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Watch KYLE & Lil Yachty Go on a Wild Adventure in ‘iSpy’

KYLE unleashes the kooky visuals for his new video "iSpy" with Lil Yachty.

By Carl Lamarre

Carl Lamarre

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Rap newcomer KYLE  is gaining steam with his poppy single “iSpy” featuring Lil Yachty . With their eyes set on the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 (“iSpy” currently sits at No. 5), the youthful duo unveiled their quirky video with Fader early Friday (April 7).

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In the video (directed by Colin Tilley), KYLE and Yachty morph into CGI babies to soak up some rays on the beach. To make their beach day memorable, they parade around the sand with a sea of women before taking over a pirate ship. 

In an interview with Fader , KYLE explained how excited he was when he first discovered that “iSpy” was the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs charts.  “I woke up, and my friend Eric had texted me a photo of it. I made it my lock screen, and then I held the phone up to everybody in the tour bus,” he said. “My other two homies were out there. We played ‘We Gon Make It’ by Jadakiss and Styles P . I rapped every word from front to finish and cried with my homies. That’s how good of a moment that was. I was like, ‘I learned the game quickly, and I don’t like to rent/ So when I fly now I bring my cars on the plane wit me.’ Really shedding thug tears.”

Kyle's 'iSpy' Hits No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs, Reaches Top 5 on Hot 100

Later in the interview, KYLE also touched on Yachty’s skill set being undervalued. “Yachty is completely tapped into right now,” said KYLE. “He knows what’s hot right now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s on this song and on ‘Broccoli’ and on these other songs. I think he hears a song and he knows. He gets hit up a lot to do features and he’s only on the songs that turn into smashes. It’s a skill he has. He knows what’s cracking. Lil Yachty is culture king right now.”

Check out “iSpy” below:

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iSpy (feat. Lil Yachty) - Single

December 2, 2016 1 Song, 4 minutes ℗ 2017 independently popular. under exclusive license to Atlantic Recording Corporation and Quality Control/Motown/Capitol / WEA International Inc. for the world excluding the United States.

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iSpy (feat. Lil Yachty)

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Lil Yachty , Kyle

"iSpy" is a song by American rapper Kyle, featuring vocals from American rapper Lil Yachty. It was released on December 2, 2016, by Indie-Pop and Atlantic Records. It is the lead single from Kyle's debut studio album Light of Mine (2018). The song was produced by Ayo, superduperbrick, and Lege Kale.

 Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days , With Easy Video Lessons!

KYLE-TV (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Bryan, Texas, United States, serving the Brazos Valley and Central Texas as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Waco-licensed Fox affiliate KWKT-TV (channel 44). Both stations share studios on Woodway Drive in Woodway, Texas (using a Waco address); KYLE-TV operates a secondary studio on Broadmoor Drive in Bryan and transmitter facilities near Farm to Market Road 2818 on the city's western outskirts. more »

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Written by: Joshua Portillo, Justin Howze, Kyle Harvey, Malik Keith, Miles Parks McCollum

Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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KYLE - iSpy ft. Lil Yachty

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KYLE I Spy Feat. Lil Yachty [ Official Music Video]

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ISpy by Kyle (featuring Lil Yachty )

Songfacts®:

• West Coast rapper Kyle collaborates with Atlanta native Lil Yachty on this fun track with screwball lyrics about positive vibes and living life to the fullest. Kyle commented on Genius : "We both have distinct and uplifting voices and overall messages. In my songs I like to say that it's going to be alright. Lil Boat's voice really makes it sounds like everything's going to be okay - it sounds like Bob Ross or something."
• The song begins with Lil Boat giving Kyle a pep talk to ignore the haters and focus on the good things in life. Kyle said: "We both wanted to do a really cinematic intro. Both of us have speaking intros on our mixtapes. I wanted to see us do that together. We just freestyled it - there are actually some funnier takes that didn't get in there."
• Kyle discusses on the hook his tactics for finding girls on Instagram: I spy with my little eye A girlie I can get 'cause she don't get too many likes A curly-headed cutie I can turn into my wife Wait, that means forever, ever, hold up, never mind The West Coast rapper explained: "You're on the Instagram explore page and you see all these girls—lo and behold they have like 2 millions likes per photo and 100,000 comments. How you think you're gonna slip your comment in there and start hollering? The unattainable girls on Instagram are my least favorite, and they have these boosted egos, because they have a bunch of internet stalkers. When you see the shawtys on Instagram who are only getting like 200 likes, that's a diamond in the rough. Real talk, that's like a goldmine. 1,000 to 3,000 likes is okay, but the 200 to 300 to 400 likes area, that's means she's a best kept secret and you don't wanna show any of your friends."
• The West Coast rapper is the first solo artist named Kyle ever to make the Hot 100 in the chart's history. Other musicians called Kyle include Matchbox Twenty guitarist Kyle Cook, jazz musician Kyle Eastwood, The View vocalist Kyle Falconer, The String Cheese Incident keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth , country music songwriter Kyle Jacobs and Beware of Darkness frontman Kyle Nicolaides .
• Kyle's first introduction to Lil Yachty came when the Atlanta rapper asked in a tweet who he should have a dance battle with and many replied, "You should battle Kyle." "It never happened, but that's how we met and started talking," Kyle told Billboard magazine. "Then, I was making 'iSpy' with [producer] Ayo and we wanted to make something that feels good and is a banger. I FaceTimed [Lil Yachty] and he heard the song and within two seconds was like, 'Yeah I'm down.'" "He said he was going to be there in 30 minutes and three hours later he showed up, but it doesn't matter," Kyle added. "He showed up and wrote his verse in a split second and it was flawless."
• The Colin Tilley-directed video finds Kyle and Lil Yachty morphed into CGI babies hanging out with hot bikini babes at the beach. The West coast rapper is grateful to the director for bringing his seashore concept to fruition. "I told him, 'This song is fun. The video needs to be twice as fun. Let's come up with the scenario that is feel good," he told Fader . "It doesn't get more feel good than being a baby surrounded by incredible looking women at the beach with no cares in the world." At one point, Kyle plays a toy piano in front of a gorgeous mermaid who is wagging her fin. The rapper said it had always been his dream to serenade a beautiful mermaid. "When I was a little kid at the beach, I was like, 'This is lit but if I had a mermaid babe with me, life would be ten time as good,'" said Kyle.
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Kyle feat. Lil Yachty - iSpy Lyrics

Artist: Kyle feat. Lil Yachty

Album: iSpy

Man, fuck What's wrong Kyle? Man, these kids, man, talkin' shit, makin' me feel bad Man, fuck them kids, bro! Look around, bro, look at life Man, you're right Mmm, you see? You see these fine bitches over here? Yeah, woah... You see these trees man? You see this water? I guess it is okay Come on, man, you got so much more to appreciate, man Man you know what, y-you're right... You damn right I'm right, I can't remember a time I was god-damn wrong Man, thanks, Lil' Boat Hey man, that's what I'm here for I ain't been gettin' high... Well maybe a little, baby I don't wanna lie I know when you text me girl, I don't always reply Well you're not an angel either, you can't even fly I notice, you think that you know shit All this shade that's comin' at me, I wonder who throws it They can't see the vision, boy they must be out of focus That's a real hot album homie, I wonder who wrote it, oh shit Otay, pray them niggas go away Always hella clowns around it look like Cirque Du Soleil This is not the album either, these are just the throwaways This shit still so cold when it drop, it's gonna be a mothafuckin' snow day Ayy, boy is good and he knows it, he don't say it, he shows it I'm just like DeRozan, if I shoot it, it goes in I am in Cali just coastin', get 'em so wet they need coasters I got a selfie with Oprah, I just ain't never post it And I'm in my happy place posted, I ain't frown since '06 I ain't cried since '01, my pad like Six Flags and your house is no fun You can come back to mine though, your friend ain't cute but it's fine though We gon' end on a high note I spy with my little eye A girlie I can get 'cause she don't get too many likes A curly-headed cutie I can turn into my wife Wait, that means forever, ever, hold up, never mind Oh, I spy with my little eye A girlie I can get 'cause she don't get too many likes A curly-headed cutie I can turn into my wife Wait, that means forever, ever, hold up, never mind Oh I, I spy with my little eye I spy, I spy with my little eye Oh I, I spy with my little eye I spy, I spy with my little eye Oh I... She said she 21, I might have to I.D. that All my bitches come in pairs like balls in my nutsack I remember ridin' around the city in a Hatchback Lookin' for a problem with my young goblins I'ma send a model home with her neck throbbin' I done made so much money that it's non-stoppin' Got my brothers on my back like the last name I remember tellin' everyone I couldn't be tamed Woah, six months later I had snapped and now I'm in the game Went from fake chains to diamonds in another lane Went from "Can you take me here?" to skrrting out the lane Went from "Damn this nigga lame" to remember my name So I remember all the people who ain't fucked with me They went to college, now all them niggas is history Upgraded from gold to diamonds in my teeth Riding deep in the van, like we lookin' for a mystery (Raggy!) So don't fuck with me No, lately I been livin' like luxury Boat and Kyle stick together like piano keys And on my mother's mother I won't fuck a bitch without a damn rubber I spy with my little eye A girlie I can get 'cause she don't get too many likes A curly-headed cutie I can turn into my wife Wait, that means forever, ever, hold up, never mind Oh, I...I spy with my little eye A girlie I can get 'cause she don't get too many likes A curly-headed cutie I can turn into my wife Wait, that means forever, ever, hold up, never mind Oh I, I spy with my little eye I spy, I spy with my little eye Oh I, I spy with my little eye I spy, I spy with my little eye Oh I...

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Lil Yachty & KYLE Are Beach Toddlers in New Video For "iSpy"

A second video has surfaced for their collab single..

After releasing the animated version earlier this month, KYLE and Lil Yachty join forces once again for yet another video for their standout single, “iSpy.” This time around, the lighthearted musical duo hit the beach, as they transform into toddlers looking to get into some extracurricular activities beyond the sandbox. They eventually get what they’re looking for when a group of women take them on a ride for some ice cream.

Press play to watch above and, speaking of snacks, Lil Yachty now has his own line of potato chips .

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Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and more close out Milwaukee's Summerfest with a hip-hop feast

It's only fitting that Summerfest — one of the world's largest music festivals with more than 600 performances over nine days — should end with a massive show in its biggest venue, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

Hip-hop superstar Lil Uzi Vert closed out the Milwaukee fest's largest stage Saturday, a noteworthy booking considering the only other place they've played this year was Coachella, and they have no other appearances scheduled this year (so far).

But with all due respect to Uzi Vert, that's not what made this show massive.

It was the incredibly stacked bill leading up to the finale, with Lil Yachty, J.I.D., Rico Nasty, LIHTZ and a thrilling Milwaukee hip-hop showcase starring breakout rappers J.P. and 414BigFrank, with surprise appearances by SteveDaStoner and Mook G, plus Milwaukee spinner Djay Mando.

In total, there were nine rappers who performed at the amphitheater Saturday. The show lasted a full five hours, with 15 minutes max between sets.

More: 'Thankful for the opportunity': Milwaukee rappers J.P., 414BigFrank mark Summerfest debuts

More: Ivan Cornejo, Anne Wilson, Amy Grant and the best and worst of Summerfest 2024's final day

Lil Uzi Vert ends Summerfest with a wild, rare show

That said, purists will scoff at the idea of Lil Uzi Vert being considered hip-hop, and their 45-minute Summerfest set wouldn't convince them otherwise. Rapping isn't the strong suit for the rap superstar, who went for long stretches across their songs not really rapping at all — including one somewhat tedious moment where they were trying to take a selfie on a fan's phone while the DJ blasted "Fire Alarm."

But Uzi Vert's appeal is that they are a walking, (sort of) rapping embodiment of Freud's concept of Id. And what they primarily wanted to do at this rare 2024 show is rock out.

For "x2," from last year's white-knuckle "Pink Tape" album — a song that sounds a bit like a Nintendo game soundtrack on steroids — Uzi Vert jumped the barricades to hang with fans at the base of a video screen, freaking out security. During "Amped," they were so hyped up they tossed an (unlucky) fan's phone that ended up on stage some 20 feet in the air, then for subsequent song "Pop," flung a microphone across the stage in a fit of passion.

Then later for a song that can aptly be described as their life's mission statement — "Do What I Want" — Uzi Vert dropped to their knees on a ramp on stage, in the center of a big ring of lights, where they were greeted with a deafening singalong. But it still wasn't loud enough for Uzi Vert, who orchestrated the crowd from their knees with waving arms, the singalong, seemingly at peak volume seconds ago, reaching greater heights.

Uzi Vert put a lot of energy onto that stage and was paid back from the crowd in kind, who supplied more electricity than even the DJ's bass-rattling song drops could muster singing and rapping along to Uzi Vert's unstoppable bangers like "20 Min" (including, for a minute, a cappella); their superstar-cementing blockbuster "XO Tour Llif3"; and their latest tsunami-level rager "Just Wanna Rock."

And while Uzi Vert's team made the curious choice to not let their set be filmed to be projected on the amphitheater's big screen, that didn't prevent the crowd way back on the bleachers from wilding out.

Lil Yachty has fun slipping into their old persona and songs

Lil Yachty has earned a reputation for being one of mainstream hip-hop's most admired weirdos, but even their recent output has managed to surprise, from last year's "Let's Start Here" album, which drastically switched up his style for a more psychedelic soul rock sound, and this year's "Bad Cameo," an often dreamy album made with Justin Vernon-loving English producer and songwriter James Blake.

"Cameo" didn't make a cameo during Yachty's nearly hourlong set, but it did begin with "Drive ME Crazy!" from "Here." But Yachty at the start of his set was surprisingly passive, the crowd, from my perspective, seemingly more excited to see Yachty than to hear Yachty take detours with newer material.

So, after a few songs, Yachty vowed to "turn this (expletive) upside down," delivering on that promise with "Slide" — a more straightforward, crowd-bouncing 2023 hip-hop track — and the audience transformed there for being happy Yachty was on stage to being thrilled to dance and rap to his music.

And that remained the mode, from both the rapper and his fans, for much of the rest of the set — aside from a touching moment when Yachty had the boisterous crowd join in a moment of silence in memory of Yachty's "Yacht Club" collaborator Juice WRLD.

If Yachty, at this stage of his artistic evolution, doesn't feel much connection with cutesy, nursery rhyme-like early hits like "Minnesota," "Broccoli" and "iSpy," he didn't show it, seemingly having as much fun vibing to those songs as his fans did nostalgically belting out their lyrics.

And while Yachty, like Uzi Vert, coasted here and there without much live rapping, he offered more than the main headliner, like an a cappella spin through "From the D to the A."

J.I.D. demonstrates superhuman spitting skills with opening set

J.I.D. accomplished the impressive feat of making Imagine Dragons seem cool in recent years with his dizzying guest verse on their hit “Enemy,” and his Summerfest set was an even greater demonstration of his superhuman skill.

His words flew so fast — but the enunciation still sticking with every syllable — that his rhymes outraced the speedy scroll of lyrics on the screen behind him for “151 Rum.” One could quibble that he announced it was his time to bounce five minutes before his set actually was supposed to end — but J.I.D. brought so much energy to thrillers like “Stick” and “Surround Sound,” and did such a good job convincing old hip-hop heads that the art of rap was in good hands, that he earned the right to hit the showers early.

Rico Nasty goes for the throat with visceral, fun set

Rico Nasty was no-nonsense for her 35-minute set, barely taking a break or talking to the crowd. But her personality was loud and clear.

Her brash, punk-inspired flow went straight for the jugular — even while it was peppered with some throat-ripping yells, eerily cutesy delivery a la early Nicki Minaj, and the occasional butt shake.

She never coasted on backing vocals either — her head-spinning delivery for “Cold” was especially fiery — and hearing her rap her signature song “Smack a (expletive)” over the beat for Ludacris’ “Move (expletive)” was an inspired flip.

LIHTZ doesn't fit bill, but makes lasting impression

On paper, LIHTZ was the most out of place of all the rappers on Saturday’s bill. While everyone else on stage had catalogs filled with high-energy bangers, the masked Philadelphia rapper specializes in softer, slower, melodic pain rap, with pensive piano and acoustic guitar the dominating sounds on “Mixed Signals” and “Serenity.” But LIHTZ was such a passionate presence on stage, with such a luminous flow — even expressed a cappella for a portion of “Broken Spirit” — that he was impossible not to like.

Milwaukee's own J.P., 414BigFrank, SteveDaStoner, Mook G, Djay Mando kick things off

Saturday’s amphitheater show at Summerfest was a celebration of some of hip-hop’s most exciting national talents — and that includes Milwaukee’s street rap scene, which has earned a place in that conversation.

For about five years, local rappers have earned hundreds of thousands, even millions, of streams for individual songs at a rapid clip. There have been record deals and glowing coverage from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and other major outlets. And Saturday, multiple buzzy Milwaukee rappers played Summerfest’s biggest stage.

Milwaukee’s premier party starter Djay Mando set the mood first, slipping in local rap gems like Munch Lauren’s “Big Money” and AyooLii’s “Schmackin Town” into his mix. Then came 414BigFrank, whose big, fun-loving personality instantly emerged for this year’s lowend breakout “Eat Her Up,” with Frank and about a quarter of the large on-stage entourage busting into some synchronized dance moves.

Unannounced special guest Mook G took the stage next for “Pay Me,” with another surprise guest, SteveDaStoner, rapping by his side. Stoner essentially has become the mascot for Milwaukee’s rap scene — and a popular guy eager for a selfie roaming the stages through the fest this year — and when he took over the set for his signature banger “RWS,” it was clear how Ludacris could have charmed enough by the guy to join him for a viral “free concert” stunt at 3rd Street Market Hall last month.

J.P., effortlessly translating the charm and charisma from his TikToks to a big stage, closed out this 25-minute Milwaukee rap party — a fitting choice considering none other than Lil Uzi Vert was the first famous rapper to endorse the Milwaukee rapper following his debut lowend single “Juicey Ahhh.” Alas, it didn’t make the set, but J.P. has since had an even bigger smash, “Bad Bitty” — arguably the biggest song ever from a Milwaukee-based rapper, with more than 19 million Spotify streams and counting. You better believe even the people toward the back of the amphitheater rapped “Bad Bitty” back to J.P. at the top of their lungs.

To see the scene celebrated on the biggest stage of Milwaukee’s biggest festival was a joyful achievement after years of unprecedented accomplishments. Here’s hoping it marks the first chapter of an exciting new beginning.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or  [email protected] . Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .