Feature Artist: Yeat

Auto-Tuned melodies, distinctive vocals, wild production choices, and clever, scene-stealing bars are all highlights of Portland, Oregon-based rapper Yeat’s captivating style. Viral online attention and acknowledgment from Drake added to Yeat’s growing profile, and he signed on with Interscope Records for the release of his 2021 studio debut, Up 2 Më. 2022’s 2 Alivë and Lyfë both reached the Top Ten of the Billboard 200.

Yeat was born Noah Smith in 2000. He began releasing music around 2015, taking notes from Young Thug’s melodic strangeness and the inventive production styles of rappers who were rising to prominence as he grew up. He started out using the moniker Lil Yeat, but shortened it to Yeat in 2018. That year, he released his first mixtape, Deep Blue Strips. From that point forward, he was in hyperdrive, releasing three mixtapes in 2019, two EPs in 2020, and sporadic singles that appeared amid his other projects. The rapper broke through in 2021 when his song “Gët Busy” began appearing in TikTok videos. The track became so ubiquitous that its lyrics were even referenced by Drake.

As his fame skyrocketed, Yeat released the mixtapes Alivë and 4L, and the Trëndi EP, before signing to Interscope for the release of his first proper studio album. Up 2 Më was issued in September 2021 and made it to the lower tier of the Billboard Top 200 chart. A second studio LP, 2 Alivë, quickly followed in early 2022 and leapt up the Billboard chart to a number six debut. Subsequent EP Lyfë appeared that September and reached number ten. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi

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