Lil Yachty Doubles Down On His Ian Co-Sign With ‘Hate Me’

You’d be forgiven for being unaware of 19-year-old Dallas rapper Ian. There’s an understandable generational disconnect when it comes to Gen Z and Alpha’s internet rap heroes. But look… it might be time to get familiar. Especially as he’s received the co-sign of Lil Yachty, the original point of generational divide between young millennials and their Gen X predecessors.

After bringing the buzzy teen artist out during his set to perform his breakout song “Magic Johnson” at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash last month, he doubled down on his support with “Hate Me,” a defiant new single that gives the young rapper plenty of space to show off his lyrical talents. The song is accompanied by a glitchy music video directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s AMD for a simple, yet effective platform for both rappers to boast and slag off their enemies.

So, who is Ian?

A SoundCloud producer turned rapper, Ian released his debut mixtape, Valedictorian, in May. Featuring a cover referencing the You Know I Had to Do It to Em meme hinting at a tongue-in-cheek posture (think a young Jack Harlow, but more ironic), the tape displayed a young talent very similar to rule-breaking predecessors like Yachty. A laughably bad review on Pitchfork probably did him more good than harm, especially as videos for “Magic Johnson” and “Figure It Out” (also a Lyrical Lemonade production) blew up on YouTube. With Lil Yachty’s backing, we’re likely to see a lot more of Ian in the future.

You can watch the video for “Hate Me” above.