Lil Yachty's Let's Start Here. - Album Review
- Swolst
- Feb 23, 2023
- 13 min read
Updated: Feb 23, 2023
by Sam Wolstenholm & Taely Bui
On January 27, 2023, Lil Yachty released his most recent project: Let's Start Here.. It was his fifth studio album, though he has a lot of other music out in his thorough discography. If you didn't know by now, this is by no means a hip-hop album (which is what he's done his whole career). It's labeled as "alternative" but also dives into psychedelic rock and pop. There's been a lot of talk about how different the sound of this album is and how it could change the hip-hop landscape. We'll just have to see for ourselves. I use those pronouns because I'm joined by Taely Bui for this website's first ever collaboration review. He, like me, has been making his own music for years. He's trained on classic guitar and is an avid music-lover (more than you). He'll be reviewing a few of the individual tracks as well as giving a score and dark horse pick.
Immediately, we're being shown that this shit is something different, at least for Lil Yachty. I want to talk about the lyrics for this track first before I go into the instrumental. What even is a "Black Seminole" (I strongly encourage you to click on that link - it's also my official source for this) and what does is have to do with being a sex symbol? Well, the term refers to runaway slaves in (roughly) the 1700s that rolled with the Seminole Native Americans. Yachty could just be saying that he's going his own way rather than letting societal ideals control him. These "Black Seminoles" were known for their bravery and strength as leaders in the Native American wars against Andrew Mother-Effing Jackson, The sex symbol part? Exactly what it says. However, the layer to it is that darker-skinned people have been fetishized throughout history and even up to today. As a "Black Seminole", Yachty is saying that the very people trying to control him and hold power over him are fetishizing him and his culture. You don't have to work very hard to find this idea in all aspects of society. I'll let you do that for yourself ;) (think African-American slang, Disney's Pocahontas, etc.).
Soncially, WOW. Not only does this execute it's job as an album opener by showing the audience what they should generally expect for the rest of the tracks, but holy shit this thing is insane. Ambitious as hell (just shy of 7 minutes long). Big and dramatic. When the swirly guitar and drums come in, you know you're in for something a little off the rails. There's an organ and a synth and probably more that all go together to create a psychedelic rock atmosphere (that's basically what the entire album's sound is based on). The electric guitar solo is astonishing. It's unexpected and works great as a transition between two different parts of the song. I could mention things I like/dislike about each section, but the song structure is more important. For as long and complicated as it gets, the transitions are pretty well executed. I can't say I got bored listening to this. In fact, I'd say quite the opposite. Oh yea, and Diana Gordon, the female singer just going crazy over the last few minutes of the song, is bananas. Her part is hypnotizing really. Overall, this might be my favorite Lil Yachty song ever (EDITING NOTE: I guess I'm not counting the rest of this album w this statement, I just meant out of all his previous discography (ANOTHER EDITING NOTE: Shit maybe I am counting that)).
-Sam
2. "the ride-"
The main melody is a good one, though it can get repetitive. I enjoy the breeziness feel it has, but the breeze can get cold after a while ya know? I'm really missing a heavy-hitting bass sound for parts of this song. There's a lot going on, including the vocals, that live in the high frequencies. That doesn't satisfy my bass range. It's not the whole song though so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Another feature shows up here, Teezo Touchdown (interesting name), but his part is short-lived and honestly kind of underwhelming. He comes back in for a better part later, but he says the line "It just be noise" like 5 times in a row. I know it's impossible, but instead of this guy, I wish XXXTentacion could've done this feature (RIP). I don't know. It's fine though it suffices. Yachty's "Nice!" after Teezo's part might be my favorite part of the track, especially because it goes into a vocally empty break after that. Decent track, but I feel like it gets overshadowed by the ones before and after it.
-Sam
This track starts out with a sick ass bass line. It's slap-bass like the Seinfeld music (that shit slaps...see what I did there?). Then, the weird synthy trumpet sound rounds out the intro before a smooth, funky beat starts up. Honestly I love this instrumental. I like the smooth, easygoing feel of this one. It sounds like something that could fit on Mac Miller's Swimming (one of my favorite albums ever by the way) (also RIP...damn). The long run time of 4:30 also doesn't feel too long. Justine Skye features on this track and duets with Yachty on the Chorus. I'm going to be honest. It sounds great. Whoever mixed the vocals did a great job. It's a very interesting mixture that just works extremely well in my opinion. One of my favorites of the project.
-Sam
4. "pRETTy"
Immediately we get more of “Poland” style artificial vibratos filling the background space and it’s nice imo. This kicks off the chorus with “feature” Fousheé peppering in airy refrains during the chorus and it complements Yachty's vocals pretty well. The chorus is simple but it’s nice as it allows the extra refrains to blend into each other. Yachty doesn’t do too much with his verse as he just repeats the same melody from the chorus for the entire thing. It’s whatever cause the chorus and Fousheé are the highlights for me. After another chorus Fousheé tops it off with a decent verse and outro. Her voice fits the sonic vibe of this track very well. Production is laid back but lush. Other than yachty’s verse there’s not much to complain about this track, it’s easy on the ears.
-Taely
So we get a spoken word piece here from Lil Yachty. I don't necessarily hate the inclusion of this on the album, but it isn't really great individually. Musically, it's alright. It fits the wavy and psychedelic tone of the rest of the project. There's a guitar playing chords with a ton of effects on it. There's more noises too, but most of them come in toward the end. It starts to sound kind of wild and chaotic. I liked how it sounded (I wouldn't have if it went on any longer than it did), but I didn't get the point of it considering what Yachty was talking about. He was going on about his life philosophy and how failure is more of a way to think differently about situations. I thought the example of still being grateful for 9 fingers after losing one was kind of stupid. It's a good story that any reasonable person could relate to, at least at some parts of it. The actual talking sounded like it was voice acting, and I didn't buy it. Sounded like he was just reading it off of a piece of paper or something. That's alright because, even though it's almost 3 minutes long, it's really just an interlude.
-Sam
6. "THE zone~"
Sometimes yachty is able to tap into lyrics and delivery that make you really feel what he’s saying and this song is one of those examples. Those droning synths start the song off and once he says “I’m so far gone” I’m already locked into the intro. He starts rapping his verse and it’s whatever but once he gets more melodic I get locked in again. “Sunshine, moonlights make a tough time feel nice” He drops occasional lines like this that make you think “why isn’t he doing this more?” That’s one of my favorite lines from the song. He sort of follows this same melodic phrase but transitions it into the bridge and climax of the song. Here, you can tell he’s not half assing this take and as the “chorus” progresses you can hear more grit and raspiness in his voice. It makes what he’s feeling that much more transparent as he sings this and it’s just powerful. “Feature” Justin Skye smoothly brings the energy back to a cool level and she does her thing through the whole verse. Another bridge with nice guitar elements transitions into the outro where yachty is laying out droning vocals that build the energy into a nice transition into the next song.
-Taely
What an experience. 5:30 of noise. It's slow and drawn out, but huge. It's dramatic and scenic. I've noticed something about myself as a music reviewer: I like songs about acid. Yea, that's what this is I'm pretty sure. Lines like "A few more drops up on your tongue" and "I cannot stop touching you. This just took my high to the moon" make it kind of obvious if you pay attention at all. "Seeing the sun" is definitely a metaphor for being really high and feeling just out of this world. This song is the psychedeliciest track of all these psychedelic tracks. You can just zone the fuck out (there's a reason the last track is titled how it is). AND IT ENDS WITH A BOB ROSS CLIP (with some nice bass to transition into the next track, I might add). Automatic W.
-Sam
One of my favorites from the album, this song just makes you feel good throughout the whole thing (sort of, I’ll get to that later). Right off the bat, I’m already loving the groove of the baseline. The drums are solid as usual in this album. “Feature” Diana Gordon is the true highlight of this song and she carries it tbh. I’m not even gonna dissect her verse cause she effortlessly doesn’t miss a beat thru the whole thing. The does a sweet transition into the chorus where it’s a double backed vocal with her and yachty singing the same tune (albeit in different octaves). Love the chorus, it’s short and sweet but I’m not left feeling like I want more. Yachty follows Diana’s verse structure exactly the same in his verse but honestly that’s okay, he doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. He kept the vibe going and did his part. It was solid, can’t complain. After his verse, the drums go away and the synths transition into a beat switch. The 2nd half beat isn’t bad but there’s not much going for it besides the strings at the end. Yachty adds a short “verse” to this 2nd half but it sounds half assed tbh. I always skip the 2nd half because of this. If he cut off the 2nd half entirely and had the 1st part be its own song, this would be a perfect track.
-Taely
Oh I get it. He looked into the sun (got high) too much, so he’s gone blind. Clever.
More psychedelic rock and I love it. I’ve been saying “I’ve officially lost vision” a lot recently. It’s just a fun thing to say because it’s so weird. It’s just one of those catchy phrases that feels good to yell. “Head spinning like a modern home ceiling fan”, on the other hand, is an example of a line that just doesn’t work. He set a bar for himself throughout this album to have actually layered lyrics with some meaning behind them, but that’s a metaphor any middle schooler could come up with. There are other lines I do like though. “This lil tiny sheet of paper could change your life.” ACID! Yea this song must be a summary of what Yachty learned while tripping. It’s not super focused conceptually, but acts more as a collection of existential thoughts and a description of his reactions to them. I can’t say it isn’t even a little thought-provoking. Diana Gordon returns and is another great placement. She sounds amazing and serves as another feature that elevates the song. An odd track we have here, and it's quite the listening experience (personally, I think it's a good experience, but I'd understand if you were to push back on that).
-Sam
10. "sAy sOMETHINg"
This song grew on me a lot and I think it’s one of his strongest vocal performances in terms of both technicality and emotions. He’s able to also carry the subject matter cohesively throughout the whole cut. He crafted a nice sounding chorus and had verses that made me feel what he was singing. His voice paired with the cozy pads and those little high pitched synth chimes make the overall track sound very pretty. This is especially the case with the outro as it’s another highlight of the song. Yachty can be very hit or miss when he taps into his higher vocal register but this outro honestly has some of the best yachty vocals I’ve ever heard from him. It sounds airy, cloudy, angelic, and golden with a reflective shine to it. The beat switches for the outro too and paired with his vocals, it’s just beautiful.
-Taely
11. "paint THE sky"
Well this track is pretty much about what you'd assume (especially after that skit at the end of the last song). Not many words being said, but there doesn't really need to be. It's not something that needs a lot of explaining. It's a love song. The chorus takes up half the track but is really catchy. It's simple, but it does the trick for sure. Musically, Yachty brings that same atmospheric synthy wavy shit (I think there's an electric piano but it's hard to tell). The drums are fat and punchy, adding to the spaciness. Nothing insane is happening here, but the main attraction (catchy chorus) does its job. Overall though, one of the more underwhelming songs on the album.
-Sam
12. "sHouLd I B?"
As one of the shortest tracks on the album, I feel like this cuts off a little too short. I wish it were longer, but that's just me being stupid. It doesn't make this track any less enjoyable. In fact, it's one of the most enjoyable of the project. Again, I'm in love with the drums. It's a good, quick-paced beat compiled of crispy clear sounds. The synths and guitar fill the space while the bass kind of acts as a component to move the instrumental forward rather than being a centerpiece to it. The lyrics aren't anything to write an essay about, but they're still decent. There's a good amount of relatable emotion to the performance. The chorus itself is an example of that: "Am I mad at what you did? I don't think so. But should I be?" Reasonable suspicion, really. Yachty's second verse is almost a carbon copy of Teezo's flow on "the ride-" from earlier in the album (with a different vowel sound but still). That draws a clear connection between the two tracks. So, given what this song is about, let's try to force that connection (oof, don't take that sentence for more than what it is). I'm thinking that Yachty was along for the ride with this woman, even wanting to stick by her after whatever it is she's done. He's very willing to forgive after what they've been through together, but he is wondering if this mistake she made is more of a sign of things to to come.
-Sam
13. "The Alchemist."
After the initial punky build-up, we get a drum fill into "Sucker!" into a beat switch (into a great smooth instrumental and a pretty feature from Fousheé). I strongly prefer the parts of this song that Lil Yachty is not on. The vocals from Fousheé are amazing (when she hits those super high notes woahhhh) and the soft instrumental behind her is great. It serves as a great contrast to Yachty's high-energy, almost punky performance. I hate to say it, but he sounds like Juice WRLD here (RIP). It works, kind of, and it sounds alright, but no. I'm just gong to say that I felt similarly about the actual book, The Alchemist, after recently reading it: a little confused on what the point is, in a bit of disagreement, intrigued by the setting (or instrumental, for the song), and happy that it's not very long. All that being said, I thought it was pretty good.
-Sam
Concluding the album with one of the most dark and eerie tracks, Yachty leaves us with this sense of uneasiness. It's a nice contrast to the opening track, "Black Seminole" as it's similar in scope but almost opposite in approach (the vibes are very different). The feature, Daniel Caeser, does a good job with the chorus (as well as a mini verse), filling the space with a catchy, pleasant melody. It's pretty tame for a good chunk of the track, featuring pretty much just acoustic guitar and vocals in those parts. There are also really, really loud and intense synths a couple times. As well as some creepy laughs. Honestly, I'm not sure how I felt about those laughs. Overall though, the track is kind of a sleeper. This was close to being my dark horse pick. There isn't a whole lot of catchy stuff beyond that Daniel Caesar part, but that's all it needs. There's cinematic builds and drops. The instrumental ending is drawn out let everything cool down after the crazy experience that is this album. Really good track and a strong conclusion.
-Sam
Overall
Well...alright. That happened. It very much did. I can't sit here and lie to you and tell you that I disliked this. I loved it, actually. I see plenty of room for improvement, but this is one hell of a start when it comes to this sound. For example, one thing I consistently didn't care much for (even though I didn't really mention it) was Lil Yachty's voice itself. The performances by him were fine, 6 or 7 out of 10 or so, but I just can't get past that Kermit The Frog, Patrick Mahomes voice. On the other hand, I can only see that improving if he continues down the path of whatever this album is.
I need to mention the transitions between tracks. Taely said something about it too. They're really well done. It's obvious that attention was put into making this album an actual album experience as opposed to a random collection of tracks. The transitions across the entire album work, including within individual songs.
The drums are also worth a mention in this "Overall" section because they sound great. Live or not (I think most are), the fills, beats, and rests are all so crisp and purposeful. They're loud and emotive. It's something that, for the most part, could be played live in concert. It's refreshing, really. The sounds overall are no less than constantly interesting. Random noises come in and out, and you never know how Yachty's voice is going to sound over it. The album does a good job exploring different lanes while keeping everything consistent. Cudos for that Mr. Yachty (and whoever else was involved). I found myself enjoying every single track on this album except for "pRETTy" and the interlude right after it. I didn't hate that song, but it didn't hit me like most of the other ones did.
So, the score. Well, let's assume the default is 10/10. This project loses points for a few things. One: Yachty's performance. He just cannot sing. And though he's close to figuring out how to handle that issue, he definitely isn't there yet. The melodies can get repetitive and annoying (it isn't that bad but still). A couple tracks were underwhelming. The mixing was, though consistent, a little light on the bass I'm thinking. They seemed to have prioritized mid and high frequency sounds. That's fine, but I'm wanting some fatter, more prevalent bass lines next time. And that might be the biggest factor: next time. If he continues to move forward with this sound, I can only see improvement. This score is what it is because there's room for improvement. That doesn't mean this one is bad. It's very good. But the next one though???
7.8/10
If you've read my review, I assume you have already heard Let's Start Here., so I want to hear what you think. What'd I miss? Did I tear apart your favorite song? Or give too much credit to one that doesn't deserve it? Any questions or comments? I'd love to respond. Feel free to drop review requests too! I will strongly consider them.
Peace and love.
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