Lil Yachty, or the oft used name Lil Boat, is a rapper making waves in 2016 with the release of Lil Boat the Mixtape. As silly as his performance names are, Lil Yachty has garnered a considerable amount of buzz thus far.
With the popularity of his single “1Night” thanks to Vine and Soundcloud’s streaming accessibility, the rapper has gone from virtually unknown to overnight sensation. The rapper is a culmination of new age technology, sound style and image clashing in an artist’s rise.
As previously mentioned, Yachty greatly benefited from a popular Vine, which in turn allowed the free Soundcloud single to accumulate streams like Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” and Post Malone’s “White Iverson”. Yachty’s style screams Young Thug meets IloveMakonnen, two eccentric styles that rely on production and sing-song rap.
However, on Lil Boat the Mixtape, Yachty delivers a cohesive tape that suggests his creative output can ascend past the trap Atlanta output. Along with the internet’s boost and a sing-rap style that relies on auto-tune, Yachty has captured attention for his unique image.
Although many artists in today’s culture try to craft a unique part of their image, Yachty uses a bright aesthetic that correlates with his music. The bright-red braids and clothing paint Yachty as an enigma in today’s music scene, a “fashionista” with a bravado not unlike some of Hip-hop’s more hardcore rappers.
Whether modeling at Yeezy Season 3’s Madison Square Garden show, or dancing joyfully in the “Wanna Be Us” video, Yachty is curating a poster-boy image for late-90s babies and their versatility in fashion, style and visuals. Unfortunately, the music does not quite match the wonderfully created aesthetic yet. Lil Boat the Mixtape is well sequenced and cohesive for a new artist, but the production carries the tape too much.
Yachty opts for beats that sound like they were created primarily on internet software programs, which benefits the theme of the tape. A lot of the production on the beats sample popular content such as “Intro (Just Keep Swimming)” using a Finding Nemo sample and “Run/Running” using a Game Boy sound effect.
The entire album plays like a cartoonish trap saga. A lot of listeners will be deterred from the Spongebob persona Lil Yachty seems to frequently use. Lyrics such as “So for everyone talking down, Anybody who makes you frown/Let them know that's its possible, Oh its possible” read like story time at a elementary school, and Yachty’s premature voice does not help his case. Yachty hardly does any actual rapping, rather he uses melody to “rap”.
When he does rap, “Intro (Just Keep Swimming)” and “Up Next 2”, Yachty does not necessarily disappoint delivery wise, but lyrically, he is a long way away from being mentioned as a top-tier rapper. Instead, Yachty plays to his strengths, a cohesive production team and a knack for well-crafted melodies to deliver a solid debut mixtape. If you are into rapping in any serious capacity, chances are you are going to absolutely hate Lil Yachty and his debut tape, Lil Boat the Mixtape. His preteen content, his videogame samples and a voice that is, at times, intolerable does Lil Yachty no favors. Where he will continue to garner more fans is being unafraid to use a child-like creativity and a neat aesthetic; just check out the cover for the mixtape as evidence. Eventually though, Yachty will have to grow-up and deliver better content or he will likely never be taken seriously. For the time being, enjoy the youthful brilliance that is “Lil Boat”.
