Lil Yachty shares thoughts on psych-rock album ‘Let’s Start Here’: “I can do anything”

Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty has shared his thoughts on his latest album, the psych-rock offering ‘Let’s Start Here.’

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Released in January, the album – Yachty’s eighth – sees the musician stray away from his usual trap and rap stylings in favour of rock elements – a move that he says proves “I can do anything”.

Speaking to Billboard for a new feature, Yachty shared that the album was shaped by his non-rap inspirations growing up ranging from Tame Impala‘s ‘Currents’ to Pink Floyd‘s seminal ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and Frank Ocean‘s ‘Blonde’.

“Fuck any of the albums I dropped before this one,” Yachty told Billboard, before clarifying: “I came into music in a time where rap was real hardcore, it was real street. And a bunch of us kids came in with colourful hair and dressing different and basically said, ‘Move out the way, old fucks. We on some other shit.’”

“I was young and I didn’t really give a fuck, so I did do things that may have led people to the assumptions that I was a mumble rapper or a SoundCloud kid or I don’t appreciate the history of hip-hop. But to be honest, I’ve always been so much more than just hip-hop.”

He continued: “There’s a lot of kids who haven’t heard any of my references. They don’t know anything about Bon Iver or Pink Floyd or Black Sabbath or James Brown. I wanted to show people a different side of me — and that I can do anything, most importantly.”

“It was a lot of self-assessing and being very real about not being happy with where I was musically, knowing I’m better than where I am. Because the shit I was making did not add up to the shit I listened to. I just wanted more. I want to be remembered. I want to be respected,” Yachty concluded on the topic.

‘Let’s Start Here’ features production by Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberly, Unknown Mortal Orchestra bassist Jacob Portrait and synth-pop duo Magdalena Bay. Guest performers include Daniel Caesar, Fousheé, Teezo Touchdown, Justine Skye and Diana Gordon while Mac DeMarco is credited as a writer on two tracks – ‘Drive Me Crazy!’ and ‘Failure’.