Blasting off in 2016, Lil Yachty is making waves in the hip-hop industry with his new mixtape, Lil Boat. The red dreaded man blew up out of nowhere and is looking to continue his rise on the scene.  Most artists that start out have a tough time collaborating with household names until they are established.  Somehow, Lil Yachty has collaborated with Atlanta natives MIGOS member Quavo as well as Young Thug and ILoveMakkonnen. He’s only been on the scene for about a year which makes this a miracle story we haven’t heard about since Biggie or Tupac. Not to compare Lil Yachty to Biggie or Tupac musically, but Yachty is creating his own path that will benefit his future career.  “Lil Boat” by Lil Yachty is the future of our beloved rap genre.

To begin, Yachty comes out swinging with tracks like “Minnesota” and “Wanna Be Us” which set a perfect sound for the album.  The very peppy beats and catchy sounds make it very easy to listen to and have an project an overall good time. The songs make a listener envision taking a slow drive on a bright and sunny day. The album then goes into psychedelic territory with slow DJ Screw-type melodies.  In a way, it seems as if Yachty gets lazy on songs like “Run Running” and “Not My Bro” due to the excessive amount of autotune on these tracks. However, the laziness is simply amazing.  

There are no artists that can make lazy songs completely enjoyable.  Lil Yachty proceeds to mess with your mind by having party tracks such as “Up Next 2” which wakes one from a music coma. After listening to the mixtape all the way through, one realizes that this 18-year old is creating his own, unique brand of hip-hop. Unfortunately, we will never really know what to call his style, but damn it is enjoyable.

Everyday, new artists come to the surface and ride the waves of others who have paved their own path.  From wanna-bes Drakes to Futures, it seems as if everyone is trying to ascend to the top of the rap game and make their quick buck.  Lil Yachty, on the other hand, seems to be going for broke in a sense.  The young man seems eager to either make it in the rap game his way or no other way.  Yachty’s make or break approach connects to all young dreamers.  Overall, Lil Yachty is creeping on the scene and will make an impact in the upcoming years.