Lil Yachty – Lil Boat 3 2LP

Description

Lil Yachtywas still in his late teens when he began his ascent to commercial rap stardom, growing up in public as he consistently churned out new music. Five years after his arrival, fourth studio albumLil Boat 3is the third and final installment of his Lil Boat series, over the course of which both his lyrical personality and musicality have evolved. The misty trap production, Auto-Tune-saturated vocals, and juvenile bragging of younger days is still part ofYachty‘s style to some degree onLil Boat 3, but rather than hiding behind these elements, the rapper puts himself at the forefront of the project.Yachtygoes it alone for all but six of the album’s 19 tracks, shining on solo songs like “Split/Whole Time” and “Black Jesus” with bouncy flows and lyrics that are equally inspired and strange. The approach swings widely over the course ofLil Boat 3, ranging from the pop greatness of standout track “Oprah’s Bank Account” (a fully loaded melodic hookfest complete with a silky verse fromDrakeand a characteristically vigorous contribution fromDaBaby) to doomy trap blasts like “Pardon Me.”Tyler, The Creator,A$AP Rocky, andTierra Whackshow up for the frenzied group track “T.D.,” pushing each other to take their turn on the mike somewhere weirder or more intense. It’s one of the more exhilarating moments on the album, one where you can hear the shared excitement between the artists.Yachty‘s progress mostly shows up in his drive to push his music to new places, but he takes steps backwards by overpaddingLil Boat 3with too many similar, unnecessary tracks. Songs like “Lemon Head” and “Up There Music” start out strong but don’t go anywhere. Even whenYachtyexplores different singing styles and production choices on these tracks, their inclusion on the album is questionable. Overall, the album is a step up, with some ofLil Yachty‘s most infectious songs and a deeper dimension slowly starting to show around the corners of his monotone style. -All Music Guide