June 10, 2016 he announced he had signed a joint venture record deal with Quality Control Music, Capitol Records, and Motown Records. Yachty released his second mixtape Summer Songs 2 in July 2016 with features from G Herbo, Offset, and his former collective the "Sailing Team". In June 2016, Lil Yachty appeared in XXL magazine as part of their 2016 Freshman Class. As part of this appearance, Yachty performed a 'freshman cypher' alongside Denzel Curry, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, and Kodak Black. As of March 2021, this cypher has received over 180 million YouTube views, by far the most for the XXL channel. In December 2016, he was featured on the hip hop single "iSpy" by Kyle. He was featured in Tee Grizzley's single "From the D to the A", released in March 2017. On May 26, 2017, Lil Yachty released his debut studio album, Teenage Emotions. It features guest appearances from Migos, Diplo, and YG, among others. Three promotional singles were released to coincide with the album. The first promotional single, "Harley", produced by K Swisha, was released on April 14, 2017. The second promotional single, "Bring It Back", produced by Free School, was released on May 4, 2017. The third promotional single, "X Men", produced by 30 Roc and Tillie and featuring a guest appearance from American rapper Evander Griiim, was released on May 18, 2017. He featured in a remix of "With My Team" by Creek Boyz, released December 15, 2017. In 2017, Yachty appeared in several high-profile promotional campaigns. He starred alongside LeBron James in a Sprite commercial, where he is seen in an ice cave playing the piano. Lil Yachty was picked to be the face of the new Nautica and Urban Outfitters collection for the Spring 2017 season. Yachty also appeared in the "It Takes Two" video with Carly Rae Jepsen for Target. 2018–2022: Lil Boat 2, Nuthin' 2 Prove, and Lil Boat 3 In January 2018, it was reported that Lil Yachty and Takeoff were working on a collaborative project. This project has yet to be released as of 2022. Yachty's second studio album, Lil Boat 2, was released on March 9, 2018. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Lil Boat 2 performed well commercially, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200, with 64,000 album-equivalent units. The album featured 2 Chainz, Quavo, and Offset, Ugly God, among other guests. On