in the studio. Rick set up a session, so D.R.A.M. saw me later that night and asked me to come through. That was the first time I’ve ever seen a beat get made from scratch, and was the first time I saw more than one person make a beat. They had pianos and instruments chiming in making it.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251cxou3yR4&w=560&h=315]

You met D.R.A.M. through Rick. How did you originally meet Rick?

He actually set up a meeting to meet me.

What’s it feel like to see “Broccoli’ become so popular? Does it feel like things are happening super quickly, or has it been a slow burn to this point?

It’s quick. I think it’s even moving too quick to feel any kind of way.

What’s your writing process like?

I’ll usually write everything on my phone or just freestyle, either or. Around my first mixtape, I did a lot of writing at home. I’d work on stuff in bed, or in the shower I’d come up with stuff. Literally anywhere. Even now, lines will come into my head and I’ll jot them down. At my mom’s house I used to do a lot of work really late at night, 3 or 4 in the morning, and I’d just write in bed.

I want to hear about you and Kanye West. Because I know you were a model during his big Pablo fashion show at Madison Square Garden . What that’d feel like?

I don’t know, it didn’t really feel like anything. I always feel weird when people ask me because I never really know how it felt like. It felt like what I feel like right now getting my hair colored, except with other people watching me. My friend Ian Connor helped me be a part of it.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/246294553″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

For anyone who’s never met Kanye West, what’s he like in person?

He’s nice. He’s a nice guy. He’s not mean at all. He’s really nice.

What did you think of Life of Pablo when you heard it?

It was tight. I heard a couple of the songs before it came out, and I thought it was good!

I’m wondering what it was like for you growing up in Atlanta?

I grew up on the West Side…. [Laughs]

What are you laughing at?

I’m sorry, but I’m in a group message and it’s so funny right now.

Who’s on the group message?

All my friends, and everyone’s sending me throwback pictures. It’s so funny. [Laughs hysterically] Somebody just sent me a picture of my dad in the group and captioned it, “I be trippin’.” It’s so funny! My dad is a character.

What’s he like?

He’s a photographer. He’s not your average dad, he’s real artsy and he looks 22 even though he’s 40-something. He dresses like a younger person, too. He’s really cool.

Have you been back to the McDonald’s you used to work at?

I actually haven’t been there recently. I should do that.

You definitely should. You’d be the man s trolling in.

I actually might go today!

• SEE ALSO : Will Keen On Playing Vladimir Putin On Broadway in ‘Patriots’

We noticed you're using an ad blocker.

We get it: you like to have control of your own internet experience. But advertising revenue helps support our journalism. To read our full stories, please turn off your ad blocker. We'd really appreciate it.

How Do I Whitelist Observer?

Below are steps you can take in order to whitelist Observer.com on your browser:

For Adblock:

Click the AdBlock button on your browser and select Don't run on pages on this domain .

For Adblock Plus on Google Chrome:

Click the AdBlock Plus button on your browser and select Enabled on this site.

For Adblock Plus on Firefox:

Click the AdBlock Plus button on your browser and select Disable on Observer.com.

Summer Songs 2

Yachty's kaleidoscopic new mixtape.

July 20, 2016 14 Songs, 51 minutes ℗ 2016 Quality Control Music, Capitol Records and Motown Records

RECORD LABEL

Music videos, more by lil yachty, featured on.

Apple Music Hip-Hop

You Might Also Like

Lil Uzi Vert

Playboi Carti

Kodak Black

Africa, Middle East, and India

• Côte d’Ivoire
• Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
• Guinea-Bissau
• Niger (English)
• Congo, Republic of
• Saudi Arabia
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Tanzania, United Republic Of
• Turkmenistan
• United Arab Emirates

Asia Pacific

• Indonesia (English)
• Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Malaysia (English)
• Micronesia, Federated States of
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Solomon Islands
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• France (Français)
• Deutschland
• Luxembourg (English)
• Moldova, Republic Of
• North Macedonia
• Portugal (Português)
• Türkiye (English)
• United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina (Español)
• Bolivia (Español)
• Virgin Islands, British
• Cayman Islands
• Chile (Español)
• Colombia (Español)
• Costa Rica (Español)
• República Dominicana
• Ecuador (Español)
• El Salvador (Español)
• Guatemala (Español)
• Honduras (Español)
• Nicaragua (Español)
• Paraguay (Español)
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• St. Vincent and The Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• Uruguay (English)
• Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States
• Estados Unidos (Español México)
• الولايات المتحدة
• États-Unis (Français France)
• Estados Unidos (Português Brasil)
• 美國 (繁體中文台灣)

• Share full article

Find anything you save across the site in your account

Let’s Start Here.

Michigan Boy Boat

Nuthin’ 2 Prove

Teenage Emotions

Summer Songs 2

“Who Want the Smoke?” [ft. Cardi B and Offset]

"Forever Young" [ft. Diplo]

“Peek A Boo” [ft. Migos]

Lil Yachty’s  Let’s Start Here. Is a Surface-Level Rebrand

The 49 Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2021: Taylor Swift, Japanese Breakfast, J Balvin, and More

A Guide to Michigan Rap, 2020’s Most Exciting Regional Scene

The Best Music Videos of 2016

Ranking Every Guest Appearance on Kanye West’s Donda From Worst to Best

A Very Necessary Ranking of Every Guest Star on Young Thug’s Slime Language 2 Compilation

“Royal Rumble” Is the Ultimate Michigan Rap Posse Cut—But Who Has the Best Verse?

Excessive Branding Ventures Are Killing Hip-Hop’s Soul

Baby Keem Has a Lot of Hype—But Is He Any Good?

The Ones: Lil Yachty and KrispyLife Kidd’s “Krispy Boat”

The Best of Rap This Week: Lil Yachty Finds His Calling and More

How Rap’s SoundCloud Generation Changed the Music Business Forever

The ones: 5 best new rap songs from bryson tiller, mick jenkins, lil yachty, yhung t.o, and rico nasty.

Considering the Rise of the Super Short Rap Song

The Year in Disappointment 2017

Lil Yachty Shares Video for New Song “A Cold Sunday”

Watch Drake and Lil Yachty Rap With Wolves in New Video for “Another Late Night”

J. Cole and Lil Yachty Share Video for New Song “The Secret Recipe”

Lil Yachty Announces North American Tour

Watch Lil Yachty Perform “The Black Seminole.” and “Drive Me Crazy!” on SNL

Lil Yachty, Soulja Boy, Ne-Yo, Akon, and More Charged by SEC for Illegal Cryptocurrency Promotions

Lil Yachty Announced as SNL Musical Guest

Lil Yachty Releases Video for Viral New Song “Poland”

Listen to Lil Yachty’s New Mixtape Michigan Boy Boat

Watch Lil Yachty’s Video for New Song “Royal Rumble”

Lil Yachty Shares New Album Lil Boat 3.5 : Listen

Lil Yachty Series Public Figures Coming to HBO Max

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

AD LOADING...

• Lil Yachty & Karrahbooo Trade More Shots As Concrete Boys Drama Continues

Lil Yachty and Karrahbooo are continuing to go back and forth in a feud that has seemingly been brewing for some time.

After Karrah recently departed his Concrete Boys collective, Yachty went on a rant about his former assistant turned artist late last week, accusing her of being “verbally abusive” toward his bodyguard and alleging he wrote all of her raps.

She then clapped back and denied that her songs were written by Yachty and told him to stop bullying her.

Now in their newest exchange, Karrah is asking to be left alone and accuses Yachty of coming at her for no reason.

“I’ll never forget this feeling, this chapter of my life. i’ll never be the same, I’ll never forget who wasn’t there for me,” she said on her Instagram Story. “I done chomped people out/spent my last/slapped folks 4 n-ggas, I ride every time naturally but that’s just how I am. Nobody owe me shit tbh im just taking a mental note.”

She continued: “I can’t even look at most people da same way, to know the truth and watch a grown man with 12 million followers overly lie on my name and publicly bully me for literally no reason at all while I silently been conquering all da shit n-ggas been throwing at me this whole time behind closed doors. I’ll never ignore the signs again and I will never stop no matter how much they hate me.”

Lil Yachty & Karrahbooo trade more shots as Concrete Boys drama continues pic.twitter.com/9efncOplzX — HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) August 26, 2024

In response, Yachty to his own Instagram Story and simply wrote: “Don’t throw rocks and hide your hand.”

This prompted another reply from Karrahbooo.

related news

August 21, 2024

“I never threw rocks and u have my number u big grown b^itch leave me alone literally @lilyachty. I never said nothing about shit and I still ain’t said nothing bout what’s really going on. I don’t want no beef with you industry people. Just move on wit ur life. Stop tryna bring me down when I stay out the way I’m done talking u got it yo character gone speak for itself.”

Lil Yachty’s initial outburst was seemingly sparked by a social media post claiming that Karrahbooo had been bullied out of the Concrete Boys.

A restaurant employee claimed on X to have been told by Karrah herself that she had been “kicked out” of the collective and that the group members were “bullying her a lot.”

Karrahbooo later made a vague reference to the drama on her own X account, quote tweeting her own post which said: “ion say too much cuz I know shit gone unfold on its own,” with the comment: “this aged well.”

In this article

More on hiphopdx.

• Big Sean Cries While Giving Update On New Album: 'I've Been Having A Hard Time Lately'

news | Aug 27, 2024

• Lizzo Says She's 'Taking A Gap Year' During Visit To Bali: '[I'm] Protecting My Peace'

• Missy Elliott Pays Tribute To Aaliyah On Death Anniversary: 'You Will Never Be Forgotten'

DX Newsletter

Latest news.

• Kendrick Lamar No Longer Interested In Drake Beef, Says Childhood Friend
• Sean Kingston & His Mom Hilariously Run From Reporters After Fraud Case Court Hearing
• Ashanti Explains Meaning Behind Her & Nelly's Newborn Baby's Name
• Diddy Attempts To Get Lil Rod's Lawsuit Thrown Out: 'A Shameless Attempt To Generate Hype'
• GloRilla Applauded For Removing R-Word From New Song Following Backlash
• Macklemore Cancels Dubai Show For Political Reasons: 'I Hope This Brings More Awareness'

Subscribe To DX Newsletter

• Win a $500 Visa Gift Card
• 50 Cent Disses Hurricane Chris
• Buy XXL Merch
• Rappers Supporting Trump

Lil Yachty and Karrahbooo’s Feud Escalates With Bullying Accusations

Lil Yachty and his former artist Karrahbooo 's feud escalates with bullying accusations.

Lil Yachty and Karrahbooo Continue Throwing Shots at Each Other

On Sunday (Aug. 25), Lil Yachty hopped on his Instagram Story to address Karrahbooo's claims about writing her own rhymes and being bullied. Karrahbooo was part of Yachty's Concrete Boys collective. Although Yachty didn't directly address the 27-year-old rhymer, his message suggested that he clapped back at her allegations.

"Don't throw rocks and hide your hands," Boat wrote on his IG Story post below.

After catching wind of the Atlanta rapper's message, Karrahbooo posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram Story about supporting others in times of need and alluded to Yachty picking on her.

"I'll never forget this feeling, this chapter of my life. I'll never be the same," Karrahbooo penned in her IG Story. "I'll never forget who was there for me. I done chopped people out/spent my last/slapped folks 4 ni**as. I ride every time naturally, but that's just how I am. Nobody owe me sh*t tbh I'm just taking a mental note. I can't even look at most people da same way. To know the truth and watch a grown man with 12 million followers overly lie on my name and publicly bully me for literally no reason at all while I silently been conquering all da sh*t ni**as been throwing me this whole time behind closed doors. I'll never ignore the signs again, and I will never stop, no matter how much they hate me."

In her next IG Story post, Karrahbooo responded to Yachty's aforementioned message, insisting that they could discuss their issues on the phone. She also stated that she just wanted to make peace with individuals in the music scene.

"I never threw rocks and u have my number you big grown b**ch. Leave me alone literally @lilyachty," she typed in her IG Story post. "I never said nothing about sh*t and I still ain't say nothing 'bout what's really going on. I don't want no beef wit you industry people. Just move on wit ur life. Stop tryna bring me down when I stay out the way. I'm done talking. You got it. Yo character gone speak for itself."

Read More: Lil Yachty Goes Off After Being Accused of Mistreating Best Friend and Cohost Mitch During Podcast Episode

Why are lil yachty and karrahbooo beefing.

Things went south between Lil Yachty and Karrahbooo after a fan shared a post on social media and claimed that after bumping into Karrahbooo at a restaurant, the rapper told her she was kicked out of Concrete Boys and bullied during her time on the label . On Aug. 22, Lil Yachty went live on Instagram and denied Karrahbooo's bullying allegations . Boat said Karrahbooo was actually the one bullying others.

"Tell people how you talk to people," Yachty said in his heated video below. "How you tell my security guard, 'Oh, you homeless. You work for me. You're poor. We above you.' You talk to people like they nothing...Tell people how you verbally abuse people. How you said you gon' spit on me when you see me."

"I been letting you do this whole thing where you act like you a princess and you sweet," he continued. "Stop the front, bro. We have withheld your actions since the beginning of me giving you this career. What the f**k are we talking about, bro. You don't even do nothing. It's so crazy to me, bro. ’Cause I've given you a career, and from time to time, you just disrespect me.

Boat then mentioned that Karrahbooo has a $900,000 debt to his label. Afterward, the Quality Control rhymer leaked his reference track to Karrahbooo's 2023 On The Radar Freestyle , suggesting that she didn't pen the lyrics.

Karrahbooo Claps Back at Lil Yachty's Claims About Writing Her Lyrics

On Aug. 23, Karrahbooo went on her Instagram Story to clap back at Yachty by sharing three songs she claimed to write and highlighted their streaming counts.

"Running Late," boasted over 7 million streams, "Where Yo Daddy," garnered 3 million streams and the On the Radar Concrete Cypher freestyle hit nearly 3 million streams.

Karrahbooo captioned the image, "put it on yo kid i ain't these songs [M]iles[.] Stop da cap and leave me out ur internet shenanigans [tears of joy emoji]."

She continued: "Stop bullying me big dawg [tears of joy emoji] i never said nothing u letting random fans get in yo head man up."

During her performance at the Dig in Day Festival in Chicago on Aug. 24, Karrahbooo suggested that Yachty's ghostwriting claims were false.

"Who ain't write it, who ain't write it," she rapped during her performance in the video below.

Read More: Lil Yachty Says He’s Done With the Internet and Won’t Be Talking Anymore

Take a look at Lil Yachty and Karrahbooo shading each other online below.

See Lil Yachty and Karrahbooo’s Feud Escalate With Bullying Accusations

Watch lil yachty speak about karrahbooo's bullying allegations, see karahbooo address lil yachty's claims about writing her rhymes, see unnecessary hip-hop beefs that never should've happened, more from xxl.