On Tuesday (Feb. 13), Lil Yachty hopped on Instagram to announce that he and James Blake are working on a new album titled Bad Cameo. In a short clip, the Atlanta star talked about the collaboration during a studio hangout session.
“I mean, granted, I think James has worked with a… substantial amount of Hip Hop artists. But this project is so left for both of us,” he said. “And then, you know, aside from the one picture that James posted, I don’t think people know that we know each other exists. So it’s just gon’ be like, ‘What the f**k? When they do this?'”
Indeed, Blake is no stranger to Hip Hop or R&B, as he previously worked with the likes of Chance The Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Vince Staples, Frank Ocean, JID, Kanye West, Dave, and Travis Scott. The British talent’s most recent full-length effort, Playing Robots Into Heaven, boasted contributions from the Ragga Twins, Starrah, and Dominic Maker. Snoop Dogg and the Neptunes were also credited on the LP standout “I Want You To Know,” which sampled Snoop’s 2002 hit “Beautiful.”
Meanwhile, Yachty delivered his most experimental offering to date with 2023’s Let’s Start Here., a blend of funk and psychedelic vibes. Diana Gordon, Teezo Touchdown, Justine Skye, Fousheé, Daniel Caesar, and Ant Clemons were among the many who assisted the Quality Control talent on the project, which received critical acclaim and earned a top 10 placement on the Billboard 200.
“F**k any of the albums I dropped before this one,” Yachty told Billboard shortly after Let’s Start Here. was released. “I’ve always been so much more than just Hip Hop. There’s a lot of kids who haven’t heard any of my references. They don’t know anything about Bon Iver, or Pink Floyd, or Black Sabbath, or James Brown.”