Is that Pink Floyd? Is it Tame Impala? No, it’s Lil Boat. On the 27th, Lil Yachty released his best work so far, titled Let’s Start Here. 

This psychedelic rock record was the last thing anyone was expecting from Yachty. Most commonly known for his Lil Boat mixtapes and albums, which implement a basic and light-hearted hip-hop style, this album was a complete shift in direction. The question is, was it a good one?

The answer is undoubtedly yes. This psychedelic rock record that Yachty created seems to fit him as an artist much better than his previous stylistic attempts.

The record commences with the grandiose intro, “the BLACK seminole.” This song is a highlight of the album, featuring incredible production and guitar instrumentals reminiscent of The Dark Side of the Moon, especially during the track’s second half. “The ride-” followed suit and delivered an outstanding performance. 

On the conceptual side of things, Yachty brings some perspective on the skit “:(failure(:”. He discusses his idea of success and failure in life, finishing it off by saying “Failure to me isn’t, like, always a negative thing but more so, more so, like just a way to re-look at things you know, you never know how close you are to success.” 

In the middle of the album comes the song “drive ME crazy!” This track is the best on the record in my opinion, bringing a happy and lighthearted vibe that just makes the listener want to break out and dance. The vocal performance on this song is beautiful, and it brings a killer hook that sticks in your head for hours. The instrumental is great as well, making the vocals shine tremendously. 

The song that follows is one of the most intense on the album, titled “IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!” This track embraces the psychedelic vibe that Yachty creates on this album with its incredible instrumental and trippy vocals. 

The final two tracks on the album close it out in a perfect way. On the track “The Alchemist.” Yachty comes through with one of his most passionate and intense verses. Foushee brings incredible vocals on this track as well, and it serves as a great prelude to the final track, “REACH THE SUNSHINE.” 

As “The Alchemist.” comes to a close, it smoothly transitions into the outro track, which features a great performance from Daniel Caeser. This song features very strong synths and the most grandiose vocals and instrumentals on the record. This track is intense, beautiful, and most of all, hypnotizing. It is a perfect ending for the psychedelic rock feel that Yachty has created.

Now, while this album has a lot of amazing qualities, it does not come without flaws. Yachty relies heavily on autotune throughout the record to make up for his lackluster voice, and on a few of the songs, the instrumentals carry the vocals heavily. At times, Yachty’s vocals feel a bit awkward and mismatched with the beautiful instrumental that backs them up. 

Overall, this project is great, and certainly deserving of praise. Yachty went out of his comfort zone further than any SoundCloud rapper has yet, and he did it successfully. I rate this album an 8/10.