Let's Start Here: WXOU's Album of the Week

Prepare to set sail on a psychedelic journey with Lil Yachty as returns with his new project Let’s Start Here.

Lil Yachty yearns to be seen as more than a mumble rapper or SoundCloud rapper, which is possibly one of the reasons he chose this particular sound. Although I believe the Atlanta based artist has proven himself time and time again with the release of Lil Boat 3 in 2020 and Michigan Boat Boy in 2021, he still bears that chip on his shoulder. The perennial pressures that come with being an artist of Lil Yachty’s stature can cause artists to become content, but in his case, he uses it to create an album that will have a lasting impact on music as a whole.

With Let’s Start Here, Lil Yachty invites listeners to immerse themselves into the ultimate psychedelic experience. This album is as extraterrestrial as it gets with the amount of live instrumentation that is incorporated within each song. The transitions between the guitar solo and spacey vocals provided by both Lil Yachty and Diana Gordon on “the BLACK seminole.” provides fans with a taste of what’s in store for them.

Every song on this album feels like a celestial voyage because I constantly find myself lost in thought each track. What stands out most to me with this album in comparison to the rest of Lil Yachty’s discography, is how cinematic and grandiose it is. Songs like “the BLACK seminole,” “drive ME crazy!”, and “sAy sOMETHINg” showcase Lil Yachty’s potential and ability to bring something new to the table for his fans.

Let’s Start Here is so interesting to me, because it feels like the successor of Lil Yachty’s 2017 album Teenage Emotions. I’m reminded of tracks like “Lady In Yellow” and “Moments in Time” that were featured on that album while listening to Let’s Start Here.

Lil Yachty is gushing with playful energy throughout the album, so much so that it feels like this is the music that he was always meant to make. On track ten titled “sAy sOMETHINg,” Lil Yachty pours his heart out with every lyric being echoed into ether while his repeated ad libs oscillate over an almost hypnotic drum pattern. The change between the first and second half of this album can only be described as a sweet and spicy free fall because of how much emotion it’s filled with.

Although this particular genre of music is nothing new it’s the artist that’s creating that is, which is why this album is so fun. The recurring theme to me in this album is that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination. In all honesty I don’t know where I’ll end up next on each track, which is why I’m so happy to be along for the ride. By the end of the album, you’re able to hear the same synths you hear at the beginning of the album but in a higher pitch which reinforces the theme. Beginning and end are one in the same as you’re invited to take the sonic trip again.

Album Highlights:

• IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!!

• the ride-

• the BLACK seminole.

• drive ME crazy!