Lil Yachty considers the late XXXTentacion “the most talented” artist of his time, saying in a recent interview that he wishes he was “still here.”
During an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast on Tuesday (Jan. 20), Yachty had high praise for several artists we lost in the late 2010s, including Mac Miller (“the real GOAT”) and Juice WRLD. Speaking about X, specifically, Yachty described his artistic approach as coming from someone who was “ahead of” themselves.
“I wish X was still here,” he said. “I really wish he was still here. He was so talented. Him, Juice.”
Asked about his individual relationships with both, Yachty noted that while he and Juice made a higher volume of music together, he and X were “super close” as friends.
“I worked with Juice a lot,” he said. “We had a whole project. And me and X were super close. We only had one song together but we were super tight. We were always on the phone. I used to talk to him when he was in jail before he got out. It was a really sad case. I think X was the most talented of them all, of us all, in my opinion. I think he was just ahead of himself.”
X was just 20 years old when he was fatally shot in 2018. One year later, Juice, 21, died of an accidental overdose. Reflecting on how much time has passed since their deaths, Yachty noted the quickness with which time seems to pass now that he’s older.
“It’s so long ago at this point, man,” Yachty, now 28, said. “It’s been so long. It’s scary how time flies when you become an adult. I feel like when I was in grade school, like, the school year would be so long. You’d wait for summer. Now, as an adult, you speed through years.”
Elsewhere during the Impaulsive interview, Yachty said he was currently working on a new album. See more below.