Lil Yachty, the well-known trap-rappTaer, recently released his latest album, “Let’s Start Here,” and it’s not what I, or anyone else, expected. The album is an experimental, psychedelic-rock production. Hearing this beforehand, I was skeptical, but upon listening, I was pleasantly surprised. Influence from artists like Tyler, the Creator, Tame Impala, and Kid Cudi are prevalent throughout the album. Read below to hear my thoughts on the record, and please consider giving this album a listen yourself!

the BLACK seminole.

This is my favorite track on the entire album, and it sets the tone for what is to come. It introduces Let’s Start Here, very clearly an album unlike anything Lil Yachty has made before. Immediately, you are hit with vibes of psychedelic rock and synth-wave, very contradictory to Lil Yachty’s previous trap-music discography. It is a beautifully produced track, with a breath-taking guitar solo, and my favorite part, the outro, quite literally leaves you feeling like you are floating. (10/10)

the ride – (Ft. Teezo Touchdown)

I believe this song is the first time I’ve heard of Teezo Touchdown, and upon my first listen I thought it was Steve Lacy who was featured, (the features aren’t listed on the actual album), but Teezo killed it in his verses. This song made it onto my personal playlist, its very catchy beat combined with Lil Yachty and Teezo’s fantastic vocals made it a personal favorite of mine. (9/10)

running out of time (Ft. Justine Skye)

This is a love song with a very good bassline, and again featuring an artist I don’t listen to, and you can’t hear her super well on this track (she and Yachty sing together at the same time) but Justine Skye was amazing wherever she appeared on this album. (7/10)

pRETTy (Ft. Fousheé)
If you’ve heard Lil Yachty’s Poland, which features wavy and edited vocals, this song will feel familiar as Yachty experiments with the same kind of vocals. I’m not a huge fan of said editing, but Fousheé was amazing, and kind of carried this shorter song. (7.5/10)

:(failure(:

This track is an interlude, so I don’t really know if it’s fair to give it a rating, but I’m going to anyway. It is Yachty monologuing about the song title, failure. He talks about learning through failure, and how it can be beneficial. Being afraid of failure is your first mistake when trying anything new, and Yachty has spoken in interviews about being afraid of trying a different kind of album, and how his fanbase would respond, and he says it wasn’t until his friend and fellow artist Tyler, The Creator told him to just go for it, that he had the confidence and realization that what other people think doesn’t matter. Having an interlude explaining his mindset when creating this album was refreshing, and not often something included by artists on an album. (9/10)

THE zone – (Ft. Justine Skye)

Justine Skye gets a little more time in the spotlight on this track, and she doesn’t waste it, delivering a beautiful verse about feeling at home. The guitar and drumline on this song tie it all together, and it really is a song to just vibe out to. (8.5/10)

WE SAW THE SUN!

This song didn’t make it to my personal playlist. It is good, but the one-minute-long instrumental in the middle kind of lost my short attention span, but I was quickly brought back in by none other than a Bob Ross sample??? Yep, Lil Yachty sampled a monologue by the painter Bob Ross at the end of the track, which perfectly leads into the next song. (7/10)

Drive Me crazy! – (Ft. Diana Gordon)
This song is super vibey. Diana Gordon has a beautiful voice, and I love listening to this song while driving, it may be the catchiest on the album just off of pure re-listening value. If you can listen to this song without tapping your foot or bopping your head, I will be very impressed, and a little weirded out. (9.5/10)

IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!! – (Ft. Diana Gordon)

Not a huge fan of this one. If I had to pick my least favorite song on this album, it would probably be this one. That’s not to say it’s bad, I just feel like there’s too much going on. I loved Diana Gordon’s verse, but Yachty’s kind of just sounds like he added every possible sound effect on Garage Band all playing at once. The song is about LSD, so that may offer some explanation. (6/10)

sAy sOMETHINg

This is once again another enjoyable song, and Yachty gets some solo time. The production shines here, with a catchy drum tune paired up with lyrics about teenage love. (8/10)

paint THE sky

This song is a love letter written by Yachty to an unknown spouse, and he once again really gets into his emotions on this one. Themes of drugs and alcohol also make an appearance again. Nothing super special in comparison to the rest of the album, but still above average. (7/10)

sHouLd i B?

This song samples what I believe is an F1 car engine at the beginning which is an awesome and creative addition by Yachty, and earns bonus points from me. The rest of the song itself is an airy, pop guitar beat. Another great song to dance to or drive to. Yachty’s wavy vocals make an appearance again, which I’m not a huge fan of, but maybe they’ll grow on me. (8/10)

The Alchemist. – (Ft. Fousheé)

This song, which opens with an electric-guitar riff, followed by an almost, but not quite rap-like verse from Yachty, and then a chorus from Fousheé, is growing to be one of my favorites the more I listen to it. I didn’t like it at first, I may have even skipped it upon my first listen, but now, it as well graces my personal playlist. (8/10)

REACH THE SUNSHINE – (Ft. Daniel Caesar)

Another favorite of mine on the album. Daniel Caesar does Daniel Caesar things, contributing greatly to my enjoyment of this song. I think this is a great song, it is catchy and moody all at the same time, and both Yachty and Caesar are great on it. If I were Yachty, and making this album, I would’ve flipped this song with the BLACK seminole. , having the album begin with an easy to listen to track with a popular artist, that still encapsulates Yachty’s rebranding as an artist and ends with what is essentially his magnum opus. (although he describes this entire album as his magnum opus, which I can enthusiastically get behind.) (9.5/10

Conclusion and Overall Rating

In summary, Lil Yachty outdid himself in every single aspect of this record. Let’s Start Here, is a beautiful album that is easily enjoyable for any and everyone. I really want to give props to Yachty for experimenting and pushing past his comfort zone, and this album is a great example of why doing so is so important as an artist. Not caring what anyone thinks can and has evidently produced some of the best albums ever made. Letting your creativity flow unrestrained is arguably the most important thing you can do as an artist, and Lil Yachty did just that.

Overall, with every track taken into consideration, I (mathematically) give this album an 8.1/10, but just as a whole with the context of the album’s creation and the artist himself, I have to give the album a 9/10. Yachty blew away everything he has previously made with this album, and I cannot wait to see what direction he goes with his next project.