.Lil Yachty views himself as a “student of all walks of music.”
The rapper, real name Miles McCollum, dropped his fifth studio album, Let’s Start Here, to critical acclaim in January.
The album marks a move away from his signature trap sound, and during a video interview for Billboard, Yachty explained why he wanted to move away from the “assumption” that he was a “mumble rapper or SoundCloud kid” and experiment with psychedelic rock/pop sounds.
“To be honest, I’ve always been so much more than just hip-hop. I love hip-hop with my life, of all music, I’m a student of all walks of music,” he said. “So, this album is so imperative that I got to do something that I wanted to do, that was create a body of work that I was proud of. That I appreciated and reflected me. And was something that peers and people of the world could respect me. The most important thing to me was respect.”
In addition, Yachty noted that he hopes Let’s Start Here wins him some awards.
“I want to win an award, I’ve been nominated for two Grammys (as a featured artist). But it wasn’t my stuff. Technically, I’m featured in a part of it, but it wasn’t mine. Anything would be tight and I would be appreciative – it would be cool,” the 25-year-old added.