Yakiyn Is the Future

On a Thursday afternoon, Yakiyn appears on Zoom as he is being driven around in Los Angeles. Adorned in glistening jewels, which seem to shine brighter against his black shirt, his charismatic smile beams as he begins to unpack his pivotal year in music. Like many Dallas rappers who have come before him, his move to the City of Angels has brought forth an unexpected wave of blessings: a single debut at Boiler Room: L.A. with producer-musician Kal Banx, cameos in Doechii and ScHoolboy Q’s music videos and rumors of him being the latest Top Dawg Entertainment signee. He’s made it. But also he’s just begun. 

Before his current iteration, Yakiyn was known by many names. Lonestar Yak. Yak The Mack. Yak. Even his Zoom screen name, Yakizzle, is different from his current artist moniker. He is a chameleon, the ability to shift and adapt to a new environment, in order to survive and thrive. A skillset that is needed to be successful in today’s music industry. To be fixed is to be stagnant. To be mutable is to be in motion. And to be from Dallas is to always be in movement.

“I grew up seeing people outside, having a good time dancing,” Yakiyn recalls. “You were either dancing, fighting, or dancing and fighting.” With a laugh, he remembers growing up in Arlington and going to Super Sunday, a weekly event at a local skating rink where teenagers would congregate to party (and at times, fight) to the latest songs. He lists off Yung Nation and Soulja Boy as artists who would be in attendance. After the closure of Super Sunday, he would sneak into Club G, a popular teen club located on the east side of Arlington, off of I-30. Years later, when he connected with Banx, he described it as a full-circle moment. 

During the Boogie era, Club G was the epicenter of Dallas’ music scene. Zach Witness, formerly known as DJ White Chocolate, would perform DJ sets at the nightlife venue. Years later, Witness would produce But You Caint Use My Phone, Erykah Badu’s 2015 mixtape, and “Alter Ego,” a 2024 single from Doechii. Banx credits Club G as the start of his and Yakiyn’s friendship, which continues into the present day, as Yakiyn makes an impromptu appearance via FaceTime during our interview. Banx, who moved to L.A. in 2015, is the inspiration behind Yakiyn’s move.

When asked about why he encouraged the Dallas rapper to leave home, Banx saw something within him. “It wasn’t the fact that he was from my hometown that I said this is the guy that I want to work with. He was better than anybody else I had my eye on,” he says. With production credits for Ab-Soul, Baby Keem, Isaiah Rashad and more notable rappers, Banx has an eye for talent. 

“As Yak is connecting with more artists out here [in Los Angeles.] They’re starting to be attracted to different sounds or movements because Yak is on it.” Banx says. “Dallas energy is an infectious energy. It’s like no matter what you’re going to know, we stand out.”

Yakiyn’s latest video for “Spread Like Butta” embodies what makes him one to watch in 2026. The black and white visual, which draws inspiration from acclaimed music video director Hype Williams, Ludacris and Craig Mack, is an inside look into Yakiyn’s mind as a storyteller. He describes his thought process as a recreation of different things that he was inspired by as a child, and creating a new language for the audience to understand his take. For instance, the two major references for “Spread Like Butta” are “Roll Out (My Business)” by Ludacris and “Flava in Ya Ear” by Craig Mack. Compared to “Put Dem Boys to Sleep,” which was a cinematic interpretation of what he saw as an adolescent growing up in Dallas.

He speaks fondly of childhood memories at Big T Plaza, a shopping center frequently mentioned in Dallas rap. As an adolescent, he would frequent the retail center to cop a pair of fake Jordans or Air Forces, grab a slice of pizza and watch slab bars and crown vices drive in and out of the parking lot. “I try to take the essence of how I grew up and add that into my production,” he says. “This is the tone that I want to set when it comes to my music.”

Banx has some theories on the Dallas sound and why it’s so hard to put into words, compared to Houston, where chopped and screwed is the first thing to come to mind. “A lot of our influence comes from Atlanta, Louisiana and Mississippi. It bleeds over to us,” says Banx. “We’re catching the remnants of Shreveport and Baton Rouge, so our tempo is going to be a bit higher. Our 808s are going to be a bit bouncier. We’re going to have these more because of the New Orleans influence in our music. The cadence is going to be a bit more choppy because of Louisiana.” To say it in two words, Dallas music is bouncy and energetic. Just like Yakiyn.

“Calculate,” his new single produced by BNYX and Trey Kams, is the newest entry into the Dallas hip-hop canon. It’s similar in tone to “Put Them Boys to Sleep” but with more fun and energy. It’s an infectious get-money anthem and the perfect high note to a pivotal year for the Los Angeles-based, Dallas-raised rapper. In July, “Backboard” featuring Banx was one of our summer anthems, and in November, he was featured on a billboard on Fairfax.

Each month of the year brought a new first for Yaikyn, which, over time, will become commonplace for the rapper on the rise. Despite being thousands of miles away from home, he still aspires to be connected and involved with the Dallas music scene. He jokes about wanting to have a hometown mural in the same vein as Leon Bridges, the Grammy Award-winning singer, who is a close friend of his. After the laughter is gone and his charismatic smile transforms into a somber hue, he reveals his goal for 2026 to be the representation of the future of Dallas to the world.