Lil Yachty’s a brand. From the red hair to the autotuned falsetto to the humble bragging, Yachty a marketable character that’s easy to recognize.

The teenage rapper born Miles McCollum created a few characters to bring him to fame, from the sensitive Yachty to the violent Lil Boat to Darnel Boat, the uncle who curates Lil Boat The Mixtape. The idea of creating an alter ego isn’t new to hip hop (see Eminem vs. Slim Shady, Tupac vs. Makavelli, Tyler the Creator vs. Wolf Haley/Ace Creator/Tron Cat/etc.), and through a series of personas Yachty’s managed to build himself into a household name. With such a colourful character, however, Yachty runs the inevitable risk of being dismissed as a gimmick.

It’s impossible to mistake Yachty on a song. A falsetto caterwaul, layered in autotune and characterized by a slight lisp and an apparent youthfulness, took the eighteen year old from underground Soundcloud phenomenon to appearing on Kanye’s Madison Square Garden stage, rapping with T.I., and having his latest mixtape sold on iTunes as an Apple exclusive. He has a recognizable sound that sets him apart, but also runs the risk of marginalizing him.

Like many of Yachty’s contemporaries, from Young Thug to Lil Uzi Vert, many rap traditionalists are labeling him the “end of music”. There’s no comparing his writing to the lyrical excellence of artists like Nas or Tupac, and that’s okay: rap has progressed since the 90s, even if the comment sections haven’t. Yachty’s a part of a new school, but that school is easy to dismiss as gimmicky artists, more characterized by what they represent than who they are. Yachty’s currently characterized by many as simply “that red-haired rapper with the weird voice”, but he’s out to prove that he’s much more.

Back in June, Yachty appeared on Ebro Darden’s Hot 97 radio program to talk about Lil Boat the Mixtape, and Ebro (never one to mince words) didn’t try to hide his general distaste for what Yachty represented. A few weeks ago, Yachty retorted with “For Hot 97” (off his recent Summer Song 2 mixtape). Rather than taking shots at the radio station (as many young rappers would jump to do), Yachty – along with JayBan$2Turnt, Byou, and Bigbruthachubba of his Sailing Team collective – used “For Hot 97” to try and showcase their actual rap abilities.

Old Man Ebro, ever the traditionalist, dismissed the track as “High school ass bars” on Instagram, leading to an on-air confrontation with Yachty that went way better than any could’ve expected. Yachty didn’t call in to attack Ebro: he called in to respectfully defend his position. “I did the song… to show that I can fucking rap,” he said on-air, “I didn’t catch feelings… it was to show what’s good… You acting like the old man in the barber shop that’s always there.”

Many rappers could’ve gotten angry, yelling at Ebro the way Kanye yelled at Sway, but Yachty isn’t hotheaded enough that. He doesn’t simply dismiss the views of the older generations like Uzi, he tries to impress without sacrificing his own style. Rosenberg, who was present on Ebro’s show at the time, told Yachty “I can tell [Ebro] respects the shit out of you, calling up here right now to talk shit”, and while Ebro hesitated to agree he ended the broadcast saying “I’m glad you’re trying to showcase your bars… I ain’t gonna lie, it’s all love.”(Catch the full broadcast here).

It’s easy to dismiss Yachty, as Ebro did, as a “high school ass” rapper riding a wave of originality that could easily fade with time, but Yachty refuses to be tied down. He took Ebro’s shots with class, and responded strongly but respectfully. He’s maintained a consistent output since growing to acclaim, releasing two mixtapes and becoming an XXL Freshman this year alone. He’s kept up his work with his hometown crew (the Sailing Team, who are all featured heavily on Summer Song 2) while working with bigger names like G Herbo, Ty Dolla $ign, Joey Fatts, Chance the Rapper, Post Malone, and D.R.A.M. (he even, apparently, has an upcoming spot on Kanye’s doubtfully-existent Turbo Grafx 16). Lil Yachty is always going to be divisive, but he’s unwilling to be dismissed and thrown away as a passing gimmick: he’s here to be acknowledged as an artist, and demands the recognition he thinks he deserves.