Lil Yachty Responds to Anderson .Paak’s Comments About Artists Knowing Their History

Lil Yachty ruffled some feathers last week when he admitted to being unable to name five songs from either Biggie or 2Pac. “But if I’m doing this my way and making all this money,” Yachty told Billboard, “why should I do it how everybody says it’s supposed to be done?” The admission came as a shocking offense to many hip-hop listeners, with some as well commenting on Lil Boat's neglectful tastes.

On Saturday (Aug. 27), Anderson .Paak, who shared the 2016 XXL Freshman cover with Yachty, the two side-by-side on it, provided his take on the drama, writing on Twitter, "Don't be cocky in the fact that you don't know anything about hip hop history. Real artists are students of the game first." A day later, Yachty responded to the tweet, first posting the "Hmm" emojj in response.

"Ya know what..." he later wrote, "I think it's funny how people feel like you HAVE to like something just cause everybody else does. Or like I HAVE to know something. where in the handbook of hip hop does it say u must know this list of songs to make music. Lmao."

While Yachty is perhaps in the minority with regards to Big and Pac, his point is that there's no one uniform way to become a successful artist, no exam that all must pass. In fact, differing musical experiences and vantage points will create a wider array of artists. Read the Twitter exchange below, with Yachty previously saying that serious rap is boring and that he doesn't take rapping seriously.

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