Lil Yachty says his lean use was taking over before he stopped drinking the drug seven months ago, revealing the personal milestone during a November 6 livestream with streamer Cuffem.
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The two were hosting a mukbang on Kick when Cuffem arrived with lean, apparently expecting the Atlanta rapper to join him. Instead, he discovered that Lil Boat had already walked away from the habit.“I pulled up with the cup, I thought my [expletive] Boat was sipping,” Cuffem said. “He seven months clean.”
Yachty acknowledged the update and offered a brief explanation for his decision.
“Yeah, that [expletive] was…it was taking over,” Yachty admitted.
The revelation adds another chapter to the rapper’s complicated history with lean, a mixture commonly made with prescription cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine, often combined with soda. Codeine is an opioid that carries risks of dependence, overdose, and dangerous breathing problems.
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Longtime fans may remember that Yachty initially built his career around a very different relationship with substances. During his breakthrough year in 2016, the then-teenage rapper repeatedly described himself as someone who avoided drinking, smoking, and drugs. In interviews with publications including The FADER and Interview Magazine, he emphasized spending his time making music rather than partying.
His public image eventually evolved alongside his music.
By 2022, lean references had become part of Yachty’s catalog. His viral track “Poland” centered on a reference to Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical company associated with prescription cough syrup. The unusual song became an internet sensation and introduced the reference to listeners far beyond traditional rap audiences.
But behind the music, Yachty had already begun confronting his own lean use.
In September 2023, he publicly revealed that he had stopped drinking lean. The following month, during an episode of his “A Safe Place” podcast featuring rapper Lucki, Yachty disclosed that he had been clean for 10 months.
His latest seven-month milestone marks another reported period without the drug. However, he has not provided a complete timeline explaining his substance use between those announcements.
More recently, professional wrestling has played a significant role in Yachty’s efforts to change his lifestyle.
During a September 2026 appearance on “Insight with Chris Van Vliet,” the rapper discussed stepping away from lean while preparing for WWE. He explained that he had used the substance on and off for approximately a decade and began making changes when the possibility of wrestling became serious.
Yachty also credited his friendship with WWE star Trick Williams with encouraging him to improve his health and physical conditioning.
That motivation eventually translated into the ring. On September 6, Yachty made his WWE in-ring debut against Baron Corbin at Sunday Night’s Main Event, surviving a five-minute challenge that helped Williams secure an opportunity to reclaim the United States Championship.
His wrestling journey also connects to an earlier chapter of his life. Yachty has described being inspired by CM Punk’s drug-free, straight-edge lifestyle as a teenager, even drawing Punk’s signature X symbols on his hands while in high school.
Now, nearly a decade after becoming one of rap’s most recognizable young stars, Yachty is openly discussing how his relationship with substances has changed.
His recent remarks do not establish whether he received treatment or has stopped using other substances. What he has confirmed is that he has gone seven months without lean and believes his previous consumption had become difficult to control.
During a casual livestream where someone arrived expecting him to drink, Yachty’s decision was already made. The cup was there, but Boat wasn’t sipping.
