Lil Yachty Says His Haters Are Old & Washed Up

Lil Yachty is over his critics. Over the past few months, the Atlanta rapper’s views on hip-hop’s golden age sparked debates with little resolution between the youth and hip-hop’s older enthusiasts. Speaking with Bossip at the BET Hip Hop Awards (Sept. 17), an aloof Yachty gave a few words on his haters.

“N***as don’t know how to accept change,” he said. “They old and washed up. I said it.” Since the release of the rapper’s breakout single “1 Night,” some lovers of hip-hop have turned their backs on him and other new kids like 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti. The rappers were also mocked in memes, challenge their relevance.

Artists like Anderson .Paak and Ab-Soul have spoken out about respecting rap pioneers and the style that helped it translate into the powerhouse genre it is today, while super producer 9th Wonder shared his support of the new rappers. “I ain’t trippin that some kid can’t name Biggie and Pac songs..u gotta check the kid’s background and upbringing before you judge,” he tweeted Sept. 9. “I do wish that this generation would know what it feels like to have at least 15 to 20 rappers they can be connected to for more than a year. So leave Lil’ Uzi Vert, Lil’ Yachty, Kodak Black, etc. alone fam. We got our greats. Ain’t nobody said you gotta like them. I got Tribe, Nas, Jay, Big, Fugees, Outkast, Pete and CL, De La, D’Angelo….I’m good. Nobody can label FOR me, what Hip-Hop is. No TV show, no radio station. They can call it whatever they wanna call it for packaging. But you can’t speak on music you’ve never heard. That takes time too. Kids got A LOT of catching up to do before they can be well versed. Getting mad at kids who don’t know stuff from 20 years ago, but in ’93 when they were 18 couldn’t name everything from 1981.”

In the meantime, the rapper has continued to let its work speak for him. Yachty teamed up with Noisey to premiere the visuals for his new single “Never Switch Up” and shared footage from his two sold-out shows in California.

Check out his interview below and “Never Switch Up” here.