Lil Boat

About

With its "once upon a time"-style introduction, Lil Yachty's debut commercial project starts off sounding a little like a children's book. When you read out his name with the mixtape's title—Lil Yachty's <i>Lil Boat</i>—it sounds like a nursery rhyme. It's an aesthetic symmetry that evokes youthful whimsy, which matches the rapper's slurred, lullaby melodies and the gleaming beats he splashes with playboy flexes and tales of aspiration. This is the stylistic mix at the heart of "bubblegum trap," a sound pioneered by Yachty himself. While he later dismissed the label, it remains an apt description for the mellifluous sing-song raps and lackadaisical flows that permeate the star-making project. Checking in at 40 minute, the mixtape introduces fans to two central characters: Lil Boat and Lil Yachty. Boat is his more aggressive alter ego, while Yachty is the friendlier, even more melodically inclined variant. The two identities grow further apart in subsequent project, but on <i>Lil Boat</i>, they both thrive on warbles you might mumble under your breath. For "Minnesota," Yachty floats over rainbow keys that could come from an ice cream truck, threading flexes with off-kilter warnings about life in the trenche. Verses from Quavo, Skippa Da Flippa, and Young Thug further embed it with a grit that's at odds with the toddler-friendly instrumental, giving it a delectable layer of irony. Yachty surfaces again on "Good Day," with his Auto-Tuned vocals coloring a fly guy's wonderland. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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