Lil Yachty Shares Whether He Ever Listened to The Notorious B.I.G. or Tupac

Lil Yachty angered plenty of music fans back in 2016 when he infamously stated he "honestly couldn't name 5 songs" by Tupac or The Notorious B.I.G. A new interview suggests Yachty's attitude is still as brazen as ever.

Tupac and BIG are two of the most universally respected rappers to ever grace a mic. But shortly after sparking outrage with his initial 2016 comments, Yachty doubled down, confidently labeling Biggie "overrated" during a sit-down with Pitchfork alongside The Good Perry.

Yachty applauded his own fearless honesty, tweeting how he "might be the only new age artist speaking his mind." He added, "If I don't listen to Biggie or think he is as big as everybody else why is that a problem lol who cares bro."

He also explained that, as someone who grew up in the 2000s, Soulja Boy and Lil B were his hip-hop idols rather than any iconic acts from the '90s.

The narrative around Yachty's lack of respect for the legends would fizzle as he focused on moving beyond his reputation as a bubbly SoundCloud rapper. Earlier this year, he even seemed a bit remorseful about the way he fielded those Biggie and Tupac questions.

"I never meant to disrespect. I was just being honest," the 23-year-old told Zane Lowe on an Apple Music show in April. "I didn’t have no media training, right? All I knew was to be an honest person. … I didn’t listen to [Tupac and Biggie] but I didn’t say they were trash."

If he was feeling any kind of humility then, it's mostly vanished.

Yachty revealed to HipHopDX that he listened to Tupac and Biggie for "about 30 seconds" following the 2016 controversy. Did he like what he heard? "I'm good," he said, making his taste clear.

Yachty explained why he doesn't feel the need to "study" the greats since he's carving his own lane. "If you’re good at what you’re doing then … art is art," he said. "Do you need to study Picasso to learn how to paint? No. If you care then yes, but if not, who cares?"