Recently featured in NEW LEASE MUSIC’s New Music Round-up, Illinois rapper YB GHOSTY pops into the interview seat to discuss his latest single, ‘Made It Thru The Night’ and how he uses AI as part of the creative process.
NLM: Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. Please introduce yourself to the world!
YG: What’s good, world — I’m YB Ghosty. I make late night rap music straight outta District 88. The Ghostyverse is my world; the music is how you get in.
NLM: You released your single, ‘Made It Thru The Night’ in September. What is the public perception of the single so far?
YG: Honestly? People been relating to it heavy. It’s a survival anthem — everybody’s got a night they had to make it through. Shoutout to New Lease Music for featuring it in their roundup, that meant a lot.
NLM : What inspired you to write/produce the single?
YG: Real life. Everybody I know got a story about a night that almost broke ’em. I wanted to make the song you play at 3 AM when you’re still standing. District 88 never sleeps, and neither do the people trying to make it out.
NLM: How would you describe the single’s sound to potential fans?
YG: Late-night rap — heavy bass, spacey, cinematic. The kind of track that sounds like driving through the city with the windows down when you got nowhere to be but everywhere to go.
NLM: You use AI to help produce ‘Made It Thru The Night’ as well as your previous releases. What initially inspired you to use AI as part of your music-making process?
YG: Freedom. I didn’t have a label, a budget, or a studio — but I had a whole universe in my head. AI let me build all of it: the music, the visuals, the world. Nobody had to co-sign me. I just started dropping.
NLM: Can you take us briefly through your creative process when using AI to produce your music?
YG:It always starts with a story or a feeling — something real I need to get off my chest. I write the songs, shape the sound, then use AI to produce and build the world around it. I’m the director; the tech is just the crew.
NLM: What would you say to musicians and other creatives who are strongly opposed to using AI in music?
YG: I would tell them every era had an opp — sampling was stealing, autotune was cheating. I definitely wasn’t gonna get beat by the next person using it, so I had to learn it too. The tool ain’t the artist. If the story’s real and the ear is sharp, the music speaks. Judge the song, not the software.
NLM:What plans do you have in store for 2026?
YG: The album — No Rest In Paradyne. Pre-save is live right now. More singles, more visuals, the Ghostyverse keeps expanding. We’re just getting started.
NLM: How can potential fans find you?
YG: Instagram and TikTok @ybghosty — that’s home base. Spotify, YouTube,
everywhere you stream. New drops weekly, tap in.
NLM: Finally, if music didn’t exist, what profession would you do?
YG: I’d run the best taco truck in District 88. No contest.
