Lil Yachty made a bold appearance on Complex's "Everyday Struggle" on Tuesday, May 2, and not one minute into the broadcast, tensions began to bubble, with shade oozing out of his backhanded insinuation that people like DJ Akademiks, Nadeska Alexis, and Joe Budden don't have the kind of status in the industry that would be recognized by the Met Gala invitation he received. The remark was clearly a joke that Yachty didn't appear headed towards making, until Budden questioned his claim that "everybody was there." Joe would stop the conversation some moments later to warn Yachty that he is "the biggest fan of self deprecation," and from that point forward it was evident that it was going to be an intense interview.
It is no secret how Joe Budden feels about Yachty as an artist. He has consistently aimed criticism towards the 19-year-old Quality Control star since joining the Complex platform. One of Joe's more recent points of contention with Yachty came with the release of the cover to his upcoming Teenage Emotions album, which Joe called exploitative during a past episode of the show. The TE cover would be the first topic of conversation in regards to Yachty's artistry, on Tuesday (May 2). Joe would chime in by immediately questioning whether his counterpart had come up with it all by himself, and Yachty swiftly elaborated on how it was all his idea and that the label had nothing to do with the actual creative process. Before Joe dug a bit deeper, he admitted needing an explanation about the cover because he sees it through jaded eyes. "I know," Yachty quickly came back.
What began as a passive aggressive exchange of shots would eventually expand into a thorough exploration of where Yachty is coming from as an artist in the game, with him proclaiming that he is primarily focused on the business aspect of hip hop, proudly owning that he is very conscious about his image and brand. Joe would challenge that he felt like the answers he was receiving from Yachty were the product of media training, and when as Yachty continuously tried to play it zen, in defending that his upgraded lifestyle is a testament to him is winning because of how happy he has become, Joe countered by calling B.S.
The interview would eventually come around to Joe giving the young ATL rapper props for some of the business deals he has gotten done in marketing, but it wasn't long before he was putting him back on the defensive; questioning him on his feelings about a 360 deal and chastising him for not knowing whether or not he is part of one, and reminding him that as a figure who millions of youth are impressionable towards he bares a responsibility to keep it real with his audience, especially when it comes to conveying through his music that he has the very sense of intelligence and independence he is able to display during a radio or television appearance. Yachty had been trying to maintain that there is nothing premeditated about what he does, other than make music that he feels will help people value themselves.
Both Yachty and Joe voiced the importance of coming together to discuss their differences in perspective and opinion, but if they came away with a better understanding about how one another approaches hip hop, they didn't end the show making it apparent. In fact, just as Yachty's placid demeanor brought the aggressive energy Joe had been making manifest, back down to an even keel, Joe came down with him, but that didn't translate to him going any easier on Lil Boat. While claiming that despite having at times been asked to navigate outside of his lane, and compromise his art for the sake of meeting objectives set by his executives, Yachty said he "can't just sell out," which only set Joe up to jump back on him with, "but you always have."
Source: complex.com
