lil yachty album cover ai

Lil Yachty Reveals AI-Generated Album Cover for ‘Let’s Start Here,’ Depicting Demented Boardroom of Executives

By Yousef Srour

Yousef Srour

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Lil Yachty has revealed the artwork and release date for his forthcoming album, “Let’s Start Here,” set to debut Jan. 27 on Quality Control Music and Motown Records.

Ever the provocateur, the rapper’s new cover art previews an AI-generated image of what seems to be seven executives sitting next to each other in suits. With malformed faces akin to a psychedelic trip down the rabbit hole, the artwork seems unremarkable upon first glance. However, the longer you stare at their faces, they look inhuman, with contorted facial features and warped smiles.

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In an interview with Icebox last year , the “ Minnesota ” rapper has expressed that his “new album is a non-rap album,” hence the second chapter that he alludes to in his Instagram post. Yachty explains: “It’s alternative, it’s sick!” After recently collaborating with artists such as Tame Impala, he’s been in the process of creating a “psychedelic alternative project… [with] all live instrumentation.”

Slowly shedding major label support, Yachty now has his own label and creative consultant company, Concrete Records and Concrete Family, respectively. Working closely with Concrete Family, Yachty teamed up with the General Mills cereal brand in 2020 for a limited collaboration with Reese’s Puffs and has an undisclosed sneaker set to be released at a later date. Similar to his 2021 mixtape, “Michigan Boat Boy,” which featured almost solely Detroit artists including Rio Da Yung OG and Babyface Ray, Yachty plans to also release a mixtape with the Concrete Boys collective sometime this year.

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Lil yachty shares ai-generated ‘let’s start here’ album cover.

'Let's Start Here' is set to release on Jan. 27.

By Armon Sadler

Armon Sadler

Hip-Hop Reporter

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Lil Yachty is gearing up for the release of his next album, Let’s Start Here , and like much of his career, he’s doing things unconventionally. The 25-year-old shared the cover art earlier this week, which was generated through artificial intelligence.

Let’s start here. 1/27. LP. Thank You 4 Your Patience friends. pic.twitter.com/sI1PK0ws3z — C.V Thomas (@lilyachty) January 17, 2023

Lil Yachty Serves Remix To Iconic McDonald's "Menu Song"

“It’s the first time I’m actually speaking on it. It’s a non-rap album,” Lil Boat said. “It’s alternative. It’s sick.” His October 2022 single “ Poland ,” which generated a heavy buzz after leaking online before its official release and subsequent video, displayed the different sounds Yachty was exploring.

Last week, the “Minnesota” rapper put a call out for an all-women band in now-deleted Instagram and Twitter posts. It is unclear whether the tryouts, originally set for Jan. 12 in Lithonia, GA, actually took place and whether the band was meant to contribute to Let’s Start Here or accompany him on tour.

Lil Yachty is riding a wave of momentum after receiving high praise for his contributions to Drake and 21 Savage’s November 2022 collaborative project Her Loss . He had production credits on “BackOutsideBoyz,” “Privileged Rappers,” “Pu**y & Millions,” and “ Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin ,” the last of which the Toronto rapper shared a music video for this week.

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Lil Yachty’s New Album Let’s Start Here. Is A Wild Psychedelic Rock Odyssey

We knew Lil Yachty was a weird guy, but we didn’t know he was this weird. Yachty, the Atlanta rap eccentric, has always pushed his voice in as many different directions as possible — a tendency that’s led him from projects that range from Michigan Boat Boy , a 2021 mixtape where he teamed up with rappers from the Detroit and Flint underground scenes, to the movie based on the card game UNO that he was supposedly developing. A few months ago, Yachty had his biggest hit in years with “ Poland ,” an 88-second rap goof that became a viral sensation. So now Yachty has naturally followed that song with a full-on bugged-out psychedelic rock album.

Yachty spent months recording his new LP Let’s Start Here. — the period is part of the title — in studios around the country. He says that the album is partly inspired by his love of Pink Floyd, and you can actually hear that influence in the music, a gurgling soup of expansive guitars and loping basslines and falsetto howls. The obvious contemporary comparison point is Tame Impala, especially since Yachty remixed their “Breathe Deeper” last year. But parts of this album remind me more of Childish Gambino’s “Awaken, My Love!” , MGMT, and even Dungen. There’s a little bit of rapping on the album, but only a little.

Lil Yachty co-produced every track on Let’s Start Here. , and I’m guessing he created the album cover with the AI model DALL-E mini. Yachty worked on the music with a team of co-producers that includes Sky Ferreira/Angel Olsen collaborator Justin Raisen, Raisen’s rap-producer brother Sad Pony, former Chairlift member Patrick Wimberly, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait, Nick Hakim, Magdalena Bay, and Jam City. Mac DeMarco and Alex G are among the credited co-writers. Vocalists like Foushée, Diana Gordon, Teezo Touchdown, and Justine Skye make appearances. MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser plays keyboards.

Let’s Start Here. is a fascinating left turn from an already-famous artist, and time will tell if it turns out to be anything more than that. On my first couple of listens, though, I’m into it. There have been rumblings that Yachty was working on a rock album, but the end product is a whole lot more fully realized than I’d imagined. The record is definitely indulgent, but it never loses its way, and it demands to be heard as a cohesive whole. The album doesn’t peak until the end; the final track, the Daniel Caesar showcase “REACH THE SUNSHINE.,” is a full-on widescreen mind-wrecker. Stream the album below.

Here’s Yachty promising a “psychedelic alternative album” a year ago.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Our Generation Music (@ourgenerationmusic)

Here’s the trippy Let’s Start Here. trailer that Yachty shared a few days ago.

And a music video.

Studio BTS:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by NICK HAKIM (@en_hakim)

Let’s Start Here. is out now on Quality Control/Motown.

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Lil Yachty Reveals AI-Generated ‘Let’s Start Here’ Album Cover

The Quality Control rapper previously called his project a “non-rap” album.

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Lil Yachty is ready to let loose his latest body of work. The Atlanta-raised rapper’s Let’s Start Here studio LP is scheduled to drop on January 27.

Yesterday, Lil Yachty revealed the official artwork for Let’s Start Here . According to Variety , the cover image appears to be created by artificial intelligence.

“Let’s start here. 1/27. LP. Thank You 4 Your Patience friends,” tweeted Yachty on January 17 as the caption for his Let’s Start Here cover reveal.

Let’s start here. 1/27. LP. Thank You 4 Your Patience friends. pic.twitter.com/sI1PK0ws3z — CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) January 17, 2023

“It’s the first time I’m actually speaking on it. It’s a non-rap album,” said Lil Yachty during a January 2022 appearance on the Icebox YouTube channel . He added, “It’s alternative. It’s sick.”

Let’s Start Here will join a Yachty album discography that already includes 2017’s Teenage Emotions , 2018’s Lil Boat 2 , 2018’s Nuthin’ 2 Prove , and 2020’s Lil Boat 3 .

The 2016 XXL Freshman’s first two studio LPs peaked inside the Billboard 200’s Top 10. Teenage Emotions debuted at No. 5, and Lil Boat 2 opened at No. 2. His most recent album, Lil Boat 3, only made it to No. 14.

The “Poland” single arrived in October 2022. Lil Yachty scored another Top 40 entry with the song. The 2x-Platinum “One Night” is one of Yachty’s most commercially successful solo records.

Lil Yachty also has an 8x-Platinum collaboration in his catalog, thanks to Kyle’s 2016 single “iSpy” off the Light of Mine album. “iSpy” reached No. 4 on the Hot 100.

In addition, Lil Yachty earned a Top 10 placement on the Hot 100 as a guest feature on “Broccoli” by DRAM. Throughout his career, the 25-year-old rhymer worked with other artists such as Migos, Cardi B, Drake, and Young Thug.

With ‘Let’s Start Here,’ Lil Yachty Emerges as Music’s Boldest Creative Director

By Jeff Ihaza

Lil Yachty is rich. The 25-year-old musician posts TikToks featuring exotic Italian furniture, and goes vintage shopping with Drake. By the time he graduated high school, he’d already bought his mom a house. He caused a mild international incident with his viral hit “Poland,” a loosie released late last year in which he croons, with impossible sincerity, about bringing illegal pharmaceuticals into Poland. One couldn’t imagine a more charmed Gen Z existence. And yet, on “:(failure(:,” an early interlude from his left-turn of a new album, Let’s Start Here, he says that he’s “seen failure a few times/More recently than before, actually.”

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Cast in this new light, the quality that once made it hard for detractors to take him seriously has become Lil Yachty’s greatest strength. His playful vocal acrobatics, his freewheeling gestures into key ranges he might be less than suited for, create a listening experience rooted in feeling. So we open Let’s Start Here with “the BLACK seminole.,” in which Yachty sprinkles sparse musings from history. The title references Afro-Seminole people, free Africans who lived among Seminole groups in what is now Florida. Yachty’s idea fragments ooze together in the psychedelic groove, careful to keep the theoretical framework loose, allowing the words “Black” and “sex symbol” to float off into space carrying only as much weight as they need to. The statement retains potency in its aloofness. It isn’t unheard of to see rappers treading indie-rock terrain, though the efforts tend to have the sheen of corporate crossover. With instrumentation from Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberly, Yachty rolls in like a Black cowboy in a way that feels unforced. “A Black man with mouths to feed,” he whispers.

Oohs and ahhs stretch to the heavens with intention — like on standout “pRETTY,” which is already proving to be a hit on TikTok, and sounds like a slowed bedroom cut from the cult label Naked Music. Percussion rumbles gently over the staggering two-step, while a sensual, otherworldly warble breaks through the clouds like a ray of sunshine in spring. 

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You could call Let’s Start Here a rebuke of the notion that listeners have abandoned the full-length album. The record’s tight 57 minutes feel as cohesive a project as any artist has released in the streaming era. Yachty’s genuine adoration of his musical inspirations is like the Gen Z alchemy of Pinkpantheress, able to turn familiar source material into something entirely new. 

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Lil Yachty shares cover art and release date for new album Let’s Start Here

The record arrives january 27 via quality control and motown records..

Lil Yachty has announced the title, release date, and cover art for his next album. Let’s Start Here , a psychedelic non-rap project from the multi-talented emcee, is due out January 27 via Quality Control and Motown Records.

The forthcoming project, billed as a fresh beginning for Yachty, took a hit when it was leaked in its entirety on Christmas Day. The leak led to speculation that the record’s release might be delayed or cancelled entirely, but it seems Yachty and his team are soldiering on as scheduled. Following the viral success of his catchy 2022 single “ Poland ,” the unfortunate event proved to be only a momentary setback.

Read Next: Lil Yachty flirts with harsh noise on “Something Ether”

Check out the newly revealed cover art for Let’s Start Here below.

Let’s Start Here cover art

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Lil’ Yachty Shares Cover For ‘Let’s Start Here’ Album

• January 19, 2023
• Ryan Shepard

After contributing to 21 Savage and Drake’s  Her Loss , Lil’ Yachty is ready to return with a new body of work. On Tuesday, he shared the artwork for his forthcoming project,  Let’s Start Here . Set for release on January 27, the Georgia native’s newest LP is covered by a piece of AI-generated artwork that appears to show a set of record executive frighteningly laughing as they present a contract for someone to sign.

“Thank you for your patience,” Lil’ Yachty captioned the post in which he shared his artwork.

Lil’ Yachty released his fourth studio album,  Lil’ Boat III , at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was led by the release of “Split/Whole Time” and “Oprah’s Bank Account” featuring DaBaby and Drake. It also included outstanding contributions from Tierra Whack, A$AP Rocky and Tyler, The Creator. This time around, it appears that he may take his focus in a new direction. In an interview last year, he said his next release would be a “non-rap album.” Instead, he said it would be a “psychedelic alternative project… [with] all live instrumentation.”

“It’s alternative, it’s sick,” he said .

Until the full project arrives on January 27, 2023, check out the artwork below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by C.V T (@lilyachty)

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Lil yachty's delightfully absurd path to 'let's start here'.

Matthew Ramirez

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: Lil Yachty performs on the Stage during day 2 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 29: Lil Yachty performs on the Stage during day 2 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

Lil Yachty often worked better as an idea than a rapper. The late-decade morass of grifters like Lil Pump, amidst the self-serious reign of Future and Drake (eventual Yachty collaborators, for what it's worth), created a demand for something lighter, someone charismatic, a throwback to a time in the culture when characters like Biz Markie could score a hit or Kool Keith could sustain a career in one hyper-specific lane of rap fandom. Yachty fulfilled the role: His introduction to many was through a comedy skit soundtracked by his viral breakout "1 Night," which tapped into the song's deadpan delivery and was the perfect complement for its sleepy charm. The casual fan knows him best for a pair of collaborations in 2016: as one-half of the zeitgeist-defining single "Broccoli" with oddity D.R.A.M., or "iSpy," a top-five pop hit with backpack rapper Kyle. Yachty embodied the rapper as larger-than-life character — from his candy-colored braids to his winning smile — and while the songs themselves were interesting, you could be forgiven for wondering if there was anything substantial behind the fun, the grounds for the start of a long career.

As if to supplement his résumé, Yachty seemed to emerge as a multimedia star. Perhaps you remember him in a Target commercial; heard him during the credits for the Saved by the Bell reboot; spotted him on a cereal box; saw him co-starring in the ill-fated 2019 sequel to How High . TikTok microcelebrity followed. Then the sentences got more and more absurd: Chef Boyardee jingle with Donny Osmond; nine-minute video cosplaying as Oprah; lead actor in an UNO card game movie. Somewhere in a cross-section of pop-culture detritus and genuine hit-making talent is where Yachty resides. That he didn't fade away immediately is a testament to his charm as a cultural figure; Yachty satisfied a need, and in his refreshingly low-stakes appeal, you could imagine him as an MTV star in an alternate universe. Move the yardstick of cultural cachet from album sales to likes and he emerges as a generation-defining persona, if not musician.

Early success and exposure can threaten anyone's career, none so much as those connected to the precarious phenomenon of SoundCloud rap. Yachty's initial peak perhaps seeded his desire years later to sincerely pursue artistry with Let's Start Here , an album fit for his peculiar trajectory, because throughout the checks from Sprite and scolding Ebro interviews he never stopped releasing music, seemingly to satisfy no one other than himself and the generation of misfits that he seemed to be speaking for.

But to oversell him as a personality belittles his substantial catalog. Early mixtapes like Lil Boat and Summer Songs 2 , which prophetically brought rap tropes and pop sounds into harmony, were sustained by the teenage artist's commitment to selling the vibe of a track as he warbled its memorable hook. It was perhaps his insistence to demonstrate that he could rap, too, that most consistently pockmarked his output during this period. These misses were the necessary growing pains of a kid still finding his footing, and through time and persistence, a perceived weakness became a strength. Where his peers Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti found new ways to express themselves in music, Yachty dug in his heels and became Quality Control's oddball representative, acquitting himself on guest appearances and graduating from punchline rapper to respectable vet culminating in the dense and rewarding Lil Boat 3 from 2020, Yachty's last official album.

Which is why the buzzy, viral "Poland" from the end of 2022 hit different — Yachty tapped back into the same lively tenor of his early breakthroughs. The vibrato was on ten, the beat menaced and hummed like a broken heater, he rapped about taking cough syrup in Poland, it was over in under two minutes and endlessly replayable. Yachty has already lived a full career arc in seven years — from the 2016 king of the teens, to budding superstar, to pitchman, to regional ambassador. But following "Poland" with self-aware attempts at similar virality would be a mistake, and you can't pivot your way to radio stardom after a hit like that, unless you're a marketing genius like Lil Nas X. How does he follow up his improbable second chance to grab the zeitgeist?

#NowPlaying

Lil yachty, 'poland'.

Let's Start Here is Lil Yachty's reinvention, a born-again Artist's Statement with no rapping. It's billed as psychedelic rock but has a decidedly accessible sound — the sun-kissed warmth of an agreeable Tame Impala song, with bounce-house rhythms and woozy guitars in the mode of Magdalena Bay and Mac DeMarco (both of whom guest on the album) — something that's not quite challenging but satisfying nonetheless. Contrast with 2021's Michigan Boy Boat , where Yachty performed as tour guide through Michigan rap: His presence was auxiliary by function on that tape, as he ceded the floor to Babyface Ray, Sada Baby and Rio Da Yung OG; it was tantalizing curation, if not a work of his own personal artistry. It's tempting to cast Let's Start Here as another act of roleplay, but what holds this album together is Yachty's magnetic pull. Whether or not you're someone who voluntarily listens to the Urban Outfitters-approved slate of artists he's drawing upon, his star presence is what keeps you engaged here.

Yachty has been in the studio recording this album since 2021, and the effort is tangible. He didn't chase "Poland" with more goofy novelties, but he also didn't spit this record out in a month. Opener (and highlight) "The Black Seminole" alternates between Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix-lite references. It's definitely a gauntlet thrown even if halfway through you start to wonder where Yachty is. The album's production team mostly consists of Patrick Wemberly (formerly of Chairlift), Jacob Portrait (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Jeremiah Raisen (who's produced for Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira and Drake) and Yachty himself, who's established himself as a talented producer since his early days. (MGMT's Ben Goldwasser also contributed.) The group does a formidable job composing music that is dense and layered enough to register as formally unconventional, if not exactly boundary-pushing. Yachty frequently reaches for his "Poland"-inspired uber-vibrato, which adds a bewitching texture to the songs, placing him in the center of the track. Other moments that work: the spoken-word interlude "Failure," thanks to contemplative strumming from Alex G, and "The Ride," a warm slow-burn that coasts on a Jam City beat, giving the album a lustrous Night Slugs moment. "I've Officially Lost Vision" thrashes like Yves Tumor.

Yet the best songs on Let's Start Here push Yachty's knack for hooks and snaking melodies to the fore and rely less on studio fireworks — the laid-back groove of "Running Out of Time," the mournful post-punk of "Should I B?" and the slow burn of "Pretty," which features a bombastic turn from vocalist Foushee. That Yachty's vaunted indie collaborators were able to work in simpatico with him proves his left-of-center bonafides. It's a reminder that he's often lined his projects with successful non-rap songs, curios like "Love Me Forever" from Lil Boat 2 and "Worth It" from Nuthin' 2 Prove . That renders Let's Start Here a less startling turn than it may appear at first glance, and also underlines his recurring talent for making off-kilter pop music, a gift no matter the perceived genre.

At a listening event for the record, Yachty stated: "I created [this] because I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist. Not just some SoundCloud rapper, not some mumble rapper. Not some guy that just made one hit," seemingly aware of the culture war within his own genre and his place along the spectrum of low- to highbrow. To be sure, whether conscious of it or not, this kind of mentality is dismissive of rap music as an artform, and also undermines the good music Yachty has made in the past. Holing up in the studio to make digestibly "weird" indie-rock with a cast of talented white people isn't intrinsically more artistic or valid than viral hits or a one-off like "Poland." But this statement scans less as self-loathing and more as a renewed confidence, a tribute to the album's collective vision. And people like Joe Budden have been saying "I don't think Yachty is hip-hop " since he started. So what if he wants to break rank now?

Lil Yachty entered the cultural stage at 18, and has grown up in public. It adds up that, now 25, he would internalize all the scrutiny he's received and wish to cement his artistry after a few thankless years rewriting the rules for young, emerging rappers. Let's Start Here may not be the transcendent psychedelic rock album that he seeks, but it is reflective of an era of genreless "vibes" music. Many young listeners likely embraced Yachty and Tame Impala simultaneously; it tracks he would want to bring these sounds together in a genuine attempt to reach a wider audience. Nothing about this album is cynical, but it is opportunistic, a creation in line with both a shameless mixed-media existence and his everchanging pop alchemy. The "genre" tag in streaming metadata means less than it ever has. Credit to Yachty for putting that knowledge to use.

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POV: AI-generated album covers prioritise virality over creativity

Record labels are increasingly opting for AI-generated visuals over collaborating with creatives – and it’s dividing opinion among artists and listeners.

POV is a new column written by It’s Nice That’s in-house Insights department . Published fortnightly, it shares perspectives currently stirring conversation across the creative industry. POV digs deeper into industry discussions and visual trends, informed and inspired by creatives we write about. To uncover visual trends and insights from within the global creative community through our Insights department, get in touch here .

There is a certain kind of lore that surrounds visual artists who work in the music world. It’s the iconic pairing every creative yearns for: an opportunity to translate the world of another artist and give it new meaning. There are countless examples throughout design history. Reid Miles’ era-defining typographic work for Blue Note Records. Stanley Donwood famously paints alongside Radiohead as they write and record. Peter Saville even once told me , while standing in front of a body of his own work, that its influence “has spread through everything”.

It’s understandable, then, that record labels’ decision to opt for AI-generated artworks has divided opinion amongst artists and listeners. Jon Rafman’s cover for Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here left fans debating whether it was genius or detrimental. While Nicki Minaj’s AI-generated imagery, in promotion of her 2023 album Pink Friday 2 , led to a series of bandwagon-jumping memes. The latter has seemingly piqued the interest of virality-hunting music execs prioritising strategy over creativity, leaving the role of the designer, photographer, art director and so on, in limbo.

Although artificial intelligence’s capabilities divide opinion no matter the industry in question, scrutiny appears to intensify when it comes to visuals related to music. Perhaps there is no home for “artificial” visuals in an artform which audiences form deep emotional attachments to. Or are we focusing on the drawbacks of this technology due to its increasingly unimaginative widespread use?

Robert Beatty: Mdou Moctar, Afrique Victime (Copyright © Robert Beatty and Matador Records, 2024)

It’s a question that sparked discussion amongst designers early last week, led by the Kentucky-based artist and musician Robert Beatty. Recognised for his psychedelic-leaning work for the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never, Bedouine and Tame Impala, Robert explained how seeing musicians choose AI over human collaborators is not only disheartening, but disappointing in its execution. He isn’t wholly against working with such tools, though. As his original Tweet succinctly put it: “I’m not anti-AI, I’m anti-shitty artwork.” However, in the landscape of generated works, “it’s hard not to see music videos or album covers that are made with AI and feel like it’s artists or labels trying to save money and cut corners,” Robert tells us. “So much of the work I’ve seen in the music world that uses generative AI feels tossed off or unfinished. It feels like a quick shortcut to generate content and nothing more than that.”

At Beggars Group in London – a group of independent labels including 4AD, XL, Rough Trade Records, Matador and Young – global head of creative Alison Fielding spends her days building out aesthetic worlds for album campaigns. The look and feel of records is “always led by conversations with the artist,” she says. At times this can lead to Dry Cleaning’s Grammy-award-winning pubes by Rottingdean Bazaar and Annie Collinge, through to David Rudnick’s landscapes for Black Midi. “It’s very important an artist is represented in a way they’re happy with,” Alison tells us. “It’s their music, after all.” With this ethos in mind, Alison and her team’s creative commissioning expands to AI too, but with understandable hesitation.

Dry Cleaning (Copyright © Rottingdean Bazaar x Annie Collinge and 4AD, 2024)

For Alison, there are potential positives to incorporating machine learning into the artistic process behind an album’s campaign. When ideating proposals, it can visualise tests to show an artist, and there are, of course, financial benefits to not hiring expensive location shoots. There are also numerous artists creating boundary-pushing work in collaboration with machine learning. Beggars’ own Holly Herndon incorporates AI into her compositions. There are also many inspiring artists “in the immersive, interactive and installation worlds,” notes Alison, highlighting Sougwen Chung’s painting robots as a personal favourite she’d love to collaborate with. But such experimental cases are rare. “Often, the process creates these soulless and highly polished images which, to me, look very flat and lifeless,” she says. “The audience is not as connected or engaged. It’s formulaic in a way, and not as fresh nor exciting as it was.”

Like any visual field, certain methods of communicating have their moments in the spotlight, causing the zeitgeist to form around them with varying degrees of success. Easy-to-access AI tools also lead to the assumption that this technology can make anyone an “artist”. But without narrative, or the understanding an art director or designer brings to a project, a record sleeve where generative visuals are the entire concept just appears inanimate. As Robert puts it: “Part of what interests me about art in the first place is seeing people work within a set of limitations,” he says. “How those limitations (whether being forced to learn a new skill or doing something in a short period of time) inform the work is a huge part of what makes things ‘good’ to me. It would be way more interesting, to me, to see what a human could do with a set of constraints, than trying to evade the constraints by using a shortcut.”

This sentiment is mirrored in the reaction to several AI-generated releases in recent months. In fact, even when this technology is incorporated into an artist’s process, it can have a divisive effect. For example, one reference Robert mentions as “especially revealing” is Tony Oursler’s music video for Beth Gibbons’ recent release, Floating On A Moment . “If one of the most famous video installation artists alive can’t get away with using this stuff, who can?” he asks.

Tony Oursler: Beth Gibbons, Floating On A Moment

Ultimately, for many audiences, the use of AI dispels the magic that listeners are used to feeling towards a new release. “It’s the application of it that’s key,” adds Alison. “You need to step back from it. Ask if it’s actually good, or am I just excited by a new tool? Because when it’s done well, with thought and integrity, it can be incredibly effective and engaging.” By and large, true resonance lies in sincere intention and audience connection. “In general, people will always be drawn to work because of the people who made it,” says Robert. “If an artist isn’t putting a piece of themselves into the work, why should anyone care?”

Bespoke Insights from It’s Nice That

POV is a column written by It’s Nice That’s in-house Insights department. Published fortnightly, it shares perspectives currently stirring conversation across the creative industry.

As a column, POV is an editorial reflection of our wider work on Insights, digging deeper into industry discussions and visual trends, informed and inspired by creatives we write about. To learn more about visual trends and insights from within the global creative community through our Insights department, click below.

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Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

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Lil Yachty Walks Out On Stage

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Lil Yachty Walks Out On Stage is an exploitable meme format featuring a viral video of American rapper Lil Yachty walking out onto a stage with a large audience and dancing. In April 2024, the clip began to spread online in edited forms, with Yachty being replaced by other people using a rotoscoping app called Viggle AI . Some famous personalities edited on Yachty include Sam Bankman-Fried and Joker .

American rapper Lil Yachty performed in the August 2021 Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash concert, with a clip of him walking out on stage to a lively audience gaining traction online in subsequent months. A clip of Yachty walking out was posted to YouTube [1] on June 20th, 2022, where it gathered over 4 million views in two years (seen below).

The video came to be reposted in subsequent years, with fans admiring Yachty's stage presence. On June 18th, 2023, X [6] user @mosthiphop reposted the clip with the caption, "lil yachty with the most legendary walk out to concert I’ve ever seen," gathering over 100,000 likes in a year (seen below).

lil yachty with the most legendary walk out to concert i’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/QuKbdQIDff https://t.co/ssW8Zrg2FY — Wost🐰 (@mosthiphop) June 18, 2023

The video also came to be used as a reaction meme, as seen in an April 6th, 2023, post by X [7] user @Jai_Mcintosh and a March 8th, 2024, post by X [8] user @notsobann, both gathering over 1,000 likes each in roughly a year (seen below).

2024 AI Rotoscope Edits

On April 8th, 2024, X [2] account @AIWarper made a post showing how they turned Yachty into Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker using an app called Viggle AI. The post gathered over 3,000 likes in four days (seen below).

Viggle AI Experiment 💙 This is an incredible tool for style transfer. Details and link to Discord below 👇 As always, if you enjoy this content please kindly like and share! pic.twitter.com/1qW8H0MuwX — A.I.Warper (@AIWarper) April 8, 2024

On April 11th, X [3] user @CensoredMen posted a video showing Adolf Hitler rotoscoped onto the clip of Lil Yachty. The post gathered over 120,000 likes in a day (seen below).

AI is evolving at unprecedented rates 💀 pic.twitter.com/NYEzXAokNY — Censored Men (@CensoredMen) April 11, 2024

Also on April 11th, 2024, X [4] user @betafuzz posted a clip of Sam Bankman Fried edited onto Yachty's clip, gathering over 7,000 likes in a day (seen below).

pic.twitter.com/BqsmP40EDH — betafuzz (@betafuzz) April 11, 2024

X [5] account @PerSources also posted an edited video, this time showing NBA athlete Nikola Jokic walking out on stage instead of Yachty. The post gathered over 5,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Nikola Jokic on his way to accept his 3rd MVP award like pic.twitter.com/4DWUb5bzVO — Per Sources (@PerSources) April 11, 2024

Various Examples

https://t.co/qEE7xZRjrW pic.twitter.com/CwFGEBiy9S — mememandir (@mememandir) April 12, 2024

$JPM Jamie Dimon showing up to the conference call this morning after reporting $42.55 billion in revenue pic.twitter.com/u9bsvxUnSc — Stocktwits (@Stocktwits) April 12, 2024

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External References

[1] YouTube – The Extra

[2] X – AIWarper

[3]  X – CensoredMen

[4] X – betafuzz

[5] X – PerSources

[6] X – mosthiphop

[7] X – Jai_Mcintosh

[8] X – notsobann

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Lil Yachty’s ‘Teenage Emotions’ Cover: Mykki Blanco, Cakes Da Killa, Adore Delano & More React

The album art features Yachty in the center of a movie theater, surrounded by people not normally represented in the media: a girl afflicted with vitiligo, an albino boy and -- perhaps the most…

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Last Friday (April 21), Lil Yachty generated buzz after unveiling his album cover for his debut studio album, Teenage Emotions — and the chatter hasn’t stopped. The album art features Yachty in the center of a movie theater, surrounded by people not normally represented in the media: a girl afflicted with vitiligo, an albino boy and — perhaps the most controversial — a young gay couple making out.

See latest videos, charts and news

Mykki Blanco

The response has been generally positive, with people applauding Lil Boat’s decision to start a conversation with his album art. Billboard reached out to LGBTQ musicians to see what they thought.

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Gia: I think it’s a bold message coming from someone who is a familiar face in the rap community. I admire how Lil Yachty is so connected with his fans and becoming a voice for our generation. Yachty putting this on the cover is an example of acceptance of our differences and a much needed statement for the hip-hop community and the world to see. Any statement homogenizing the LGBTQ community in pop culture is amazing. We as a society need to continue spreading awareness. Those who have listeners or fans should try their best to use their platform.

Cakes Da Killa:  This is complicated. Obviously the cover is a marketing tool where every detail was thought out specifically to ensure a conversation, but what type of conversation is Yachty really trying to start? My initial thought: If the two boys kissing were black, honestly, that would be more impactful. I’m just like, yeah, bold move, but also this a little bit of a cop out. I’m just a little confused.

Trending on Billboard

Mykki Blanco:  I love Yachty. Sometimes, when rappers do certain things or when the hip-hop community gives a nod to LGBTQ issues, I roll my eyes a bit because I’m thinking, “Oh, so because this straight rapper acknowledges gay people or queer people or trans people, you all are willing to show some kind of faux sense of acceptance.” It’s like, do you have any gay friends? Would you actually be supportive of queer people in your normal life? Would you even be receptive to some of the queer musicians like Big Freedia? That kind of makes me roll my eyes. In the case of Yachty, he’s young — and he’s young in that way where when you see an artist like him do stuff, you just can read the purity in it. You can read that the intention is really genuine and that he’s not pandering to anybody. I think it’s groundbreaking because for someone of this age who has the audience that he has — for him to even use a small amount of his platform to do something like create his first album cover — and it has two men kissing. You know what I mean? I know some people in radical circles would say, “Oh, he couldn’t have chosen two men of color or he couldn’t have chosen this or he chosen that?” But it is what it is, and I do think it’s groundbreaking. I think that Yachty’s awesome.

Adore Delano: I find the cover badass! It’s a huge step for hip-hop to not only show support, but to have it on this album cover. I always think of the kids and what they’re going to see. This is an awesome image for pop culture right now.

Dai Burger:  I think this is a great cover. Not only is there a gay kiss, but he’s included people from different walks of life as well. I feel it could open a lot of his fans’ minds to realizing that we don’t all have to be the same to be considered ‘normal.’ We are all different — and that’s okay. I feel this embraces that, and to be honest, I’m here for it!

Taylor Bennett:  This choice to feature a gay kiss on his latest album cover was a bold, powerful, and respectable move from the bottom of Yachty’s heart. I believe it was a statement that most people — not just rappers or musicians — are afraid to make. Big ups from my team. Thanks Lil Boat!

Tish Hyman:  Lil Yachty’s album cover is awesome. I think it says exactly how he is feeling. He doesn’t care and that’s cool!

MUNA:  The variety of beauty in this photo is staggering and heart-melting. It’s not just the fact that he decided to include a gay couple kissing — it’s the inclusion of so many different types of people that American media has previously deemed too ‘other’ for a cover. An overweight girl, a body-modified punk, a black albino person, a girl with vitiligo — and Yachty right in the middle of it all with a rainbow smile. We are so on board the Lil Boat.

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The lil yachty walkout meme using ai that's taking over the sports world, explained, share this article.

You may have seen the meme that’s going around showing someone — whether it’s the Joker or New York Knick head coach Tom Thibodeau and so on — coming out from backstage to a giant crowd of concert goers before igniting them with a fiery performance.

Wondering where it’s from? I did, and I figured it out!

It’s a video of Lil Yachty walking out on to a long stage and going OFF, and it’s amazing to watch the crowd react.

People are now using AI to put those aforementioned stars in the video, and it’s become a whole meme.

Here’s the original:

And the memes:

“Lil Yachty and Larry David with the HARDEST walk out EVER” thx larry thx @ViggleAI pic.twitter.com/Oc8Cbgnnsf — haprojector (@haprojectorx) April 11, 2024

Walk Out Lil Yachty X Dancing $BABY 🕺👶 pic.twitter.com/80rxOn8Two — Dancing $BABY – First Meme 1996 (@dbabyeth) April 13, 2024

ROMAN MEME 398 : roman with lil yachty's stage entrance pic.twitter.com/Ydkxccp4NU — ROMAN REACTION MEMES (@romanreactmemes) April 13, 2024

New AI (viggle) tool replaced Lil Yachty with Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker Deep fakes will be crazy in a year from now. pic.twitter.com/671JZcXhhO — The Meme Merchant (@Meme_Merchant) April 10, 2024

When you’re up 30 with 7 minutes left so you call Jalen Brunson’s up off the bench pic.twitter.com/ImYtczkNct — B.W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) April 12, 2024

We finally get a Healthy Playoff Embiid🙏 pic.twitter.com/XKBht0ux6n — CBain (@cbain100) April 14, 2024

Kambwala, Garnizzy and Mainoo kick ball tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/6GKegRBYsh — Deng™ (@UTDDengv2) April 12, 2024

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Lil Yachty walkout meme, explained: How the viral AI concert video started and took over sports world

R appers want to be ballers. Ballers want to be rappers. It's a tale as old as time. The latest meme to hit the sports world melds those two sides in a way only the internet can do.

Social media is ablaze with videos portraying various sporting figures strutting down a catwalk-like stage, swarmed by a deluge of adoring fans.

Take this example, which stars Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag:

It doesn't take long to figure out that such a scene is not real but the result of artificial intelligence software.

Everything else surrounding the meme is shrouded in mystery. Many social media aficionados don't know that the video, which has amassed millions of views, actually centers Georgia rapper Lil Yachty, a prominent face in the music industry.

With that, here's what you need to know about Yachty's latest foray into the sports world — this time via meme.

MORE:  Sketch 'What's up brother?' celebration, explained

Lil Yachty walkout meme original video

The video showcasing Yachty in front of legions of his fans stems from an appearance he made at the 2021 music festival Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash.

A YouTube video of the performance, which hit the virtual streets until June 2022, has amassed 4.5 million views . The sentiment of said clip — that Yachty's walkout was among the hardest in the history of live music — seemed to be a big hit among fans.

Twitter didn't take much notice at first. But months after that YouTube video was posted, a meme bubbled up in the social media collective consciousness. Users — including an impressive amount of soccer fans — started using the clip as a way to broadcast their passions in 2023.

Yachty's stroll down the catwalk is an increasingly popular reaction across social media platforms. That has dripped into sports as well, with many sporting enthusiasts using the video as a way of bonding, building (online) communities and generally expressing themselves. That has to be where the story ends, surely.

Not exactly. In April 2024, X user AI Wrapper posted a mashup of the Yachty clip. But Yachty was nowhere to be found, replaced by Batman villain The Joker, as played by famed actor Joaquin Phoenix.

The way forward was Viggle AI, software that allows users to manipulate the look of videos and transfer styles across visual barriers.

The application took off like wildfire. In the weeks that followed, the sports world has taken notice, with sporting figures far and wide receiving the Yachty meme treatment. That includes Nikola Jokic, Tom Thibodeau and Roman Reigns, among others. 

Lil Yachty walkout meme song

Although it may be hard to hear, there is a song attached to the Yachty meme. It's among his most popular tracks, a 2020 banger entitled "Coffin," which has amassed more than 150 million streams on Spotify since its release on Oct. 23, 2020.

The track is teeming with replay value, fueled by a thumping 808s-driven instrumental and Yachty's slurred delivery. Although the Georgian has developed a reputation as a more melodic presence in the music industry in the years since its release, it's little surprise why the masses who filled into the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash ground back in 2021 felt so compelled to let loose amid Yachty's croons.

Buddah bless this beat (it's us, Earl on the beat) Strappin' the keeper, mm, uh keepin' the keys on, uh It's us, givin' the keys to the Wock' to my boys Go, okay, slatt, okay, 'crete Gimme the keys to the coupe, I'ma pull out (brrt) Gimme the keys to the 'crete, I'ma pull out ('crete, 'crete) Gimme the keys to the coupe, I'ma pull out (skrrt) Gimme the keys to the coupe, I'ma (skrrt, uh) Go, I'm gonna talk my shit (yeah) Okay, okay (Concrete Boys), okay Gimme the keys to the coupe, I'ma pull out Gotta wear condoms 'cause I do not pull out (ew) Walk in the spot, fifty deep with the tool out They know that it us, show out at the cookout (slatt, go) We gettin' money, don't care 'bout what they on (us) Finger f— hunnids at home all alone In a suit with a stick like Capone (beep) Bo for the Jackson, like shamone I took the chrome to chrome (shamone) I took his b—, I boned (beezy) I made her leave her phone, yes (Yeah, oh) Who said we ain't made records? (Go) Rich-ass still eatin' Checkers Still pull up, double decker (boys) Still control the whole Mecca Still that n—, still (still) I still f— her, I will (will) Might put this b— in my will (will) (Wait, you're gon' do what?) You're trippin', n—, I'm from, n—) Us, chill F— this b— in the hills I ain't even lick her, she wet as a eel Ew, n—, I'm just talkin' (oh my God) Get on these beats and I'm not even rappin' I'm literally flossin' and walkin' (walk) Get on these beats that I'm literally walkin' On God, I really be flossin' (walk) B— in the sheets, hit that b—from the back Put the p— inside of a coffin

Fontaines DC Announce Their New Album, ‘Romance,’ And Share The Cinematic Visual For ‘Starbuster’

Fontaines DC has announced their fourth studio album, Romance . The album is scheduled for release this summer via XL Recordings, and was primarily produced by James Ford.

Ahead of the album, Fontaines DC has shared the song, “Starburster.”

Inspired by a panic attack, the clashy, trippy “Starburster” features lead vocalist Grian Chatten approaching unhinged territory, before arriving to clarity. The song’s accompanying video follow a man finding serenity amid the chaos through his day-to-day routine.

Chatten shared that the album was partially inspired by the anime Akira and the concept of finding love as the world is falling apart.

“I’m fascinated by that – falling in love at the end of the world,” said Chatten in a statement. “The album is about protecting that tiny flame. The bigger armageddon looms, the more precious it becomes,” while O’Connell adds “This record is about deciding what’s fantasy – the tangible world, or where you go in your mind. What represents reality more? That feels almost spiritual for us.”

You can see the video for “Starbuster” above and the Romance cover art and tracklist below.

Fontaines DC’s Romance Album Cover Artwork

Fontaines DC’s Romance Tracklist

1. “Romance” 2. “Starburster” 3. “Here’s The Thing” 4. “Desire” 5. “In The Modern World” 6. “Bug” 7. “Motorcycle Boy” 8. “Sundowner” 9. “Horseness Is The Whatness” 10. “Death Kink” 11. “Favourite”

Romance is out 8/23 via XL Recordings. Find more information here .

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Watch Mac DeMarco join Lil Yachty for a huge Coachella set

The two took to the stage at the end of the performance for two tracks

Lil Yachty surprised fans at his huge Coachella set last night (Sunday, April 14) by bringing out Mac DeMarco as a special guest. Check out footage of the moment below.

• READ MORE: Coachella 2024 liveblog: all of the action as it happens

The American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer – whose real name is Miles Parks McCollum – took to the stage at the Indio festival last night, in what was the final day of the first weekend.

Initially, the intense set by Yachty kicked off with the rapper performing five back-to-back tracks from his 2023 album, ‘Let’s Start Here’. Walking on the stage as ‘the BLACK seminole’ was played over a tape, he launched into ‘IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!’ and ‘THE zone~’, before delivering renditions of ‘pRETTy’ and ‘running out of time’ – which he performed alongside Justine Skye – and ‘drive ME crazy!’.

From there, fan favourites including ‘Flex Up’ and ‘Coffin’ were embedded in the 21 song setlist, as well as covers of BRAM’s ‘Broccoli’ and ‘ON THE RADAR CONCRETE CYPHER’ by Concrete Boys.

However, it was towards the end of the set that Yachty delivered one of the most noteworthy moments – bringing out slacker-pop king Mac DeMarco as a surprise guest.

Here, the two came together to perform two tracks from DeMarco’s discography. The first of which was ‘On The Level’ – taken from DeMarco’s 2017 album  ‘This Old Dog’ – while the second was ‘Chamber Of Reflection’, shared 10 years ago as part of the ‘Salad Days’  LP.

Check out footage of the collaboration below, as well as the full Lil Yachty setlist.

lil yachty just brought out mac demarco at coachella pic.twitter.com/r4tpOQTcH3 — isaiah✰ (@tlop444) April 15, 2024

Recommended

lil yachty bringing out Mac DeMarco to perform (‘: pic.twitter.com/m6mgygVdTo — d ✮⋆˙ (@lighterflickk) April 15, 2024

Lil Yachty’s 2024 Coachella setlist was:

‘IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!’ ‘THE zone~’ ‘pRETTy’ ‘running out of time’ (with Justine Skye) ‘drive ME crazy!’ ‘Coffin’ ‘Split / Whole Time’ ‘NBAYOUNGBOAT’ ‘Flex Up’ ‘Minnesota’ ‘Get Dripped’ ‘Broccoli’ (DRAM cover) ‘Gimme da Lite’ (Southside & Lil Yachty cover) ‘Poland’ ‘One Night’ ‘Strike (Holster)’ ‘ON THE RADAR CONCRETE CYPHER’ (Concrete Boys song) ‘On the Level’ (with Mac DeMarco) ‘Chamber of Reflection’ (with Mac DeMarco) ‘WE SAW THE SUN!’ ‘the BLACK seminole.’

The collaboration between the rapper and the singer-songwriter last night comes after the two joined forces on Yachty’s aforementioned 2023 album ‘Let’s Start Here’ . In the release, DeMarco is credited as a writer on two tracks – ‘Drive Me Crazy!’ and ‘Failure’.

The album also featured a huge number of additional guests other than DeMarco, including MGMT ’s Ben Goldwasser, Alex G , Daniel Caesar , Fousheé , Teezo Touchdown , Justine Skye and Diana Gordon.

Elsewhere in yesterday’s instalment of Coachella 2024, the night saw sets from Sublime , Blur and No Doubt , before Tyler, The Creator headlined that evening.

You can find highlights from their full set here, and for more live updates as it happens, check out NME ’s liveblog for Coachella 2024 here .

Check back here for the latest news, reviews and more from Coachella 2024.

• Related Topics
• Mac DeMarco

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Drake Relentlessly Trolls Metro Boomin With Drumline Outside Magic City

Drake relentlessly trolls Metro Boomin with a drumline outside of Magic City  strip club in Atlanta.

Drake Sends Entire Drumline to Magic City in Atlanta to Troll Metro Boomin

On Tuesday (April 16), Drake continued his 24-hour-long social media clowning session aimed at Metro Boomin . In a move of pure pettiness, Drizzy hit up his Instagram Story to share video footage of an entire drumline the Toronto MC sent to Magic City, one of the hottest clubs in Metro Boomin's home city of Atlanta.

In the IG clip below, at least 10 percussionists can be seen clanging and banging away outside of the famed gentlemen's club. The gag appears to be a direct shot at Metro Boomin. Drake plays on a specific line aimed at the producer on his recent leaked diss track, which has the unofficial title  "Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)."

"Metro shut yo h*e a*s up and make some drums, n***a," Drizzy raps on the song.

Read More: Metro Boomin Insists  We Don't Trust You  Album Would Have Gone No. 1 Regardless of the Drama 

Drake fuels the flames with latin version of metro boomin diss line.

Just moments before Drake posted the footage of the drumline outside of Magic City, he added fuel to the already smoldering smoke between him and Metro. The 6 God shared another video in which a man wearing a cowboy hat is seen dancing with a woman to a Latin music version of the aforementioned diss bar he sent Metro Boomin's way.

Why Is Drake Going So Hard at Metro Boomin?

Drake dissed Metro Boomin on "Push Ups (Drop and Give Me 50)" after artists like Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd used Future and Metro's back-to-back albums,  We Don't Trust You and  We Still Don't Trust You ,  as platforms to send lyrical shots at Drizzy.

It's now being assumed by many that Champagne Papi is going in particularly hard on Metro Boomin due to speculation surrounding recently uncovered evidence that Drake didn't write his lyrics to the "Jumbotron S**t Poppin." After a reference track leaked on Monday that finds Lil Yachty rapping Drake's lyrics on the Her Loss cut, DJ Akademiks and other hip-hop outlets are under the impression that Metro is responsible for the leak.

Read More: The Recent Diss Tracks Are Bringing Competition Back to Hip-Hop and We Are All Hungry for It

In the video clips below, check out Drake going above and beyond to troll Metro Boomin and watch DJ Akademiks accuse Young Metro of leaking the "Jumbotron S**t Poppin" reference track.

Watch Drake Troll Metro Boomin With a Drumline Outside Magic City

See drake clown metro boomin with a latin version of his diss aimed at the producer, watch dj akademiks accuse metro boomin of leaking lil yachty's version of "jumbotron s**t poppin", see unnecessary hip-hop beefs that never should've happened, more from xxl.