Although the golden era of soul music occurred several decades ago, its influence on today’s artists is still very noticeable. On Tuesday (June 4), during a sit-down with Complex, Lil Yachty shared his observations on the genre’s evolving nature.

The “One Night” hitmaker pinpointed the fading of classic soul characteristics. “There was just a level of richness to it. I don’t know if it’s the progression of music, maybe [a] genre change and just artist development shift, but you don’t feel that tone of music anymore,” Yachty argued. Earlier in the conversation, he likened Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” to Donny Hathaway.

Yachty also discussed his personal connection to the music of the 1990s. He shared, “My favorite type of singing is ’90s Black women on R&B records. It’s just the tone of how they sang, like Xscape and Kut Klose. It was like a Black feeling.” The rapper further argued that said element is missing in contemporary tracks: “That sound isn’t really in R&B anymore.”

It’s certainly not the first time Yachty has dunked on modern music. In 2023, the QC signee declared, “Hip Hop is in a terrible place.” He also accused his peers of playing it safe and being afraid to take risks. “The state of Hip Hop right now is a lot of imitation. It’s a lot of quick, low-quality music being put out. It’s a lot less risk-taking, it’s a lot less originality,” the Atlanta native shared.

In February, Yachty debuted “A Cold Sunday” alongside its Little Miles-directed visual companion. The record marked his first solo release of the year, followed by a few contributions to Concrete Boys’ It’s Us Vol. 1. On June 1, he also dropped 14 archival tracks on SoundCloud, including collaborations with Vory and fellow XXL Freshman 21 Savage.