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Lil Yachty Is Taking Rap By Storm With “Poland,” His Weirdest, Catchiest Song to Date

By Insanul Ahmed

Lil Yachty is having one of the best weeks of his career thanks to an 83-second song called “Poland,” in which he croons about bringing lean to the Central European country. Since he posted it to Soundcloud nine days ago, the track has become a viral sensation, tallying 6 million plays, inspiring dozens of memes, and making the digital charts in 48 different countries after being uploaded to Apple Music and Spotify. Its video treatment, from in-demand director Cole Bennet, has racked up over 4 million YouTube views and counting. Yachty has since been invited to Poland by the country’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki (at least according to the rapper’s label boss, Pierre “Pee” Thomas). But “Poland” is more than just an unexpected hit: It’s a reminder of Yachty’s oft-doubted potential as a non-traditional rap star.

“I was actually just trolling,” explained Yachty in a reaction video with ZIAS! , talking about how the song randomly came together in the studio when he saw someone“drinking a Poland Spring water bottle. Obviously, I had some Wock, but he had a Poland Spring water bottle. And the song was a joke, like I was just trolling.” Not only was the song a joke, Yachty didn’t even intend to release it until a leak forced his hand. He uploaded it to Soundcloud with the caption, “STOP LEAKING MY SHIT.”

The song became an instant meme thanks to Yachty’s autotune-laced warble of the line “I took the woooOOoooOOck to Poland” (referencing the cough syrup often used in lean) over a woozy beat from Philadelphia producer F1lthy, a member of the Working on Dying producer collective. F1lthy is probably best known for producing six songs on Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red , an album that gained an enduring allure for its sonic experimentation. The hazy “Poland” beat sounds like something that could have slid onto WLR ’s tracklist…or soundtracked the boss level of a 16-bit Sega game.

While it was only officially released to streaming services a couple of days ago, there’s good reason to believe “Poland” will quickly impact the Billboard charts, in spite of—or perhaps because of—its length. Popular on TikTok, “Poland” could potentially follow the trajectory of Armani White’s 99-second breakout hit, “BILLIE EILISH,” British rapper Central Cee’s inescapable 97-second song “Doja,” or Bronx rapper Ice Spice’s viral one-minute and 45-second song “Munch (Feelin’ U).”

But unlike those breakthrough acts, Yachty is already an established artist. He first blew up in 2016 as an 18-year-old, when his viral Soundcloud songs, like “Minnesota” and “One Night,” ushered in his self-described style of "bubblegum trap”—so named because they sounded more like Nickelodeon theme songs than the hard-hitting trap music his Atlanta peers were putting out as the city’s popularity crested. Yachty has always been upfront about not coming from the street life, never acting as if he did in his lyrics. Instead, he oozed optimism, rocked his trademark red hair with aplomb, and had a knack for marketing.

As his career took off, critics scoffed and dismissed him as “mumble rap.” To a certain cohort, he represented everything wrong with hip-hop. Yachty had heated interviews with Joe Budden and Ebro , was criticized by legends like Pete Rock , and upset fans when he said he couldn’t name five songs by either 2Pac or Biggie. Lord Jamaar went so far as to say , “People who like this are actually stupid.”

But the joke was on them. "One Night" went double platinum, and since then he’s had some of his best moments as a collaborator, showing genuine chemistry on bubbly, cheery songs like "Broccoli" and “iSpy” (with DRAM and Kyle, respectively), or trap bangers like "From the D to the A" with Tee Grizzley. The “mumble rapper” proved to be an adept songwriter, penning “Act Up,” a hit song for his QC labelmates City Girls. (His cameo in the music video is a tacit nod to his authorship.)

At the same time, the criticism was not completely unwarranted. His debut album, 2017’s Teenage Emotions , clocked in at 70 minutes and it was clear he didn’t always have that much to say. At best, he was charming with a melodic flair. At worst, his bars could come off lazy and clumsy, with lines like, "You stinky and dirty like farts."

In 2018, he dropped two albums, Lil Boat 2 and Nuthin’ 2 Prove . Despite the latter’s title, it felt like he had internalized the criticism of his early career and was determined to prove he really could rap. On “Everything Good, Everything Right,” he spits, “Gotta prove everyone wrong/Had to take some time alone/Had to regroup, got that shit right.” Yet for all his efforts, he simply wasn’t a top-tier lyricist. His brand is positivity, his attempts at being braggadocious an awkward fit. Generic lines about being a rich, iced-out rapper stripped him of his individuality. His determination became a detriment, he went from meshing with others to getting eclipsed by collaborators like Cardi B and Offset on songs like “Who Want the Smoke.”

Follow-up albums like Lil Boat 3 and Michigan Boy Boat exhibited some musical growth and emotional maturity—particularly the latter, which embraced Detroit rap styles. But neither of those projects produced hits. Ultimately, he may never win over the critics, though it’s clear he doesn’t need to.

The best part about “Poland” is that it’s cold like “Minnesota.” Yachty’s deep baritone voice can lead him to a monotone delivery, which doesn't always make for compelling verses. On “Poland,” the autotune adds texture, his words unfurl like a bottle of lean carefully being poured into soda. The amateurish nature of his singing and his tendency to carry one melody throughout a song only adds to its appeal. Now 25 years old and seven years removed from his breakout song, Yachty is on the verge of another hit because he embraced the playfulness that made him unique in the first place.

Sure, he’s probably never been to Poland , but the line was perfect fodder for memes. The meme that truly captures the song’s peculiar appeal is a TikTok video posted by @chadio where he starts out calling the song trash before actually listening to it and being seduced by its charm, the malleable lyrics morph from “walk to Poland” to “rock to Oakland” to “guac to Chipotle.” A cynical mind might wonder if there was an orchestrated marketing campaign behind them popping up so fast, but, much like the song itself, they’re too fun to think too hard about.

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Lil Yachty Took the WoOoOOoOoock to Poland

Lil Yachty’s new song “Poland” is unique, strangely addictive, and already very viral. There’s a big lesson about the power of fun and originality here.

Image via Getty/Timothy Hiatt

It pays to have fun, especially if you’re Lil Yachty .

The melody in his new song “Poland” is bizarre, to say the least, which is exactly why it’s blowing up on TikTok, meme pages, and most other corners of the internet right now.

Over a synthy beat from F1lthy (Yeat, Playboi Carti), Yachty delivers a fairly simple hook (“I took the wock to Poland”) but it’s the way he says it that’s getting everyone’s attention. Adding an exaggerated warble to his voice, it almost sounds like he’s singing into a fan. Or maybe laying in a massage chair? Practicing for the opera?

However he did it, it’s oddly catchy and it doesn’t sound like anything else we’ve heard this year (or maybe ever).

Naturally, it’s already going viral. There are videos of people literally singing into fans and imagining the wild studio sessions that could have led to Yachty’s unusual vocals. There’s even a Renaissance painting of Yachty taking giant bottles of lean to Poland (wock is short for Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical company that makes a popular codeine and promethazine cough syrup). If you do nothing else with your day, please listen to the bachata remix .

poland by lil yachty but it's bachata @lilyachty pic.twitter.com/RGsg35Qf6G — sacoz (@sacozYT) October 6, 2022

“Poland” is a few things. For one, it’s basically a TikTok cheat code: a lighthearted 83-second SoundCloud upload that sounds like a half-finished joke at first, until its sneakily addictive melody climbs inside your brain and never leaves. It’s the kind of line you’ll find yourself singing along to throughout the day, without even realizing it. And, most importantly, it’s a reminder of just how good Lil Yachty is when he lets himself get weird and try something new.

Listening to “Poland,” I can’t help but think back to hearing 2016’s Lil Boat mixtape for the first time, marveling at his confidence to try crazy shit like the high-pitched, playful melody in “Minnesota.” He wasn’t attempting to be cool, and he definitely wasn’t following anyone else’s wave, which is what made it so appealing. Even his haters had to admit what he was doing was original. 

Unfortunately, in the months and years immediately following Lil Boat, he was hit with relentless criticism from radio show hosts, bloggers, and old traditionalist rap fans who didn’t like his playful attitude or simplistic lyrics. (On Complex’s own Everyday Struggle , Joe Budden even got upset with him for being so happy.) With the success of early hits like “One Night” and “Minnesota,” he became a symbol for “mumble rap,” and received backlash from anyone who didn’t appreciate the direction rap was evolving in. 

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Around that time, in 2017, his sound started to change a little. He released hard-hitting songs like “X Men,” where he rapped almost too fast, as if trying to prove to his doubters that he could really spit. At times, he pulled off the style, but it came at the cost of the playful originality that made Lil Boat so special. A lot of the fun was sucked out of his music and, as a result, his debut studio album Teenage Emotions was uneven, disappointing many fans. 

Since then, Yachty has taken a winding path as he’s grown as an artist, including successful attempts at tapping into regional rap pockets like Detroit, Michigan . And, more recently, he’s shown signs of wanting to take chances and try wild new sounds, revealing that his next album will be “a psychedelic alternative project” that he describes as “different.”

View this video on YouTube

Then, out of nowhere, “Poland” leaked. It immediately caught fire on social media, prompting Yachty to (wisely) put the song on his own SoundCloud page and capitalize on the hype. It’s short (one verse) and sounds unfinished, leaving hope that there could be a full version that will hit DSPs sometime in the future. More than anything, though, it’s a sign that Yachty might be fully back in his IDGAF bag and we could be in store for another wildly inventive album from him soon. At least that’s the hope.

Six years after the release of Lil Boat , Yachty has proven to have more longevity than most of his peers from that era. It’s a reminder of what can happen when you have fun and try off-the-wall shit.

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October 11, 2022

Peruse social media for long enough and you’ll probably find Wattpad fan fiction about Lil Yachty ’s newest single, “ Poland .” What started as a random leaked snippet has turned into a viral whirlwind , with everyone from YouTube comedians to Billboard chart-toppers chiming in. Like Yachty’s best songs , “Poland” is mystifying and intoxicating and, most importantly, simple: Over a churning F1lthy beat that wouldn’t be out of place on Whole Lotta Red , Yachty croons “I took the Wock to Poland” in a garbled yodel that probably has Mason Ramsey jealous. No clue what it really means, but it’s sung with enough deliriousness that you think, sure, maybe Yachty’s love for cough syrup has him trekking through Eastern Europe in the midst of a fever dream. At the very least, the song recaptures the light-heartedness that won Yachty fans and made him the face of endless brand campaigns . Does this burst of spontaneity signal a new path for Yachty? Probably not. Will A24 acquire the rights to put his long and storied expedition up on the big screen? Let’s pray. For now, enjoy any moment that snaps us out of the Matrix.

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Lil Yachty Shuts Down Playboi Carti Sound Comparisons

Earlier this week, Kai Cenat previewed an unreleased song from Lil Yachty during his livestream. After fans accused the “A Cold Sunday” artist of copying Playboi Carti’s cadence, he decided to respond on Twitter yesterday (March 20) evening.

“Biting him? How did I bite him? The beat? If that’s the case, I [have] been workin’ with Cardo since 2019 or 2020 on record. Y’all fans be smoking the strongest d**k,” Yachty quote-tweeted a social media user’s shade. The original post that he responded to read, “Carti can’t try one new sound without rappers immediately biting him. He’s generational.”

Cardo, who’s known for producing songs for Drake, Travis Scott, and Kendrick Lamar, has worked on several of Carti’s recent releases. The Grammy-winning beatmaker is responsible for “H00DBYAIR,” “KETAMINE,” “ EVILJ0RDAN ,” and “BACKR00MS,” all of which are expected to appear on the musician’s next album.

Unfortunately for Yachty, people pointed out more alleged similarities than just the beat. One account wrote, “The song is terrible. The beat is a ‘H00DBYAIR’-type beat. Your flow is an obvious attempt at a Carti flow, and you used a ‘what’ ad-lib in the same cadence [that] Carti uses.”

biting him? how did i bite him? the beat? if that’s the case i been workin with cardo since 2019-2020 on record yall fans be smoking the strongest dick https://t.co/rlcaSRsoP7 — CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) March 21, 2024

The song is terrible, the beat is a hoodbyair type beat, your flow is a obvious attempt at a carti flow and you used a ‘what’ adlib in the same cadence carti uses. This is a terrible attempt at copying him and you’re pretending you’re not biting — igor. (@hadmyback) March 21, 2024

Yachty also dismissed accusations of him copying Carti last year. In July 2023, DJ Akademiks claimed the Whole Lotta Red artist “made him change his entire sound” during a livestream . The music commentator further alleged that records like “Poland” and “Strike (Holster)” drew influence from the Georgia native.

However, Yachty quickly pointed out, “[You are] so insane. I didn’t tell [you] this at all. Stop drinking, bro. I said [Tyler, The Creator] encouraged me to take that route.”

@Akademiks u r so insane, I didn’t tell u this at all. Stop drinking bro. I said tyler encouraged me to take that route. Wtf https://t.co/rxNJnVVjQq — CONCRETE BOY BOAT^ (@lilyachty) July 10, 2023

In 2023, the QC rapper put out Let’s Start Here. , which featured Justine Skye, Teezo Touchdown, Daniel Caesar, Diana Gordon, and Fousheé. It saw him venturing into psychedelic rock and spawned songs like “​​​drive ME crazy!” and “pRETTy.”

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Lil Yachty Fires Back At Critics Accusing Him Of Biting Playboi Carti's Flow

Some listeners were less than impressed by a snippet of Lil Yachty's upcoming track.

Earlier this week, Kai Cenat previewed a new Lil Yachty track during a livestream, giving his fans a taste of what's to come. Unfortunately, however, some listeners have been less than impressed , and have even started to accuse the performer of jacking Playboi Carti 's style. Aside from the flow-stealing allegations, Lil Yachty is also being called out for what critics call a lackluster beat.

Amid all of the backlash, Lil Yachty hopped on Twitter/X to fire back, coming to his own defense. He responded to one user's comment on Kai Cenat's preview, writing, "Carti can’t try 1 new sound without rappers immediately biting him, he’s generational." The Georgia-born performer made it clear he didn't appreciate the attack. "Biting him?" he asked. "How did i bite him? the beat? if that’s the case i been workin with cardo since 2019-2020 on record yall fans be smoking the strongest d*ck."

Read More: Lil Yachty Hilariously Previews New Track On IG To Some Lukewarm Reactions

Lil Yachty Denies Biting Playboi Carti's Flow

"The song is terrible," the critic then replied. "The beat is a ‘H00DBYAIR’-type beat. Your flow is an obvious attempt at a Carti flow, and you used a ‘what’ ad-lib in the same cadence [that] Carti uses.” Unfortunately, Playboi Carti isn't the only fellow MC Lil Yachty's been accused of copying as of late. After he teased his new track "Swing My Way" this week, fans had mixed reactions, though many agreed it was reminiscent of Veeze. While some think the track isn't nearly as groundbreaking as they'd hoped, others are eager to hear it in full, and already predicting it could become the "song of the summer."

Either way, it doesn't look like Lil Yachty plans on letting critics get him down anytime soon. What do you think of Lil Yachty's response to being accused of stealing Playboi Carti's flow? Are you picking up on any similarities, or are critics reaching? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

Read More: Lil Yachty & Dr. Umar Debate Use Of The N-Word

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Lil Yachty Has a Wild Clapback to Fans Saying He Stole Playboi Carti’s Flow

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Lil Yachty is clapping back at fans who accused the rapper of stealing Playboi Carti ‘s flow on a new song.

On Wednesday (March 20), Yachty responded to chatter online surrounding his flow on an unreleased song Kai Cenat previewed during a livestream last Monday (March 18). Fans were quick to call out Lil Boat’s cadence on the track, with many of them comparing it to Carti’s.

“Biting him? How did I bite him?” Yachty wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to a critic. “If that’s the case i been workin with cardio since 2019-2020 on record yall fans be smoking the strongest d**k.”

Cardo is known for producing all of Carti’s most recent releases : “H00dByAir,” “Ketamine,” “EvilJ0rdan” and “Backr00ms.” So fans were quick to clap back at Yachty’s clapback.

“The song is terrible,” the user @hadmyback replied . “The beat is a ‘H00DBYAIR’-type beat. Your flow is an obvious attempt at a Carti flow, and you used a ‘what’ ad-lib in the same cadence [that] Carti uses.”

Read More: Lil Yachty, Dr. Umar Disagree on Reason Why Black Women Get BBLs

Lil yachty announces new album.

Boat had previously announced in an Instagram post on Feb. 13 that he is dropping a new album with James Blake .

“I mean, granted, I think James has worked with a quite substantial amount of hip-hop artists. But this project is so left for both of us,” the Quality Control rapper said in the video clip. “And then, aside from the one picture that James posted, which—he doesn’t have many followers actually—I don’t think people know that we know each other exist. So it’s just gon’ be like, ‘What the f**k? When they do this?'”

Lil Yachty had previously dropped off “A Cold Sunday” on Feb. 2.

Read More: Playboi Carti Accused of Copying Classic Slipknot Mask

See Lil Yachty’s reaction to biting Playboi Carti’s flow below.

See Lil Yachty’s Reaction to Being Accused of Stealing Playboi Carti’s Flow