Let's Start Here

by Lil Yachty

Overview

The aggressive use of Auto-Tune and unintelligible flows on some of his breakthrough material made Lil Yachty the poster child for mumble rap, and while his output stayed experimental and unpredictable to some extent, nothing in his catalog could have foretold the total shift that comes with Let's Start Here. Though not completely void of rapping, Let's Start Here. is way more of a psychedelic soul album than a rap album, with live instrumentation heavy on slick jazzy guitars, big drums, and fantastical synths. The album begins with one of its more over-the-top dives into psychedelia, the nearly seven minute long "the BLACK seminole." It's a creeping synth-funk epic that keeps adding layers to its slippery groove, eventually erupting into a wailing, "Maggot Brain"-esque fuzz guitar solos, wordless vocal acrobatics, and proggy sidebars. It's a dizzying and theatrical start to an album that goes in a lot of different directions from there. Yachty leans into the Tame Impala/Mac DeMarco brand of smooth, funky psychedelia on tracks like "the ride-" and "running out of time," while moments like "paint THE sky" are more atmospheric, evoking the distorted drums and melancholy hooks of The Weeknd as much as they do the yearning ambient pop of M83. Let's Start Here. is cohesive against all odds, with harder edged songs like "sHouLd i B?" melting pleasantly in and out of downtempo R&B moments like "sAy sOMETHINg" and the blissed out grunge-funk of album highlight "THE zone~." The cluttered labyrinth of weird experiments is held together by Yachty himself, still exhibiting the bold personality and curious spirit he showed on trap beats when singing emotively over psychedelic rock instrumentals. While obviously an enormous, intentional departure from past styles, it's this open personality that connects Yachty's indie psych songs to the best of his mumble rap past. The sounds get harsh and larger-than-life, but the feelings explored throughout Let's Start Here. are largely tender and often vulnerable. Lil Yachty's honest self-inspection matched with a willingness to fearlessly try new styles makes these songs enjoyable, and more over makes the album make sense in the bigger picture of the rapper's creative evolution. Let's Start Here. may be more loud guitars than 808s, but Lil Yachty still commands the songs powerfully, making vessels of expression out of whatever sounds he chooses. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	01/27/2023
Label:	Quality Control
UPC:	0602448706614
Rank:	3230

Tracks

Disc 1

1. The Black Seminole
2. The Ride
3. Running Out of Time
4. Pretty
5. Failure
6. The Zone
7. We Saw the Sun!
8. Drive Me Crazy!

Disc 2

9. I've Officially Lost Vision!!!!
10. Say Something
11. Paint the Sky
12. Should I B?
13. The Alchemist
14. Reach the Sunshine

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lil Yachty   Primary Artist,Rap
Justin Raisen   Vocals (Background)
Ben Goldwasser   Keyboards
Gillian Rivers   Strings,String Director
Baby K   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Joe Kennedy, Jr.   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering Engineer
Ainjel Emme   Recording,Vocal Programming
Matthew Lewin   Composer
Steve Fallone   Mastering Engineer
Tom Elmhirst   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Anthony Lopez   Composer,Producer,Recording,Musical Producer
Justin Raisen   Composer,Producer,Recording,Musical Producer
Ben Goldwasser   Composer
Miles Robinson   Composer,Producer,Recording,Musical Producer,Vocal Programming
Aaron Thomas   Composer
Joe Kennedy   Composer
Liz Isik   A&R
Jam City   Producer
Patrick Wimberly   Composer,Producer,Recording,Musical Producer
Frankie Romano   Composer
Tory Lanez   Composer
Tiffany Ferguson   A&R,A&R Assistance
Mac DeMarco   Composer
Gelareh Rouzbehani   A&R
Nick Hakim   Composer,Producer
Justine Skye   Composer
Jeremiah Raisen   Composer
Jack Latham   Composer
Daystar Peterson   Composer
Jacob Portrait   Composer
Alex Giannascoli   Composer
Lil Yachty   Producer
Miles McCollum   Composer
Teo Halm   Composer,Producer,Musical Producer
Ant Clemons   Composer
Brittney King   A&R
Matthew Scatchell   Mixing Engineer
Gent Memishi   Recording,Vocal Programming
Anthony Paul Lopez   Composer
Dylan Ismael Teixeira   Composer
Essence Carson   A&R,A&R Assistance
Magdalena Bay   Producer,Musical Producer
Sadpony   Producer,Recording,Musical Producer
Foushee   Composer
Khaya Cohen   Composer,Producer,Musical Producer
Mica Tenenbaum   Composer
Giorgia Romano   Composer
Daniel Caesar   Composer
Adam Hong   Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Jake Portrait   Composer,Producer,Recording,Programming,Musical Producer
LaKia Smith   A&R,A&R Assistance
Aris Tatalovich   Composer
Rue   Composer