DimeMag

Nothing Can Faze Lil Yachty’s Confidence

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Lil Yachty
McDonald’s All-American Game

Lil Yachty has come full circle. Before music, Yachty worked as a McDonald’s crew member, during which time, he crafted one of his artistic hallmarks — the signature vibrant red hair that made him stand out when he first stepped onto the scene.

Dropping tracks on Soundcloud in between shifts at Mickey D’s, Yachty maintained his momentum before deciding to move to New York to pursue music full-time. Nearly a decade later, Yachty delivered an energetic halftime performance at the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Games this past Tuesday (April 2). Additionally, he starred in a commercial for McDonald’s Canada, which featured him delivering a trippy rendition of the Menu Song.

Yachty’s most recent solo album Let’s Start Here showed us that his name is no longer synonymous with the Soundcloud era. Inspired by psychedelic sounds, Let’s Start Here proved to listeners that Yachty is serious about his artistry and is no flash-in-the-pan. And since its release over a year ago, Yachty has not taken his foot off the gas.

Last month, Yachty announced the launch of Concrete Recordz, as part of a partnership with Quality Control and HYBE. On the roster is his new rap collective, Concrete Boys, comprised of rappers Camo!, DC2TRILL, Draft Day, Karrahbooo, and Yachty himself.

Uproxx chatted with Yachty ahead of his halftime performance, as well as the release of Concrete Boys’ compilation album, It’s Us Vol., 1, which is set to drop Friday (April 5). With 10 years in the game, Yachty isn’t letting up anytime soon — not before pushing more bounds with his own artistry, and cultivating a new generation of movers and shakers.

Hey Yachty, how are you?

I’m blessed, man. Happy that we are having nice sunny days. I had a milkshake. And I’m lactose [intolerant], but I took my lactose pills. I took two of them. And they’re working, so we’re good. It’s always a plus when you’re lactose, and you drink milk, and you’re good. That might be too much information, but you asked, and I’m truthful.

[Laughs] I’m not tripping. How are you feeling, leading up to your performance?

It’s always a good feeling to have a full-circle moment in life. I worked for McDonald’s, and it was the first job I ever had when I was 15 or 16 years old. My McDonald’s commercial also just came out for McDonald’s Canada.

I love your commercial. It’s really trippy! How did that collaboration come together?

Separate from this, actually, McDonald’s reached out. And they wanted to redo the classic song, and I thought that was awesome. And very few artists get the opportunity to do these types of things, so it was actually a no-brainer.

What are some of your fondest memories as a McDonald’s crew member?

My mom was a very business-savvy woman. I had long, black braids back then. When I was about to go in for my interview, my mom was like “Oh, you can’t have braids, you have to look professional if you want to get hired.” She took me to the barbershop, and she made me cut off my hair.

I went to the interview, got hired, and on my first day working, everyone had long hair. I remember coming home to my mom crying and being like “You made me cut my hair! I would’ve still gotten the job.”

She felt so bad, and she was like “Okay, well let’s do something different.”

And I was like “I don’t have hair,” and then she said “dye it red.”

That’s the origin of my red hair.

And you’ve never shared that before?

You honestly just unlocked that memory in my brain. I forgot all about that.

So you’ve got It’s Us Vol. 1, dropping Friday. It’s the first album with the Concrete Boys crew. What was the process like assembling talent for this collective?

These are my friends. So it wasn’t like I was looking high and low for talent. These were friends that I’ve made along the way. The most important thing to me is my friendships — and trying to bring everyone up to a level of success so they can provide for their families is the goal. Plus, I’ve always just loved the idea of groups and crews.

How do you envision your label Concrete Rekordz growing, say five or 10 years from now?

Man, that’s more than enough time. You could say one year from now. But five or 10 years from now? That’s much more time than any artist needs to become successful. I want to make sure I say that. With today’s time, and internet [platforms], six months is all you need. But in five years, I plan to have four moguls, doing their own things, starting their own labels.

Your last album, Let’s Start Here was a sonic risk, as you experimented with psychedelic sounds. What kind of sounds are you exploring for your next project?

I can’t tell you, my guy. But what I will tell you is that I’m definitely not done taking risks. I can’t say what I’m doing next, but I can say that I’m not done taking risks. That wasn’t a one-and-done.

You also have an album with James Blake coming out soon. What can you tell us about that?

I’m really excited about it. It’s really amazing. When [artists] make collab projects, I think a lot of times, they don’t access the full extent of what could be. Me and James really connected and just created a brotherhood. We made a really special project that is far beyond both of us, and I’m super excited for it to come out.

Can you give us a hint as to when it’s going to drop?

It keeps getting pushed back, man. It was it was supposed to come out this month. But I don’t know if it will. But it’s done. Mixed and mastered.

So earlier this week, you said that some rappers are angry because they’re “ugly as f*ck,” and therefore, lack confidence. What would you say is the key to maintaining confidence?

[Laughs] Well, I was just talking sh*t. But, I don’t know, man. I don’t take things too serious. I enjoy the life that I was given and try to stay stress-free. I’m well aware of the blessings and the cards I was dealt, and I’m just grateful. I think I can I can only speak for myself when I say that it’s very easy to be happy.

It’s been about a decade since you moved from Atlanta to New York to pursue music. As an artist, and now, the owner of your own label, what would you say is the biggest thing you’ve learned in your career?

Staying true to yourself and not letting anyone’s negative comments bring you down. The negative side of the internet isn’t real. It’s not a real place. It’s all just trolls and make-believe. It’s not real, it doesn’t translate over into the real world.

GloRilla Does Not Regret Flirting With Damian Lillard, But She Won’t Say If Anything Happened Afterward

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During the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in February, GloRilla posed alongside Milwaukee Bucks All-Star point guard Damian Lillard and posted the photo on X (formerly Twitter). The since-deleted posts read, “Who n**** dis is? Cause I want him #GetEmGlo” and “Whoever she is can’t whoop me so I really dgaf.”

On Wednesday, April 3, GloRilla appeared on the latest episode of Club Shay Shay. Host Shannon Sharpe acknowledged GloRilla had “shot one of those Steph Curry shots” in the form of flirtation toward Dame and asked, “Did it go in?” GloRilla awkwardly giggled before expertly avoiding actually answering the question, saying, “The halfcourt shot? You know, at the end of the day, the day gon’ end.” Sharpe’s last-ditch effort (“It went in”) to get an admission was met with more ambiguous giggles.

In early March, TMZ asked Lillard about whether he had “seen GloRilla shoot her shot.” Lillard chuckled and said, “Man, shout-out to GloRilla, man.” But when asked whether he had reached out or had any contact with Glo, Lillard politely shut it down, saying, “No comment, my brother.”

Lillard was traded from Portland to Milwaukee last October. Days later, the eight-time All-Star and his wife, Kay’La Lillard, filed for divorce. The former couple were college sweethearts and share three children. In February, Lillard described the past several months as “the hardest transition in my life, all things considered,” as per Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill.

Watch the Club Shay Shay clip above.

GloRilla Judged LeBron James’ Rapping Skills In Reaction To His ‘Yeah Glo!’ Video

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LeBron James impressed Metro Boomin when he rapped along to Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” verse during warmups ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, March 31. GloRilla heaped more praise onto the ever-expanding LeBron James Praise Pile during the latest episode of Club Shay Shay.

Host Shannon Sharpe asked for GloRilla’s reaction to James posting a video of him dancing and rapping along to her February single “Yeah Glo!” The Memphis rapper explained that she found out about it while getting a massage and noticing her phone “blow up” on the “little massage table” and initially blowing it off before finally looking and seeing that “everybody [was] calling me, like, ‘LeBron just posted your song!’”

GloRilla said she “instantly reposted it,” and then she hit up Rodeo Drive to get something to wear to the Lakers’ game that night because “this is one of the best — not one of the best — this is the best player in the league right now.” Glo paused to clarify that the late Kobe Bryant is her favorite player, but James is second.

Sharpe rained on her parade, saying, “He ain’t know not one word.” GloRilla countered with, “He knew the words! He did! I done watched LeBron rap songs and not know the words for real. He knew ‘Yeah Glo!’ He probably ain’t say, like, certain words, but that was good for him because he don’t be knowing songs for real. He knew more words than usual when he was singing ‘Yeah Glo!’”

Watch the full Club Shay Shay clip above.

Drake Offers A Subtle Response After LeBron James Was Seen Rapping Along To Kendrick Lamar’s Diss About Him

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drake
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LeBron James had a big game the other night, when his Los Angeles Lakers bested the Brooklyn Nets 116-104. He wound up with 40 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field, including nine three-pointers (which ties a career high). Metro Boomin couldn’t help but notice that James’ big night came after the NBA star was spotted rapping along to Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That,” a highlight from Metro and Future’s new album We Don’t Trust You.

That verse, of course, made waves when it first dropped for apparent disses against J. Cole and Drake. Drake caught wind of LeBron’s moment with the song and had a subtle reaction: He liked an Instagram post sharing the video.

This comes after Drake used Instagram to offer up with some took as other reactions to the song. In one post, he wrote, “They rather go to war with me than admit they are their own worst enemy [crying laughing emoji].” He said in another, “I could never sell ya’ll out to sell my latest work. Never do you bad out the blue but I’m down to make it worse.”

So, at this point, unless he’s saving it for a diss track or something, it looks like these subtle shots may be all we get from Drake in terms of a “Like That” response.

Metro Boomin Couldn’t Help But Notice LeBron James Had A Career Night After Rapping ‘Like That’ Pre-Game

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LeBron James March 31 2024
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Sunday (March 31) was a good day for Metro Boomin. His and Future’s collaborative album We Don’t Trust You debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — Metro’s fourth-career No. 1 album and Future’s ninth, according to Billboard. The album earned 2024’s largest week by any album, with 251,000 equivalent US album units, as per Luminate.

Hours later, ESPN’s Omar Raja recorded LeBron James rapping Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That” during the Los Angeles Lakers’ warmups ahead of their game at the Brooklyn Nets. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, proceeded to do what he does in the Lakers’ 116-104 win. The 39-year-old logged 40 points on 13-of-17 from the field with nine three-pointers. Per ESPN, James tied his career high for threes in a game and joined Michael Jordan “as the only players in NBA history with multiple games of 40 points or more after turning 39.”

Metro Boomin was delighted, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “bro was warming up to Like That then went 9/10 from 3 and 13/17 for 40 points [exploding head emoji, three steam-from-nose emojis, flexing emoji] #WEDONTTRUSTYOU.”

By the time James was spotted spitting “Like That,” he and the Lakers had already run onto the court to “Ya Ya” from Beyoncé’s newly released Cowboy Carter, as seen in a video posted by Jasmine (@hausofJazzy) on X.

Cowboy Carter debuting at anything lower than No. 1 next week would be a bigger upset than James’ Lakers winning the West, and then it can almost already be penciled in that Metro and Future’s We Don’t Trust You sequel album will recapture No. 1 after its April 12 release date.

CeeLo Green Did An Uncensored Version Of ‘F*ck You’ At A Hawks Game

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ceelo middle finger
NBA League Pass

NBA teams like to keep fans entertained during halftime. While most folks use the break in the game as a chance to go to the bathroom or get something from the concessions stand, teams will put some form of entertainment out there. Sometimes, it’s an act that goes from stadium to stadium and does the same thing — plenty of fans love Red Panda, while I’m personally a big fan of that dude who has people play Simon Says.

Every now and then, teams will put on a mini-concert, which the Atlanta Hawks decided to do on Thursday night during their game against the Boston Celtics. The team called up Atlanta native CeeLo Green, who performed his smash hit single from 2010, “F*ck You.” The catch: CeeLo didn’t censor himself, so instead of performing the more radio-friendly version of the song (“Forget You”), he really let loose.

The Hawks did seem to enjoy it, as they shouted out CeeLo on Twitter after his performance.

As for the game, this is a rematch of a game we saw earlier this week. Despite trailing by as many as 30 points in that one, Atlanta stunned the best team in the Eastern Conference, 120-118. As for how things were going on Thursday night before the half, the Hawks were once again competitive despite the Celtics taking a 63-59 lead into the locker room.

Even Ice Cube Has Caitlin Clark Fever, Inviting The Iowa Star To Play In The BIG3 For $5 Million

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caitlin clark
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To say that Caitlin Clark might be the biggest star in women’s basketball at the moment feels like an understatement of the order of saying something like “the sun is very large and very hot.” Besides being inadequate to describe the phenomenon in question, it’s also horrendously obvious.

Case in point, Clark Fever (Mania?) is at such all-time highs, even men’s sports leagues want in on the action. Ice Cube, proprietor of the innovative BIG3 league, even offered Clark $5 million to play in the BIG3 this summer. According to TMZ, the deal would be for eight regular-season games and two possible playoff games, while still allowing her to play in the WNBA.

Cube explained providing the offer, saying, “Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes.” He even got polictical, rightly pointing out that women “should have more than just one professional option in the US at a time when American pro sports leagues are being infiltrated by autocratic, anti-women regimes such as Qatar.” The specter of Brittney Griner’s recent ordeal looms large.

While we’re sure that he’s making this offer in good faith (despite bypassing no small number of Clark’s fellow stars), it seems … unlikely that Clark would be able to play in BIG3 and WNBA at the same time, as their seasons greatly overlap. Intriguingly, though, only two BIG3 games overlap with games for the Indiana Fever, the team that seems most likely to land Clark in this season’s upcoming draft. The additional travel and game wear doesn’t eem like it’d be quite worth it, but hey, stranger things have happened in Indiana (ba-dum, tsss).

However, one place Cube’s statement is thankfully inaccurate is that there is more than one women’s basketball option for players opting out of overseas play. The Athletes Unlimited Pro Hoops league just concluded its third season this past weekend. So, if Clark wants to stay sharp, she certainly has at least one other option in 2025.

Drake Gave His Memorable Kentucky Locker Room Meme A Hilarious (But Heartfelt) Modern Update

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drake
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This past weekend saw the beginnings of most NCAA conference basketball postseasons, which means March Madness has begun. Drake, the walking meme and ardent Kentucky Wildcats fan whose love for the team apparently knows very few bounds, commemorated one of his most memorable team-related moments ten years on.

Back in October 2014, Drake launched a thousand memes, one truly horrendous airball, and even a cease-and-desist from the University itself when he attended UK’s Midnight Madness event to kick off the team’s 2014-15 campaign. In addition to starting the lint roller meme and prompting the near-universal ridicule that inspired him to get his jump shot form together, Drake joined the team in their film room, suited up like he was just another player hoping to get some playing time in John Calipari’s system.

Ten years later, though, all the players from that photo have moved on, with Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles, and Tyler Ulis all joining the NBA in the years since. Coach Cal is still around, but when Drake headed to the film room to get pic, he did so all by his lonesome. “Oh hell nah all my brothers left me,” he captioned the photo. Of course, his “brothers” were happy to roast him a bit in the comments. Booker wrote, “Mann we left when u did.”

It’s all in good fun, of course, and you can bet that should they make it to the Big Dance, Drake’s bet on the team will be sizable, as always.

The Detroit Pistons Will Brighten Their Terrible Season With Limited-Edition J Dilla Merch Designed By Royce Da 5’9

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royce da 5'9
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The Detroit Pistons‘ 2023-2024 NBA campaign has admittedly not been going well so far. The Motor City basketball club currently has a 9-52 record — good for one of the worst in the NBA’s 78-year history.

They do have one bright spot to look forward to, however. On March 13 — aka 313 Day, a nod to the city’s phone area code — the team will unveil a new merch collection honoring one of Detroit’s favorite sons, the late, great J Dilla. Curated by Dilla’s fellow Motown hip-hop powerhouse Royce Da 5’9, the collection will be available exclusively through the team store at Little Caesars Arena and on Pistons313Shop.com.

The collection will consist of six pieces (with an additional four online), featuring the Pistons’ logo, remixed as a donut in a nod to Dilla’s game-changing 2006 instrumental album Donuts and bearing J Dilla in place of the Pistons’ name. There will also be pieces featuring a patch reading “Welcome To Detroit,” the title of Dilla’s debut solo album, with the donut shop from the Donuts alternative cover.

The whole concept is very cool and very well executed. Y’all know your boy is a Clippers fan and I’m still probably going to log in the day of release to secure that hat (also, please take notes, Mr. Ballmer. Nipsey Day could easily be a thing at Intuit Dome).

In the press release, Royce said of the collab, “When designing the capsule for the J. Dilla Pistons partnership, our aim was to honor Dilla’s essence. Our interpretation of the iconic “Donuts” album cover was pivotal to the collection, as the album holds significant historical importance within hip-hop circles.”

You can get more info about the collection here.

Lil Wayne ‘Got Treated Like Sh*t’ At A Lakers Game And Thinks It’s Because Of An Old Anthony Davis Take

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The Los Angeles Lakers needed overtime on Thursday night, but by the time the dust settled, the team picked up a 134-131 win over the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena. Like most Lakers home games, there were celebrities in attendance, with one of them taking to Twitter after the game to voice his frustrations about how he was treated.

Lil Wayne tweeted that he “got treated like sh*t at the Laker game just now,” although as he tells it, he isn’t surprised this happened. In his eyes, some remarks about Anthony Davis from earlier in the 2023-24 season are likely behind all of this.

For context, back in November, Lil Wayne appeared on the FS1 show Undisputed and expressed his belief that Los Angeles couldn’t win a championship with Davis on the team. As he explained, this is “because he’s AD … he shows us them spurts every other other night — it used to be every night, then every other.”

He ended up going on Undisputed on Friday and dove into this even further.

At the time of these comments, the Lakers were 3-5 on the year and Davis had just missed his first game of the season, a 34-point road loss to the Houston Rockets. The good news for L.A. is that Davis has mixed durability with production as well as ever this year, as he’s played in 57 of a potential 61 games while averaging 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 35.8 minutes per game.