At his mother's book release party at Agency Socialthèque, Atlanta-bred artist Lil Yachty sat quietly as his mom recalled the moment he told her he'd be leaving Alabama State University to pursue his longtime dream of achieving fame.
“The whole time he was at school, he kept saying he didn’t want to be there. He kept saying that he was supposed to be rich and famous, he wasn’t supposed to be in school,” Venita McCollum, said. “College was more my dream, not his dream.”
“I just want to say, she didn’t answer your question,” Yachty said half-jokingly once his mother finished speaking, referring to the fact that she never answered if her son’s decision to leave school made her scared for his future. “She was definitely scared. [But,] I knew. I believed in myself.”
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The interaction was indicative of the close relationship that Venita McCollum and her 22-year-old son Yachty, born Miles McCollum, still have despite his success. Where many people fail to achieve the celebrity and acclaim they feel they deserve, Yachty did. It turns out, his childhood inkling was correct. He was destined to be rich and famous. As an artist signed to the Atlanta-based label and management firm Quality Control (which also boasts Migos, City Girls and Cardi B among its talent), Lil Yachty has found success with hit songs such as “One Night,” “iSpy” and “Broccoli.” The latter earned a Grammy nomination in 2016.
In her new self-published book, “Raising a Rapper’ (out now), which features a forward from Yachty, McCollum recounts her journey to supporting her son’s decision to pursue a musical career and, eventually, her decision to leave her job in pharmaceutical sales to become one of his managers. “He started showing me all of the love he was getting out there and how his music was doing. He was getting millions of hits,” she said. “I said, ‘Something is going to happen. I better do something with this.’” McCollum said she had to learn the ropes and transition from corporate America quickly in order to ensure her then-teenage son was equipped for success and managing the millions of dollars he’d made before turning 20.
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The momager said she wrote her book “Raising a Rapper” to share these lessons with parents who are hoping to support entrepreneurial kids. The first section of the book chronicles McCollum’s journey to relinquishing her own dreams for her son, being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and eventually leaving her job to work for her son. The book’s second section delves into McCollum’s tips and advice for navigating touring, merchandising, as well as dealing with social media and trolls, and more.
“I know that there are a lot of parents [who are] dealing with the same thing I dealt with [and] wanting their kid to go to Georgia Tech or Georgia State or Morehouse, and the kid really [doesn’t] want to do that,” she said. “We didn’t have a blueprint, so to be able to give that blueprint to another parent is just amazing.”
At a recent book release party in Atlanta, McCollum stressed the importance of parents being involved with the careers of their young children. “Parents, manage your kid. Don’t turn your kids over to someone you don’t know,” she said. “If you are a co-partner, bring someone over to assist you, but don’t just turn your kid over to a stranger 100 percent. And, do your homework.”
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Still, McCollum is sure to give props to the Quality Control founder’s Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “Pee” Thomas for her son’s success, too. “I’m really not his manager. I manage his life and a little bit of his business,” she began before Yachty interjected again. “I would call her my business manager. She definitely handles everything outside of music,” he said.
Ultimately, McCollum said she’s still a mother first. “You’re always a mom. I think he thought once he got out of my house, I wasn’t going to be a mom anymore,” McCollum said. I told him I’ll be a mom until the day he dies. That’s just my job.”
“Raising a Rapper” is available for purchase via Amazon and raisingarapper.com.
