Lil Yachty Addresses ‘Teenage Emotions’ First-Week Sales With Message to Fans: ‘They Don’t Understand Us’
Lil Yachty wrote a message to his fans yesterday (June 6), explaining why his debut album, Teenage Emotions, only sold 46,000 units in its first week, and offering an update on what's to come for him musically.
First, he explains that the album, which still landed at no. 5 on the Billboard 200, wasn't for old heads anyway, but for his loyal fans, which is why he didn't have a lot of features.
"I didn't make this 21 project for the old reviews and bloggers," the 19 year-old Atlanta rapper wrote in his IG post. "I made it for real Lil yachty fans who have been dying for new music from me... that's why I put so many songs.. that's why it's mostly just me. Because it's from me to you."
He went on to suggest that while his first week numbers weren't all that impressive, it's only because folks don't get him and his fans.
“I understand first week numbers didn’t do what most people expected but that’s only because they don’t understand me,” he said in his post.
Honestly, there's probably too much attention put on first week numbers in this industry anyway, and the numbers are obviously not indicative of talent or the potential for growth. But for an artist like Yachty, who admits that his brand may have gotten bigger than the love for his music early in his career, numbers—more specifically, data— actually means a lot.
Boat said he better understands what his fans want musically now and is taking that into consideration for his next project. However, his upcoming Teenage Tour is still "going to be lit."
"A f---ing experience to the young youth ready to lose [their] minds!!!!!!!!" he says of the trek. "With this being my last few months of being a teenager I am just living with no regrets having fun and enjoying life. And that's what I did with this album."
As of right now, Bryson Tiller has the no. 1 album in the country, with his surprise release, True To Self, which dropped a month early. At any rate, you can read Yachty's full post below.