How art director Mihailo Andic helped Lil Yachty realise the artwork for Teenage Emotions

The visual is a perfect alignment to Yachty’s playful aesthetic and sound – one that’s progressive, youthful and all about letting the kids have some fun. It’s this buoyancy in his work that’s raised the ire of old-school hip-hop heads which, in turn, highlights how great a departure Yachty’s aesthetic is.

In an article for Billboard, Mykki Blanco shared his thoughts on the use of two men kissing on the cover: “I think it’s groundbreaking because for someone of this age who has the audience that he has – for him to even use a small amount of his platform to do something like create his first album cover – and it has two men kissing… I know some people in radical circles would say, “Oh, he couldn’t have chosen two men of colour or he couldn’t have chosen this or he chosen that?” But it is what it is, and I do think it’s groundbreaking.”

While Yachty is a divisive character, the album cover doesn’t embody a provocative spirit but instead contains an inclusive slant. Like Blanco said, “He’s young in that way where when you see an artist like him do stuff, you just can read the purity in it”.

Below, we catch up with art director Mihailo Andic to discuss the cover for Teenage Emotions.

Tell us a little bit about yours and Yachty’s vision for the artwork. What was your brief?

The vision was to come up with something progressive. I’m really happy we took a different approach with this visual, it was nice to see that it had such a positive impact on everyone. For us, there’s definitely a standard when it comes to Yachty’s art direction; we both strive to make something memorable each time. This is his debut album so it had to be very special. I wouldn’t say there was a specific brief; we began talking about it last year and, over time, the idea was brought to life. We collaborate pretty closely so the overall plan/brief is something we did together for this project.

How do you think the image represents Teenage Emotions?

I think everyone in it represents something special. Each person in this cover is unique, and they all have their own story. This album is going to capture a lot of different things teenagers may be going through. And just like the music, this visual represents those teens and their emotions, feelings, etc. Another important thing I hope people take away from this cover is the importance of being yourself, and to embrace how unique each of us are.

Tell us a little bit about the cast of models in the movie theatre. How were the models selected?

Once we came up with the idea for the cover, we also brainstormed who we wanted to be in it along with Yachty. The plan was to have a very diverse group of kids. All of them were amazing and we really appreciate them bringing the cover to life.

What were some of your inspirations for this cover? Did you use a moodboard?

I began looking at references as soon as I was given the name of the album. When I was collecting imagery and building the first set of mood boards for the project, I was drawn towards work from Petra Collins, Maria Svarbova, Juno Calypso, Samuel Burgess-Johnson and this one girl I know personally who’s incredibly talented at curating and editing photos. Her Tumblr is amazing and always inspires me. The work these artists create captures that ‘teenage’ visual style I was looking for. Some of the work I was looking at felt very nostalgic. That was the original inspiration for me, then it shifted over time. The one piece of inspiration that brought it together was an image I found on Instagram that we referenced for the background – a picture of a vintage movie theatre. Before I begin any project I always make sure to do my research and referencing, that’s the most important step for me. Also shoutout to Instagram for their saved section feature on the app, that’s a game changer.