Album: "Let's Start Here."
Artist: Lil Yachty
Release date: Jan. 27, 2023
Duration: 57 minutes
Label: Quality Control Music/Motown Records
Lil Yachty takes the most experimental detour of his career with his newest album, "Let's Start Here.," venturing from the hip-hop genre to psychedelic rock. The album's elaborate production and vivid storytelling make for a diverse and intriguing experience compared to his previous works.
The album starts out strong with "the BLACK seminole.," which establishes the sonic aesthetic of the album with a production that's reminiscent of Tame Impala's 2020 single "One More Hour." It features a slow, mellow instrumental groove that builds to a crescendo with multiple transitions into more ardent segments.
This song also begins the telling of a loosely written tale of romance that continues throughout the album.
"Love is not a lie, it just feels like a Tarantino movie scene," Yachty sings.
This line, by likening love to a Tarantino film, speaks to the complexities and extremes that love can bring out in people, as Tarantino's films are known for unorthodox storytelling and gripping visuals.
One of the most popular songs on the album, "pRETTy," makes an early appearance. Beginning with a creative use of autotune, Yachty's up-pitched and drawn out vocal inflections are fun to sing along to. This eccentric sound combined with his most self-indulgent lyrics thus far make the song one of the albums' best.
The sixth track on the album, "THE zone~," explores the theme of belonging and personal authenticity while continuing the story between Yachty and his love interest. In the song, he and his partner (voiced by Justine Skye) communicate their feelings of uncertainty towards each other.
"Home is only an idea / I fear it's costumes that you wear," Yachty raps.
This verse conveys the notion that home is the place you feel most at peace rather than a physical location. Yachty also expresses his fear of dishonesty from those around him, including his lover.
The final two songs of the albums' middle section advance the storyline between Yachty and his lover. In "drive ME crazy!," Yachty and Diana Gordon play the parts of two lovers professing their passion for each other, while the next song, "IVE OFFICIALLY LOST VISION!!!!," takes a melancholic turn as he discusses his struggles with substance abuse.
In "paint THE sky," Yachty furthers the love story by questioning if he is enough for his partner in a moment of vulnerability. The next track, "sHouLd i B?," deepens this feeling of uncertainty as he sings sorrowfully about his partner abandoning him and considers how he should feel about it.
The final song, "REACH THE SUNSHINE.," provides this ongoing story with two alternate endings and employs heavy synths to increase dramatic effect. At the beginning of the song, Daniel Caesar sings about a feeling of emptiness in his soul, signaling a mournful conclusion to the story. However, Yachty's verse resolves with the couple reconciling.
"Staring in the mirror and what do I see? A three-eyed man staring back at me./ Two for the flesh and one for the soul/ But where did man go? I'm tryna fill that hole," Caesar sings.
"Let's Start Here." is undoubtedly the best work of Lil Yachty's career. The albums' narrative being clear enough to follow yet ambiguous enough to have alternate endings makes for an engaging listening experience. The use of up-pitching, varying synths and fervent instrumental breaks creates a sound that, while spacey and soothing, is also powerful and climactic. Together, these aspects of the album make it a successful experiment.