Lil Yachty Criticized for George Floyd Lyric on Unreleased Song: 'Put My Knee Up on Her Neck'

Lil Yachty appears to be catching some heat over a song that has yet to be released.

The controversy began on Thursday (August 14) when the Georgia-born rapper appeared on Plaqueboymax’s live stream. At around the 43-minute mark, Yachty told the streamer to play his upcoming track, in which he references George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man who was killed in 2020 after being pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officers.

“I want them to hear me on this one,” Yachty told Plaqueboymax. As the track began playing, the streamer and others began rocking their heads to the beat while Yachty mouthed some of the lyrics.

At around the 43-minute mark, viewers heard the line: "Put my knee up on her neck, I went George Floyd," which, to absolutely no one’s surprise, caused a big stir on social media.

Social media users called the Floyd punchline “vile,” “disgusting,” and “super trash,” while others predicted it would lead to a lawsuit.

"I'm trying not to go off the deep end and completely crash out bc fuck Yachty," one person wrote, before adding: "He's trash but do these bfs think George Floyd's family isn't on the internet and that we're some mythical creatures? Bitch, we can hear you and see you."

A second person wrote: "Lil Yachty is about to get sued for that George Floyd bar and I wouldn't have a problem with it."

"Lil Yachty has always been a terrible rapper. But that George Floyd line was disgusting. No wonder him & Lawbrey are good friends," a third person shared, throwing shade at Drake in the process.

Hours after the stream, Yachty reshared a Kurroco post confirming the unreleased track is from It’s Us Vol. 2, the upcoming installment of his Concrete Boys series.

Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was ultimately found guilty of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

He was later sentenced to 22 and a half years in state prison for Floyd’s murder, and was hit with a 21-year federal sentence on the grounds he violated Floyd’s civil rights.

Floyd’s murder spurred global demonstrations against police brutality and amplified the Black Lives Matter movement. Yachty previously received backlash for calling the BLM Foundation a "scam." He made the comment during a May appearance on Quenlin Blackwell’s Feeding Starving Celebrities series.

"BLM was a — it was literally a scam," Yachty said. "They had bought mansions."

In 2022, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation was accused of mismanaging funds after New York Magazine revealed that the organization had used donated money to buy a $6 million California mansion. The foundation leaders defended the purchase, insisting the 6,500-square-foot property was a "safehouse" for BLM leaders whose safety had been threatened.