The Cool Kids on Kanye West's Influence: 'Ain’t Nobody Played Lil Yachty' Before Yeezy Season 3

Sir Michael Rocks and Chuck Inglish weigh in on just how much Kanye West's influence matters.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Aside from just his music, Kanye West has served as an arbiter of style. Through his G.O.O.D. Music collective, fans have been introduced or reintroduced to Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson, Big Sean and Travis Scott on a national level. The reunited duo The Cool Kids recently sounded off on West’s influence and the industry factors that can cause an artist to have a breakdown similar to Kanye’s.

“I’m going to call a spade a spade,” said Sir Michael Rocks in an interview with Kyle Eustice for HipHopDX. “Wasn’t nobody on Lil Yachty until Kanye put a red braid mother fucker in a fashion show, and people were like, ‘Oh who’s that? Oh he’s got rap records? OK that’s what we on right now.’ Ain’t nobody played Lil Yachty before February unless you lived in Atlanta or was in the know.”

Rocks specifically pointed to Lil Yachty’s inclusion in West’s Yeezy Season 3 fashion show, but he also pointed to Desiigner and Big Sean as additional examples of what he termed “the spiderweb of Kanye.” West has recently been making more headlines for his personal issues as opposed to music or Fashion, and Rocks hinted at the environment that might have caused some of West’s recent troubles.

“You don’t get a chance to build your character for this shit, because you need character for this,” Sir Michael Rocks added. “You can’t just be talented and connected. You have to have character or you’ll die. Look at people. Motherfuckers are going crazy. This is the most breakdowns I’ve seen in this generation.”

Aside from West, Kid Cudi and DMX are just some of the other artists to suffer similar breakdowns. 

You can read the full interview with The Cool Kids, including their thoughts about the timing of their reunion at HipHopDX.

Latest in Music