Review: Lil Yachty - Lil Boat 2
By Rose Doherty | Apr 1 2018
The 20-year-old king of ‘mumble rap,’ Lil Yachty, leaves behind his typical singing and Auto-Tune-heavy melodies for this 17-track collection of heavy hard-hitting spits. Yachty attempts to prove that he is capable of changing style and delivering biting and confrontational flows while using deep synths and minor keys. This contrasts with his usual charm and humour-filled sounds. Unfortunately, it all leaves much to be desired.The feature-heavy album showcases artists such as Migos’ Offset and Quavo, Lil Pump, Trippie Redd, and more. While offering some electrifying moments, the features are often wasted as Yachty’s verses pale in comparison to his counterparts. This only serves to highlight his faults.The shining moments in the album include the brief ‘Self Made’ and the piano-based ‘Love Me Forever’ where the listener is reintroduced to Yachty’s nostalgic style of singing. It reminds us that this is where Yachty excels. The clean vocal on the hook shows Yachty’s sensitive side as he professes his commitment in a relationship. These are moments where Yachty’s personality shines through in an album where it is otherwise absent.While providing some enjoyable bars, the attempts at aggressive, domineering rap on the explosive ‘Boom!’ and ‘Das Cap’ fail to hold the listener’s attention and are easily forgotten. The album closes with ‘66’, with a driving beat and trap sound. It closes the album competently, yet it celebrates Trippie Redd’s abilities more than Yachty’s, which again fail to excite.In a nutshell: Lil Yachty provides a tired sound; it’s listenable, but it fails to offer anything new.