Lil Yachty’s comments have kept him in the news cycle this week.
He confirmed Karrahbooo was no longer a member of the Concrete Boys, said that he only recently listened to Jay-Z’s The Black Album for the first time, and that the internet is undershooting his net worth by a substantial margin. But we’re here to discuss his comments on New York City style that have turned him into Public Enemy Number One for all of the stylish individuals in the five boroughs this week.
It all started with a passing comment on his A Safe Place podcast calling out how current New Yorkers dress. However, many people interpreted his words as him saying that New Yorkers, especially from the Bronx, cannot dress at all. For the past week, everyone from TikTokers to legends like Juelz Santana have chimed in to defend NY (and subsequently fired some shots at Yachty and the style they feel that he fully hijacked from 2000s NYC).
The back and forth has been a lot to keep up with. We’re not here to take sides, but here’s a recap of what went down, so far.
Lil Yachty’s Initial Comments
On episode 24 of the A Safe Place podcast, co-hosts Lil Yachty and MitchGoneMad were joined by the bubbling New York City rapper/producer Cash Cobain. Around the 48-minute mark, the topic of the conversation eventually turned to fashion.
“I don’t think there’s shit goin’ on when it comes to New York fashion,” said Yachty. Yachty and Mitch go on to name a handful of brands they see being worn frequently like Purple, Amiri, and Hellstar, which they don’t deem stylish.
Cash Cobain’s rebuttal addresses the time that Yachty spends in SoHo and the great style there to which Yachty replies, “Queens, Bronx, are nothing like Manhattan.” Yachty goes on to say he also thinks that people in his hometown of Atlanta right now also dress terribly before complimenting his own personal style.
“It’s just me, myself, and I. I stand on a hill alone. That’s all I know. I can’t speak for nobody else but myself.”
Social Media Reacts
Following Yachty’s comments, New Yorkers took to social media to defend their boroughs and call the rapper out for what they deemed to be hypocritical comments. X user @problemchile called out Yachty for dressing just like Bronx residents in 2007. He references a photo of Boat in Timberlands, True Religion jeans, a green Ralph Lauren Polo, and a burgundy Polo Bear bucket hat. User @FollyviD wrote, “I respect Yachty and I believe that he is one of the flyest guys but we also need to stop playing with New York. We seen the influence it have on fashion.”
TikToker @brotherwiththebeard also posted a video calling out Yachty for saying kids in SoHo dressed better than kids in the Bronx. “The folks that you see in SoHo that are fly are not from SoHo, Lil Yachty. Those are usually Uptown kids that go down there and get they fits off. That’s always been a thing. That’s part of the culture in New York.”
Lil Yachty Addresses Comments With New Videos
Four days after Yachty’s comments circled around social media, the rapper posted a video to his TikTok account attempting to clarify his comments. While he admits to saying something about the way Bronx residents dress, he doesn’t recall exactly what. (scroll up a bit if you need a refresher)
“I think I said people from the Bronx can’t dress, I think. I’m not sure, something that upset people,” says Yachty.
He goes on to credit Atlanta with influencing a lot of today’s culture. “If you think about lately, trends come from Atlanta.” He references slang terms like “slime” and “twin” that have been adopted around the country, but were born in Atlanta. He also apologizes, albeit a bit sarcastically, to anyone in the Bronx who “may have felt some type of way” about his initial comments on A Safe Place.
Shortly after, he also went on Instagram Live to further clarify his comments. He said that people had misinterpreted his words and also makes sure to give NYC its proper credit in fashion history, but also doubles down on a lot of today’s current trends originating in Atlanta.
“I stand on what I said. The culture [right now] is ran by Atlanta, bro,” says Yachty. “When we’re talking about the history of fashion, I would never disrespect New York culture. Anybody that knows me knows I love Wu-Tang. I love Dipset. Real GOATs when it comes to this fashion shit.”
Juelz Santana And Fivio Foreign Weigh In
Despite Yachty showing him love, Juelz Santana still called out the “Lets Get On Dey Ass” artist for speaking on New York style. Santana wrote, “WE all Love Atl But did @lilyachty SAY say the flyes [n****s] N the Most TRENDSETTERS Came from ALT WOW Much love bro.” In the caption for the post, Santana wrote that he feels people are trying to erase Dipset’s style contributions and trendsetting from history. He also shows love to style icons from New York such as ASAP Rocky, Fabolous, and Jim Jones.
Yachty showed up in the comments to reiterate his apprecation for Dipset and the group’s impact writing, “that’s not what I said, I’ll never discredit dipset og.”
Fivio Foreign got straight to the point, echoing what others on X have said, by posting, “How yatchy say ATL dress better then ny w a whole NY fit.”
ASAP Nast Weighs In
ASAP Nast doesn’t play when it comes to fashion. And for good reason. Nast is easily one of the most stylish individuals around today. While he never addresses Yachty by name, you can imply that he is talking about him. Nast kept things brief saying, “You’re not that guy, pal.” (excellent meme reference, by the way)
In a followup string of IG stories, Nast also addresses Yachty’s claim that Atlanta is the most influential city right now, writing, “Somebody please bring up some type of proof or receipts or something this guy is doing drugs clearly i mean what’s even happening here? We love Atl 3 stacks is it for you guys tho lmao.”
Nast also shows love to Atlanta native Playboi Carti in a subsequent post.
Yachty and Bloody Osiris on IG Live
A week after making his first comments, Yachty hopped on IG Live again with New York-based model/influencer/designer Bloody Osiris. Once again, Yachty made an attempt to clarify what he was saying on A Safe Place.
“I was talking to a specific demographic of New York n*****,” Yachty told Bloody O. “I got too much respect for the n***** who came before me, especially in fashion because I have so much love for n***** in this fashion shit. I couldn’t go on and not make it right because I care too much about fashion.”
The two attempted to have Jim Jones join the call, but to no avail. Yachty concluded the video saying that he’s going to be taking a hiatus from social media for the rest of year aside from the A Safe Place podcast that he is contractually obligated to do.
“I ain’t posting no more shit this year. I aint posting no more fits. I’m deleting the apps off my phone.”
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