Everything is bigger in Texas and rap multihyphenate Yakiyn — or Lone Star Yak, if you prefer — is no exception. With ambitions that go well beyond music alone, and music that refuses to be confined by genre, the Dallas-based artist is out to build worlds. Overflowing with infectious energy and chaotic creativity, Yakiyn raps and sings, sure, but he is also a born art director who has a history of co-producing his own mercurial songs, designing provocative merch, throwing raucous events, and creating electrifying visuals that lean heavy on raw, real-deal VHS footage. It’s no wonder he’s been tapped to model for TDE and Yeezy, appeared in Doechii’s Denial Is a River sitcom skits, and collaborated with the likes of Isaiah Rashad and Doe Boy. As a vocalist, he can shape-shift from laid-back menace to mosh-pit rage and hypnotic coo to playa smooth, sounding at home over messy bass-blasted bangers and woozy dance-floor heaters alike. But in his new era, Yakiyn aims to crash through the sky-high expectations he’s already set.

Take “BACKBOARD,” his recent single featuring Kal Banx — best known as TDE’s hit-making in-house producer and a burgeoning solo artist in his own right (Yakiyn appears on his buzzing 2025 debut solo album RHODA). The track is a wall-to-wall flex set to hard drums and an eerie melody, blessed with an infectious shout-along hook about dominating your chosen field(s): “I’m finna break the backboard (go!), break the backboard (go!), break the backboard (go!)” And in classic Yakiyn style, there’s a Texas-fried easter egg in the mix — a sample of police scanner chatter from a 2012 incident at the State Fair when the grounds’ iconic 52-foot-tall mascot Big Tex caught on fire: “Got a tall cowboy with all his clothes burned off at 10:31.” Dallas Observer called “BACKBOARD” “something you would hear in between NBA commercial breaks after a monstrous dunk,” while Our Generation Music noted, “Yakiyn shows why he’s an up-and-comer to watch with his new single.” But for the tastemakers, he’s been one to watch for a minute.

Last year, Yakiyn showed staggering range across just four tracks on his SAD BOI EP, not least of which on the delirious title song where he traverses vocal styles like Playboy Carti — from a low world-weary flow to a high emotive creak with propulsive adlibs throughout. And then there’s “YEA,” which recently crossed a million streams on Spotify. As arty as it is inciting, the mesmeric cut finds him teaming with fellow sonic polyglots Luke Bar$ and Isaiah Rashad. Yak has helped bring the single to live audiences too, on Rashad’s recent tour and at a rowdy Lollapalooza after party, leaving a literal impression by stage-diving and rapping from the heart of the crowd. The EP also includes booming trap anthem “WHO DAT BOI” with Doe Boy and “GIMME LIT,” a funky late-night track that combines Jersey club rhythms with swirling R&B vocals and cool piano.