The Insane Rise of YEAT

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Published 2022-09-11
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Noah Smith (born February 26, 2000), known professionally as Yeat (/ˈjiːt/ YEET), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and music producer. He gained recognition in mid-2021 after the release of his mixtape 4L and debut studio album "Up 2 Më", with tracks from the latter, including "Gët Busy", "Turban", and "Monëy So Big", gaining popularity on TikTok. In 2022, he released his second studio album, "2 Alivë", and the EP "Lyfë".

Noah Smith was born on February 26, 2000, in Irvine, California. In an interview, he stated his mother is Romanian while his father is half Mexican, through Smith's paternal grandmother (in that same interview, Smith said that his paternal grandfather was white, but that he didn't know his specific ethnicity). His father was a member of a band and owned many instruments. Yeat moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon in his teen years and attended Lakeridge High School. After graduating, Yeat moved to New York to pursue his music career before eventually moving to Los Angeles, where he currently lives.

Yeat began making music that had Auto-Tune-infused vocals. In 2021, he adopted a more aggressive and synth-based sound, joining a growing group of rappers that used "rage beats", a sound that became a SoundCloud staple influenced and pioneered by the lively vocal deliveries and EDM-influenced beat selections of artists such as Playboi Carti; Carti's December 2020 Whole Lotta Red album has particularly been referenced. His vocal style has drawn comparisons to notable rappers like Playboi Carti, Future, and Young Thug. Yeat has stated the latter two are some of his biggest inspirations.

Yeat has also been noted to employ a unique lingo in his music, coming up with ad-libs and phrases such as "twizzy" and "luh geeky", and referencing Tonka in his lyrics often. His father was one of the inspirations for him creating these unique words, as he himself would make up his own words when Yeat was a child.

Certain aspects of Yeat's music have led him to be associated with various Internet memes and trends, especially the frequent use of bell sounds in his song's beats.

00:00 Intro
01:21 Yeat's Backstory + early music
07:04 Year's blow up
13:00 Is Yeat the future?


#volksgeist #yeat #hiphop

All Comments (21)
  • @fabyier
    I was at the lowest point in my life until I listened to yeat. He changed my life for the better and now I'm twizzy rich
  • @oftgnov
    I was paralyzed from the hair down. It wasn't until my Alexa misheard my wheelchair squeaking and turned on Yeat, my feeling immediately came back and I can fly now. I now own 69,420 acres of agricultural land where I can grow all the opium poppies and tonka trucks required to produce 60 billion 2 liter bottles full of the finest Wokhardt. Thank you so much Yeat for everything you have blessed me with.
  • @lucasvslife
    I hate when people call new artists, styles and sub genres the "death of hip hop". You can find me listening to Kendrick and Yeat back to back on my liked songs. Just like life, music has many different sides to offer and to be enjoyed.
  • @_wauce
    Yeat is definitely the next big thing in rap. You know you've struck gold when you find an artist that sounds awful the first time you listen to them, a week later you find yourself looking up their spotify, and a month later you're bumping every song they have. That process is a clear sign that the artist is truly breaking new ground.
  • His music has so much noise it's addicting. I saw another comment I agree with that after listening to Yeat almost every other artist feels flat and monotone. The constant adlibs, bells, bass, and unique instrumentals on the songs make it hit so hard.
  • It feels like yeat is still ahead of his time, just like people didn’t understand future and young thug at first. It would be hard to say that he would ever be as big as them, but it feels like he’s pushing the sub-genre that those guys created. Music will continue to evolve and take parts of someone before them and make it into their own. To me, yeat is a perfect example of this
  • @wombones8629
    yeat is a breath of fresh air, no other rapper sounds like yeat, that's all.
  • @zone6ea404
    The first time I heard yeat i literally laughed and thought it was meme rap.. now my playlist is about 25% yeat 🤦🏾‍♂️
  • @wltschmrz
    This new 12 Song EP he released showed off that he sonically isn’t just a one trick pony with only bells and rage beats but he can actually put his compelling vocal deliveries on for example a rock-inspired-beat (“can’t stop it” is the song)
  • @fredo5250
    yeat has deadass changed my life i was down bad on my ass with no racks, and when i heard that bell for the first time i instantly started working and getting to the p’s
  • @1017_CK
    he may not be a "good" at traditionally rapping, but he is extremely talented at flowing and his syllables and choosing which words go where. Better at that than pretty much any other rapper imo
  • @perc.m0nster
    If u guys listen to yeats older stuff and listen to one of his projects like a few months after that, u gotta admit he’s been evolving at an insane pace that we rarely see other artists can do. Like his old stuff showed that he had his own sound but it was super unpolished and extremely rough, but you could see where he was trying to go with it. Fast forward a year and it’s like he perfected it and already experimenting with new sounds. Yeat is the most interesting artist to emerge these past few years, people just don’t wanna admit it.
  • I found Yeat in a very hectic time of my life. I ran away to Mexico for a month to reset, I listened to Yeat watching the sunset alone the entire time. I fell in love with life again in the process. Thanks Yeat 🤞🏼
  • @jper8029
    Such a great take, the hate new artist get for lack of lirycism and storytelling comes from people who don't apreciate melodies and overall sound as much. I love where the music is headed right now.
  • I literally listen to Yeat's songs everyday, it's true he may not have the most deeep meaning lyrics, but the flow and the beats are so well made that it's just blessing to the ear
  • @Whodnl
    Man one thing I can say is Volksgeist edit just wants me to work harder at life and be more creative
  • @nxt1990
    Other artists sound SO flat and monotone after listening to Yeat. Even that long awaited Nav album was absolute ass for me because there's so little going on in comparison. I always have a hard time describing his music but I think the real secret to it all is simply him. He knows EXACTLY what sounds good and what sounds bad on a track, and is just present on the beat in so many ways. Also his music transfers over to so many genres with it still sounding hard, so people who think he's one dimensional have some surprises coming their way. One of the most interesting artists I've listened to. He needs to chill on all that devil talk though.
  • his beats remind me of some hyperpop and i think that’s why a lot of people don’t really mess with him. his way of rapping is just to sound good with the beat. he’s not rlly trynna say anything and some people hate that about him.