Lil Zay Osama Shines Light On New Chicago Rappers With Release “YN Tape”

Lil Zay Osama released his new project, YN TAPE, on December 19, bringing together Chicago’s emerging drill artists for a 15-track collection that showcases the city’s next generation.

The Chicago rapper explained his vision for the project to AllHipHop.

“The YN tape is really a tape of me just going back to my younger self, bringing the drill style back: hard beats, dark sounds, and rapping about street stuff,” he told AllHipHop. “But it’s also to shine the light on the younger artists, the new generation coming up in Chicago for those who don’t know em. I just wanna see Chicago win over all and sticking together, and hopefully this tape can do that!”

The album features collaborations with rising Chicago talents, including Pretty Liyah, Fastmoney Ant and Star Bandz. Lil Zay Osama also brought in artists from other cities, such as OT7 Quanny and YTB Fatt, to round out the project.

When discussing his collaborator selection process, the rapper was direct about his choices.

“I chose these specific people because artists like Pretty Liyah, Fastmoney Ant, Star Bandz — they all from Chicago. They the new up and coming who music I f### with,” he explained.

He noted plans for additional features in a deluxe version, saying he wanted to spotlight young artists with whom he has genuine relationships.

The release comes during a period of increased visibility for Lil Zay Osama, who recently made headlines for showing support to a Chicago mother and child who were attacked by a group of students.

The rapper offered to fly them to Los Angeles for dinner and Christmas shopping.

The YN TAPE tracklist includes standout collaborations like “YN’S” with YTB Fatt, “Turnt” featuring Star Bandz, and “Hood B****es” with Fastmoney Ant.

The project closes with both the original and remix versions of “Dog S**t Records,” with the remix featuring OT7 Quanny.