Lil Yachty’s downfall with new album

Chloe Green, Staff Writer

Miles McCollum, more famously known as Lil Yachty, has become one of the most popular hip-hop rappers since August 2015 when his singles “One Night” and “Minnesota” from his debut extended play (EP) Summer Songs were released.

Since his career skyrocketed, he’s produced up to six albums and collaborated with singers such as Kyle, Macklemore, D.R.A.M., Charli XCX, and more. Now, Lil Yachty is following his first album Lil Boat that came out on March 9, 2016 with his new album Lil Boat 2 which came out March 9.

After his first album was released, it was 106 on the Billboard charts with only being out for 25 weeks. As the single “One Night” in the album reached over 16 million Spotify streams within five months, there was no doubt that much was expected with his next album.

Yet Lil Yachty’s typical upbeat and unique melodies eventually came to a halt when Lil Boat 2 was released, instead he had bland rhythms and braggy lyrics that embellished how much money he has.

Even well known media companies such as the RollingStone, Pitchfork, and Spin have expressed the disappointment they have with Lil Boat 2, more specifically how Lil Yachty is changing his style to fit in with other rappers. He’s been referred to as the, “Migos understudy” meaning he’s copying other popular rappers in order to strive like they do in the business, however all three reviews say it is not working out for him(Pitchfork).

The first song on the album was “SELF MADE,” and after listening to it I noticed how unexciting it was. The beat was catchy at first but then became overdone by the end of the song because there was little variety to it, along with “DAS CAP” and “FLEX” having the same issues.

However the overdone rhythm wasn’t the only problem, Lil Yachty’s rapping sounds monotone and low energy throughout most of the album. Other rappers like Lil Pump and 21 Savage use different tones and have enthusiasm in their voice making it entertaining to listen to, while in this album Lil Yachty seems to unvary his tone causing the songs to sound repetitive.

On the other hand, the highlights of the album were “she ready” featuring PnB Rock and “66” featuring Trippie Redd. They included Lil Yachty’s usual high energy, autotuned sound to it, which was a nice refresher for the album, as well as “love me forever” having a relaxing melody that caused it to stand out.

Regardless, this album strayed away from the Lil Yachty his fans know and love and leaned towards mainstream rapping. While the album did have songs that reminded me of the Lil Yachty from his first album, it was still overflowing with dull rapping and tedious beats. I believe he would benefit from sticking to his unique sound that made him famous.