It’s not really clear what exactly awakened Pete Rock to what’s going on in music right now but he clearly isn’t a fan. Only a few days after some light sparring with Young Dolph, the producer set his sights on Lil Yachty as his next target of ridicule.
Using his Instagram, Pete posted a video clip of Yachty’s “freestyle” on Hot 97 and captioned it with a few thumbs down emojis followed by a few poop ones to boot. He even took time to reply to a few commenters, writing that the leader of the boat movement “He sucks mud on a rainy day” and citing his lack of ability to flow off the cuff as a sign that hip-hop is “dead” in our country.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJskRa3gnbn/
Well, it took a minute but Yachty finally caught wind of The Chocolate Boy Wonder’s words — maybe he was lost at sea with no wifi? — and took the time to respond via Twitter on Monday. Surprisingly, he adopted a peaceful approach that was actually measured and borderline insightful. He wrote, “I ain’t mad at @PeteRock, that’s his personal preference cause personally ion like his type of music either. So it’s not f*ck you. Bless u.” He handled it much better than he did the back-and-forth with Anderson .Paak.
I ain't mad at @PeteRock ,that's his personal preference cause personally ion like his type of music ethier. So it's not fuck you. Bless u⛵️
— CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) September 6, 2016
Now, whether one agrees with Yachty or not is a personal thing. But, what he says does have a degree of validity to it. Chances are Pete and Yachty’s taste differ wildly, even though they’re both classified as “rap” artists. They both value a different sound, style and approach that leaves them worlds apart in terms of the music they create. As it should, Pete came up under one school of hip-hop while Yachty….well, he’s said a few times he ditched Rap 101 classes.
Yachty wasn’t done though. He finished his point by stating “Cause at the end of the day what we doin over here not gone stop growing because a old head don’t like it. The world will continue to spin.” Resorting to calling Pete an “old head” won’t win him any additional respect but he’s right about at least one point here, too. The world for a Yachty fan won’t stop just because Pete Rock doesn’t deem his music acceptable. The same as how the rap world will continue to spin whether Yachty’s a part of it or not.
Cause at the end of the day what we doin over here not gone stop growing because a old head don't like it. The world will continue to spin
— CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) September 6, 2016
What Yachty should understand is that Pete’s invested time and energy into studying his craft and has a lengthy track record. No matter the shifts and changes, he’s been able to adapt and stand grounded, remaining while others fall by the wayside. That’s how you last in the rap game and in the music industry. Yachty’s flippant attitude towards the groundwork laid for him by his rapping elders is probably why he’ll have a hard time extending his time past the 15 minutes a lot of “new heads” in his position are blessed with but lose hold of once their worlds get to spinning a little too fast.
