You already know Yung Baby Tate from her affirming viral single, "I Am" - a track that exploded on TikTok at the top of 2021. In this episode of The Reason I Rhyme, learn how that song came together, YBT's wide variety of influences, her connection to Issa Rae and more. Take a look:
Intro:
I am Yung Baby Tate. I am a singer, rapper, songwriter, producer, entertainer, dancer, actress, very talented person. The way that I got the name, Yung Baby Tate, it's actually been my Instagram and Twitter name since I was in like 10th grade. Growing up in Decatur, there are so many really talented people that have come out of Decatur, and I'm grateful to be one of them, but Decatur is like a special version of Atlanta. It's like there's just something in the water that makes it a little more saucy.
Influences + famous mama:
Going to a performing arts high school really made me into the person that I am today, as well as the artist that I am today. It really just allowed me to hone into those natural and raw talents that I was born with, and I inherited. I was exposed to a lot of different music growing up. I really loved Nicki Minaj. When I was 14 and first heard her, I was like, "Oh my gosh, I love her so much." And then there was like, Gwen Stefani, rappers from the '90s, like Monie Love, and groups like TLC and SWV, singers like Brandy. It was a lot, a lot of different things that influenced me growing up. My mom is Dionne Farris. She is a Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter. So growing up, I was with her a lot when she was at the studio or doing shows. I definitely inherited a lot from my mom.
Connecting with Issa Rae:
I was invited to a writers' Camp for the soundtrack of "Insecure." I went out there, I ended up making about like six songs, a few ended up on the soundtrack. And after that, the Raedio team was just very impressed with my talent, and they wanted to talk about possibly signing me. So we ended up meeting up with Issa Rae, maybe a week or two later. And she just was like, "Yo, I just want to help. How can I help what you're doing because I really enjoy it?" And we made it work.
Personal style:
When I work with stylists, I think that they get me because of the fact that when you look at my social media, you look at my Instagram, it's very straightforward, to the point. Like you get it when you look at me. And it doesn't really change. Like there's a wide variety of the things that I do and the things that I wear, but it's always me. So people really get me because I get me and I put that out there.
♪ I am healthy, I am wealthy ♪
♪ I am rich, I am that bitch ♪
"I Am" going viral:
When I first made "I Am" I actually just wrote the chorus, what the chorus is, in my notes. And it wasn't at first for a song. I wrote this down because I wanted to make some affirmations for myself that I could say. So that's where it came from and then it was after we were finished with the song we started to think like "let's get creative with features." And I was like, "Flo Milli would eat this up," like absolutely devour and I reached out to her and she was like "Yeah, just send it over." And that's how it ended up happening. When the song first started going viral on TikTok, my manager saw it first, then he showed me, and I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is crazy." When I saw Kamala Harris walking into the office with that playing, that was crazy. It was completely unexpected, but I was really really grateful for all of them.
Advice:
I think the biggest advice I would give to up and coming artists, is to remain true to yourself, which is easier said than done a lot of times. In today's society with social media and you seeing this and this is what people like and that's what people like. Yeah, just stay true to yourself and keep going.
Up next:
Next for me, I'm about to drop a deluxe version of the "After The Rain" EP, about five or six new songs. And I'm also gonna be dropping a single from that deluxe very soon.
There is something inside of me that some times only be released through music. Music is like air to me. It's like water. I need it to live. So that's the reason I rhyme.
