Lil Yachty......I'm not going to sugarcoat this one boys and girls. Truth is, I have a soft spot for Yachty. In 2016 Yachty really caught me off guard with his "Lil Boat" mixtape. This is, by all means, not a perfect album. But I found something about this mixtape absolutely charming beyond words. I loved the hazy flows on "Wanna Be Us", the undeniable positivity of "Good Day", and the feeling that so much of this album gave me. Yes, it's goofy and at points truly bizarre and strange, and it's absolutely not easy at all to take Yachty seriously. But this was the mother of all guilty pleasures for me. Shortly after Yachty released "Summer Songs 2", and already I had loads less to say that was actually positive. There were some moments where Yachty was spitting some of his most aggressive and impressive bars yet, like on "For Hot 97" and "Up next 3". Even some of the breezier, colorful tracks were enjoyable, like "King of the Teens". But for all of those tracks that were solid, there were just as many that were completely insufferable. But the worst was yet to come, because with 2017's "Teenage Emotions", Lil Yachty lost me completely. I may be a sucker for "Bring It Back" in the biggest way, but the majority of this album is completely not-listenable. It's not sweet or charming, most of this annoying is seriously annoying....all hour and 10 minutes of it. Well, Lil Yachty is back, and I'm diving in headfirst. Let's chat boys.
This album starts off with “Self-Made”, and I actually seriously love this as an intro. I love the layers of synths and the massive production. Now, let’s get it out of the way, you either love Lil Yachty or hate him, there’s no in between. Personally, I feel like he’s just so charming on this intro. It’s got a retro atmosphere with a very current verse, honesty I don’t know why he doesn’t stick with this sound more. But just like that, with “Boom!” featuring Ugly God, Yachty is obviously much more interested in going back to that heavier and more aggressive sound he’s evolved into. To be honest, I just don’t see it. He’s been on aggressive tunes in the past, and I certainly like the very chilly atmosphere of this one. Hell, this one is even haunting from time to time. But lyrically, this is far from what I want to hear from Yachty. This isn’t a charming alternative to Trap music, this is just more of the same. It’s repetitive, it’s obnoxious, and I am just not a fan of Ugly God at all. “Boom!” does have a ton of potential, and in a way almost reminds me of “Bastard” era Tyler the Creator. But at the end of the day, it’s just bland. I have no idea where that good protection and compelling beats went. But “Oops” featuring K$upreme and 2 Chainz gets us even farther from the lighthearted intro. I’m seriously not into this one at all. Yachty’s performance is all over the place and obnoxious, and 2 Chains who usually is filled with personality has none here. “Oops” is an afterthought, and because the production is so tine and the beat is track, this one feels like it could fall apart any moment. Tracks like this worry me, for this album and Yachty’s future. There may be a D.I.Y. sound to this, but it’s done in the most classless way. Now, “Talk To Me Nice” actually gets this album back on track with a very dark vibe throughout. Honestly, it’s the very nocturnal vibe that’s lead me to love albums like Travis Scott’s “Rodeo” over the years. As far as Yachty’s performance goes, this is once again, a much heavier and aggressive performance. And to be honest, it comes off really solid here. This may not be the sweet, lighthearted Yachty we met years ago, but this is certainly far from bad. Then we have “Get Money Bros." featuring Tee Grizzley, and it’s becoming obvious that this album has taken a serious turn for the dark. And that’s something I really wasn’t expecting after the very shimmering start to this album. But in moments like this, I really just feel like Yachty is coming off more confident and hungry than ever. Once again, it’s far from the sweet Yachty we were introduced to years ago, but it’s miles than anything on his last project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpUv9OABtI4
But Yachty has a serious problem with staying focused. “Count Me In” may be the ugliest, crudest and most annoying track yet. First off, who the hell made this beat? It’s an absolute mess all around. And the sloppy production doesn’t do Yachty any favors whatsoever. Then we have Yachty’s performance, which I’ve honestly hear more substance in my toilet flushing. “Count Me In” isn’t a banger, it’s just depressing and seriously obnoxious. On the other hand, “She Ready” is the sort of sweet, uplifting Rap tune that I wanted to hear. I love the very playful beat and just how charming Yachty comes off. Here, once again he comes off far from just another Trap Rapper, he comes off as genuinely strange and a colorful character. I mean obviously, this is still far from a conscious track, and Yachty is no wordsmith. But I’m absolutely 100% down with this. Then we have “Love Me Forever” which one again does seem to have Yachty on his best behavior. I actually seriously love when Yachty goes for these more Soft Rock / Pop beats. While yes they don’t hit hard, the make his performances so much more colorful. “Love Me Forever” is a charming tune, and Yachty seems actually endearing in his performance. But why is it that every time Yachty sort of gets going he has to break out an incredibly ugly and bloated tune to balance things out? “Das Cap” is absolute garbage, and it’s moments like this that I seriously get why Yachty has a seriously bad reputation. It’s repetitive, boring, and everything that makes current Rap incredibly bland. And ironically, at 3 minutes, it’s one of the longer tunes here. On the other hand, "Pop Out" featuring JBan$2Turnt I actually really dig as far as a more aggressive tune goes. I love just how uneasy and otherworldly the beat and atmosphere are. Yachty sounds absolutely dangerous here, especially up against this grizzly beat. Now this track is far from the Yachty we were introduced to a while back, and it may be a little rough for someone who can’t take him seriously to begin with. But for me, I feel like he does a decent job with “Pop Out”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-10BhwzD71A
Oh boy, but let me tell you, "NBAYoungBoat" featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again comes along next and literally sounds like 90% of the rap on the market. And you guessed it, that’s not why I tune in to a Yachty album. This may not shock you, but YoungBoy Never Broke Again sounds dismal and lifeless. And Yachty’s performance, while I do like hearing him more aggressive, just doesn’t resonate with me on this one. “Mickey” continues to take things in the more darker realm of things, and I certainly don’t mind the beat here. But as this album goes on, I really do feel like Yachty just gets further and further from the sound I’m looking for. Plus, Yachty’s incredibly sleepy verse here does nothing for me. Honestly, Offset sounds just fine, but Lil Baby’s verse does even less for me than Yachty’s drugged out verse. Then we have “FWM”, and once again I do really love just how hulking and gigantic the production is here, and how murky the beat is. But come on, I really wish Yachty came more out of his shell. He used to have so much more personality, but here he just sounds ok. This is far from the worst track here, but when you compare this to what Yachty used to put out, there’s obviously a disconnect. But with “Flex”, once again I sort of enjoy how cocky and aggressive Yachty comes off. I just really wish this one was a little heavier. This beat is just so flimsy and the production is just sort of alright. And once again, things get repetitive very fast. I have no idea why Yachty is unable to get back into the groove he was once in. Now, I’ll be perfectly honest, the murky beat on “Whole Lotta Guap” is just the sort I wanted to hear from Yachty. But as this track rolls on, like the majority of this album it’s just OK. I enjoy Yachty’s performance and all, and overall I do really think that a more aggressive sound is the right direction for him. But while “Whole Lotta Guap” isn’t bad, nothing about this is going to stick with me 4 months from now.
“Baby Daddy” is up next, and honestly I was not looking forward to this one. And not to shocking, once again there’s some really good stuff going on here, but there’s also some seriously low brow garbage. I do love the very murky atmosphere, and Yachty’s verse is OK at best. But I hate to say it, but Lil Pump of all people actually sounds great on this track. No, I can’t believe I said that either. Even Offset sounds right at home here. I can’t give this track a pass, mostly because Yachty sounds more lost than ever. But as far as his guests go here, they sound right at home. So, this album ends off with “66”. And let me tell you I’m absolutely pissed. Where the hell was this sound the entire album. I absolutely love the shimmering atmosphere here with the retro synths. Why doesn’t Yachty get that this is literally the sound that he can work with perfectly is beyond me. I’m really not into Trippie Redd’s verse here at all. But this track isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. It has a lot of hopeful sounding moments, and while Yachty’s lyrics are literally garbage, he makes them work in this atmosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpUv9OABtI4
But Yachty has a serious problem with staying focused. “Count Me In” may be the ugliest, crudest and most annoying track yet. First off, who the hell made this beat? It’s an absolute mess all around. And the sloppy production doesn’t do Yachty any favors whatsoever. Then we have Yachty’s performance, which I’ve honestly hear more substance in my toilet flushing. “Count Me In” isn’t a banger, it’s just depressing and seriously obnoxious. On the other hand, “She Ready” is the sort of sweet, uplifting Rap tune that I wanted to hear. I love the very playful beat and just how charming Yachty comes off. Here, once again he comes off far from just another Trap Rapper, he comes off as genuinely strange and a colorful character. I mean obviously, this is still far from a conscious track, and Yachty is no wordsmith. But I’m absolutely 100% down with this. Then we have “Love Me Forever” which one again does seem to have Yachty on his best behavior. I actually seriously love when Yachty goes for these more Soft Rock / Pop beats. While yes they don’t hit hard, the make his performances so much more colorful. “Love Me Forever” is a charming tune, and Yachty seems actually endearing in his performance. But why is it that every time Yachty sort of gets going he has to break out an incredibly ugly and bloated tune to balance things out? “Das Cap” is absolute garbage, and it’s moments like this that I seriously get why Yachty has a seriously bad reputation. It’s repetitive, boring, and everything that makes current Rap incredibly bland. And ironically, at 3 minutes, it’s one of the longer tunes here. On the other hand, "Pop Out" featuring JBan$2Turnt I actually really dig as far as a more aggressive tune goes. I love just how uneasy and otherworldly the beat and atmosphere are. Yachty sounds absolutely dangerous here, especially up against this grizzly beat. Now this track is far from the Yachty we were introduced to a while back, and it may be a little rough for someone who can’t take him seriously to begin with. But for me, I feel like he does a decent job with “Pop Out”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-10BhwzD71A
Oh boy, but let me tell you, "NBAYoungBoat" featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again comes along next and literally sounds like 90% of the rap on the market. And you guessed it, that’s not why I tune in to a Yachty album. This may not shock you, but YoungBoy Never Broke Again sounds dismal and lifeless. And Yachty’s performance, while I do like hearing him more aggressive, just doesn’t resonate with me on this one. “Mickey” continues to take things in the more darker realm of things, and I certainly don’t mind the beat here. But as this album goes on, I really do feel like Yachty just gets further and further from the sound I’m looking for. Plus, Yachty’s incredibly sleepy verse here does nothing for me. Honestly, Offset sounds just fine, but Lil Baby’s verse does even less for me than Yachty’s drugged out verse. Then we have “FWM”, and once again I do really love just how hulking and gigantic the production is here, and how murky the beat is. But come on, I really wish Yachty came more out of his shell. He used to have so much more personality, but here he just sounds ok. This is far from the worst track here, but when you compare this to what Yachty used to put out, there’s obviously a disconnect. But with “Flex”, once again I sort of enjoy how cocky and aggressive Yachty comes off. I just really wish this one was a little heavier. This beat is just so flimsy and the production is just sort of alright. And once again, things get repetitive very fast. I have no idea why Yachty is unable to get back into the groove he was once in. Now, I’ll be perfectly honest, the murky beat on “Whole Lotta Guap” is just the sort I wanted to hear from Yachty. But as this track rolls on, like the majority of this album it’s just OK. I enjoy Yachty’s performance and all, and overall I do really think that a more aggressive sound is the right direction for him. But while “Whole Lotta Guap” isn’t bad, nothing about this is going to stick with me 4 months from now.
“Baby Daddy” is up next, and honestly I was not looking forward to this one. And not to shocking, once again there’s some really good stuff going on here, but there’s also some seriously low brow garbage. I do love the very murky atmosphere, and Yachty’s verse is OK at best. But I hate to say it, but Lil Pump of all people actually sounds great on this track. No, I can’t believe I said that either. Even Offset sounds right at home here. I can’t give this track a pass, mostly because Yachty sounds more lost than ever. But as far as his guests go here, they sound right at home. So, this album ends off with “66”. And let me tell you I’m absolutely pissed. Where the hell was this sound the entire album. I absolutely love the shimmering atmosphere here with the retro synths. Why doesn’t Yachty get that this is literally the sound that he can work with perfectly is beyond me. I’m really not into Trippie Redd’s verse here at all. But this track isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. It has a lot of hopeful sounding moments, and while Yachty’s lyrics are literally garbage, he makes them work in this atmosphere.
Rating 6.6/10
Give A Listen To: "Talk To Me Nice", "Get Money Bros.", "She Ready", "Pop Out"
Genre: Hip Hop/ Trap / Pop Rap
Overall Thoughts: I mean, let's be real, one thing's for sure this is certainly better than "Teenage Emotions". At the very least I was able to sit through this project. But this album is still such a damn mess. Yachty is simply put, all over the place. He can't seem to find the balance that made "Lil Boat" a memorable project. Here, Yachty hops back and forth from being boring to being just as obnoxious as 90% of the Rap scene right now. But worst of all Yachty BARELY hits the very slim, charming margin that he once was able to master so easily. The guests on this album are just as all over the place. For every genuinely decent verse from the likes of Quavo, PnB Rock, Offset or LIL PUMP OF ALL PEOPLE, there's a genuinely horrible verse from the likes of Trippie Red, 2 Chainz, Ugly God etc. For every decent track here that shows Yachty taking a step forward, moments later you know he'll take a step back. There are certainly some decent tunes on here, some of his better tracks since "Lil Boat", but overall this is MESSY.
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