Yeat gained fame around mid-2021 after releasing his mixtape 4L and debut studio album, Up 2 Me, with two songs, “Money So Big” and “Get Busy,” from the album attaining popularity on Tiktok. In 2022, he dropped his second studio album, 2 Alive, alongside his EP, Lyfe, with both of them entering the Billboard 200 Top Ten charts. In 2023, he dropped his third studio album titled, Afterlyfe, which debuted on the Billboard 200 at number four, making it his first-ever entry in the top five, while he guested on Drake’s hit song, “IDGAF,” which debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart before reaching number one on the Global 200 chart. In 2024, he dropped his fourth and fifth studio albums, 2093 (February) and Lyfestyle (October), with the former debuting on the Billboard 200 at number two and the latter topping the same chart for the first time ever.

Early life

Noah Olivier Smith was born on February 26, 2000, in Irvine, California. His mother, Laura (née Olivier) Smith, is from Romania, whereas his father, Joshua Smith, is an American with Mexican and British ancestry, with his maternal grandparents hailing from Mexico and being natives of Tijuana, and paternal being Anglo-American, respectively. Yeat has two brothers that are younger than him, named Luca and Ethan. Moreover, Yeat’s father is also a musician and creates music under the name “Beast Clouds.” Yeat was raised in Fullerton, California, until he and his family relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he went to Lakeridge High School in a nearby town of Lake Oswego. Yeat later moved to New York City for some time before heading back to the Greater Los Angeles area in order to pursue a music career.

Career

Yeat started his career in 2015; however, the songs which were published at this point were under a different artist name, namely Lil Yeat, and all of these releases have since been deleted from the Internet. Yeat’s first debut took place on June 30, 2018, when he published his track “Brink” on the YouTube channel Elevator. Yeat himself mentioned how his name was invented by him during the period when he was intoxicated and was trying to come up with one word that would sound familiar to people. Another interesting fact regarding Yeat’s stage name is that it can be viewed as a combination of the words “yeet” and “heat.” Yeat was capable of pursuing his dream of becoming an artist because he took LSD. Yeat published his first mixtape “Deep Blue Strips” on September 20, 2018.

Musical style

Since he began making music, Yeat has employed voices that make use of Auto-Tune. In 2021, he changed his style to be much more abrasive and synth-driven, becoming one of the many rappers making “rage beats,” which became popularized on SoundCloud after gaining inspiration from the energetic way rappers deliver their vocals and the genre of EDM and artists like Future and Young Thug, both of whom Yeat has claimed to be some of his greatest sources of inspiration. Yeat also cites T-Pain, an American rapper who was known for extensively using Auto-Tune, as one of his most influential rappers while growing up, saying he is “The GOAT of Auto-Tune.” His distinctive voice preset is made after a chain created by his former collaborator, musician Weiland.

Awards & Achievements

While Yeat is still early in his career and has not yet won major awards such as a Grammy, he has achieved significant commercial and cultural success:

• Multiple projects have charted on the Billboard 200, including the albums 2 Alivë, Afterlyfe, and 2093.
• Built one of the most recognizable sounds in modern hip-hop through his innovative “rage” style and unique vocabulary.
• Earned billions of streams across major music platforms.
• Collaborated with major artists including Drake, Young Thug, and Lil Uzi Vert.
• Developed a strong global fanbase and became one of the most influential artists of the new-generation rap movement.
• His album 2093 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking a major milestone in his career.