When 18-year-old rapper Lil Yachty sat down for his interview with CNN, his posse of mostly hometown friends almost immediately began teasing him. “F–k Donald Trump. Say f–k Donald Trump!” Another voice, an older member of his crew, disagreed.
Although Trump isn’t popular with most hip-hop artists and rappers, Yachty, who also goes by Lil Boat, ignored his younger friends. “Boat for Sanders, okay? We’re going to keep it positive. I’m not negative.”
In 2016, the Atlanta-based rapper, real name Miles McCollum, dropped his first mixtape and modeled for Kanye West during his “Yeezy Season 3” event at Madison Square Garden. He also has a hit single, “1Night”, which currently sits at over 21 million streams on Soundcloud.
During the sit down, Yachty cracked inside jokes with his crew and was constantly fidgeting with his jewelry and red-beaded hair. However, as soon as the conversation turned to politics, he got serious.
“A lot of people are just following the masses and … I don’t think they really know what each side holds,” he told CNN.
Yachty said he’s supporting Bernie Sanders, adding that it’s “not just because he was with the Civil Rights movement, but because of everything he stands for. I feel like he’s really about equality.”
When asked about where he first heard of Sanders, a smile spread across his face: “Lil B,” Yachty responded.
Lil B is a California-based rapper who made headlines last year when he announced on Twitter that he was switching his vote from Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders.
Speaking to CNN’s Brooke Baldwin, B said he decided to switch after “really seeing that Bernie was a part of fighting against segregation. That was something that really touched my heart.”
For Lil Yachty, he said he believes voting is very important.
“I want to say it’s important that you vote, that you get out there. Everybody’s voice matters. Just make sure that you register, and if (you’re) not going to vote, at least take the time, do some homework on what’s going on,” he said.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Lil
Yachty.