Lil Yachty – Lil Boat

Lil Boat! Lil Boat! Lil Boat! Lil Boat! Thus comes the shrieks of teenagers that haven’t even hit the peak of puberty screaming at every sold out Lil Yachty concert. It’s like we are reliving when rock music exploded into grunge, and parents in the ’80s and ’90s thought they failed at life when their kids were into “unusual” genres of music. Well, it’s that era again except hip-hop is more universal. Rap music has broken itself into several sub-genres across the world and it’s officially unescapable. Even Obama is waiting for K. Dot and J. Cole to release their duo mixtape, God bless him.

So far in 2016 I have heard multiple slangs for trap music that Gucci knew was going to go brazy: trippy trap (EDM and deep house influences), trap horror, suburban trap, rock trap, gospel trap, and whatever the hell classification the media is putting Yatchy in. (Bubblegum trap?! I know his producers are on another level, but y’all are reaching!). Anyways, Lil Yachty is on another wave and he and his crew of fellow rappers and producers, collectively known as the Sailing Team, are not drowning anytime soon in the depths of sounding like the other millions of “rappers” flooding the industry. The quirky 18 year-old artist and Atlanta native is finding a place in our hearts. As he reaches out to his own age group, Lil Yachty is actually far more successful than most people think he is.

C’mon think about it, he might not be the most spun rapper on the radio, but the kid is everywhere. From internet jokes with his single “1Night,” to sampling nostalgic tunes like the Rugrats theme (“All Times”), having millions of hits (1.4 million on “Minnesota,” 15 million and counting on “1Night”), and presenting as a model in Yeezy Season 3, Yachty is rapidly progressing out here with no remorse on the haters’ irrelevant opinions. Oh, and everything I just stated happened in a span of about four months! Yo, that’s not even half a year!.

In late February, Lil Yachty was performing in Atlanta, and the show sold out like all the others with his performing mates Larry League, Kevin Pollari, and K Supreme. There were a little over 1000 people at the Masquerade, and all of them were 15 to 25-years-old, from all walks of life. Everyone was in high spirits and sweaty happiness about the performers. I, on the other hand, was there to take photos and didn’t know any of the performers. My sole purpose was for my portfolio and to support Perry. It was a very energetic concert, and I was super entertained and electrified about the whole thing. I don’t even like trap or hype music that much and I still thought the show was well worth my time and money.

This past Wednesday, Lil Yachty blessed the children once again with his surprise mixtape, Lil Boat. I literally listened to the whole tape in one sit down while working on useless homework. It was different experience. Most of the time when I listen to music, I just sit there idly, not paying attention to anything being said while beats go in one ear and out the other. But no sir, not this one! I connected with the synthesizers as the riffs rang through my speakers. It was as if my ears were finally free from the chains of similar beats, voices, and styles that other rappers feed to us like a new slice of bread has been discovered. Yachty and his producers, namely Burberry Perry (the hottest name out in the streets!), used samples from Finding Nemo and other jingles, making anybody on the tape sound really interesting. There is also a remix of “Minnesota” featuring Migos’ Quavo, Young Thug, and Skippa Da Flippa. Lil Boat kept my attention for all 14 songs, and after it all I actually felt relaxed with a clear head in pure bliss over what one might think is just another trap mixtape. But Lil Yachty is good for the soul, and I encourage you all to keep swimming with the youth. Happy and safe waters to the whole Sailing Team!

More Info
Instagram: @LilYachty
Twitter: @LilYachty
SoundCloud: @770rd