Lil Yachty is fondly known as the fun-loving, red-haired rapper who ruled SoundCloud during the mid-2010s. The ‘Minnesota’ singer developed a cult following on the music streaming platform aged 18, and since the release of his breakout single ‘One Night’ in 2016 has maintained his relevance as an artist.
In an episode of his new podcast, A Safe Space, the Atlanta rapper (real name Miles McCollum) and his co-hosts explored the topic of artists and cultural figures who have fallen off. Two artists from the 2000s who entered the conversation were Jamaican artists Shaggy and Sean Paul.
Addressing whether or not they had fallen off, the ‘Poland’ musician stated, “Nobody ever said Sean Paul fell off. They just stopped making music. I don’t think they’re still dropping music.” However, he then brazenly proceeded to declare, “By the way, fuck Sean Paul. I want to make that very clear, I don’t fuck with Sean Paul. Sean Paul once dissed me in a radio interview.”
Sean Paul did indeed reference Yachty in a 2016 interview he had with The Breakfast Club. The interview was during the period McCollum was being ostracised by hip-hop for his comments about Biggie Smalls and 2Pac when he admitted he “couldn’t name five songs” from either.
Sean Paul, akin to many older hip-hop fans, took great offence to McCollums blasé attitude towards the late legends and his lack of respect for the culture. During his interview, Paul insinuated that Lil Yachty wasn’t talented, asserting, “If it was really about talent in the Hip Hop industry, you wouldn’t have some of these younger cats talking that. The Lil Yachty dem. The boat boy. I mean, I don’t know much of the dude’s music either.”
Paul continued, “I don’t like his comments. Those are artists I revere. I understand that, probably, kids don’t care about writing right now. I understand they don’t know where hip-hop started.” Following the vast amounts of backlash he received for his comments, McCollum did end up apologising and familiarising himself with 2Pac’s music. However, Sean Paul’s comments stuck with him.
You can watch a clip of Lil Yachty’s A Safe Space podcast in the clip below.