Miles Parks McCollum a.k.a. Lil Yachty was born on August 23, 1997 in Mableton, Georgia. Growing up, he listened to Coldplay, Soulja Boy, Kanye West and Lil B. Things weren't always easy for young Yachty. He was often being teased, bullied and harassed by his friends. Additionally, he started working since young age. While attending Pebblebrook Highschool, Yachty worked at McDonald's, where he met other aspiring rappers and producers.

After graduating from high school in 2015, he adopted his stage name and moved from Atlanta to New York City to achieve greater things in life. He spent a summer in the Big Apple in hopes of connecting with people to help him launch his hip-hop career. He stayed with a friend and networked with online street fashion personalities as he built up his Instagram following. He later headed back to Atlanta to attend Alabama State University. However, he dropped out after two months.

In September 2015, Yachty was arrested at a mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for credit card fraud. He was released after posting a bail bond of $11,000. By the end of the year, things have only taken an upward turn since then. He came to prominence when the SoundCloud version of his first hit song "One Night" was used in a viral comedy meme video. In February 2016, Yachty made his debut as a model in Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 fashion show at Madison Square Garden, where he modeled alongside Young Thug and others. In the following month, Yachty released his debut mixtape "Lil Boat".

Lil Yachty kicked his career into high gear as he began assisting some of massive hip-hop stars on several hit songs. In April 2016, he collaborated with D.R.A.M. on "Broccoli", which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He was also featured on Chance the Rapper's mixtape "Coloring Book" in the following month. In June 2016, he signed a joint record deal with Quality Control Music, Capitol Records and Motown Records. He then released his second mixtape "Summer Songs 2" in July that year.

Lil Yachty describes his music as "happy bubblegum trap" and "boat music." It has also been referred to "mumble rap." In addition to his signature red dreadlocks, he is easily taken notice of as one of prominent newcomers in hip-hop today. On May 26, 2017, Yachty released his debut studio album "Teenage Emotions". It features 21 tracks and boasts appearances from Migos, Diplo, Grace, Stefflon Don, YG and more.