Lil Yachty, “Nuthin’ 2 Prove”
Lovely, another Lil Yachty album in 2018. Look, I like Yachty as a person: he’s funny, personable, and super chill, but given that “Lil Boat 2” wasn’t really that great, did we really need another album from him this soon? Well, apparently he thought so because we have this now, and the sad thing is that Yachty is still selling himself way short on this release. He’s stuffed this record with features, from Playboi Carti, Juice WRLD, Lil Baby, Gunna, Kevin Gates, Trippie Redd, and even Cardi B and Offset, but it almost feels like he brought them in because he’s compensating for something. It doesn’t even seem like he has charisma anymore, he just sounds bored most of the time, and he’s wasting some admittedly half-decent, video game-like trap production. Even on a song like “Riley From The Boondocks,” Yachty has some slick rapid-fire flow, but his performance is just so sleepy that it doesn’t even matter. And you know it’s bad for Yachty when a track like “We Outta Here!” has actual whisper rapping (which I'm not totally against but given Yachty's usual charisma, he shouldn't be whispering), or when a song like “Who Wants The Smoke?” sees him getting overshadowed by Cardi and Offset. Now, sure, Yachty does still have moments where he comes through, like on “Worth It,” “Everything Good, Everything Right” (outside of the somewhat obnoxious “ah, ah, ah-ah” on the chorus) or “Next Up,” where he actually plays to his strengths as a carefree, fun autocrooner, but otherwise, this is another moment where it just feels like Yachty’s succumbing to murky, low-level trap with a lack of personality. And even some redeeming songs have problems: “Forever World” has great vocals from Trippie and Yachty, and a lovely instrumental, but it has no business being five minutes long and that brings it down a lot. I’m sorry, I feel like Yachty’s surprise factor from “Lil Boat” is gone and, after three consecutive uninspiring albums, he’s gonna need to slow down his output a lot and really consider his next release more fully. Otherwise, he’s just gonna bring down what was a pretty promising start to his career.
Favorite tracks: Worth It, Everything Good, Everything Right, Next Up, Stoney
Least favorite tracks: Gimmie My Respect, Get Dripped, I’m The Mac, SaintLaurentYSL, We Outta Here!, Forever World, Nolia, Fallin’ In Luv
Rating: Awful
Takeoff, “The Last Rocket”
Just as Quavo got his debut album this year, Takeoff is gonna get his as well. The good news here, though, is that the album is 38 minutes and a tight 12 tracks, much better than “QUAVO HUNCHO” which was 66 minutes and 19 tracks, respectively. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean this album is any more interesting: yes, Takeoff is a far more interesting performer than Quavo (he’s got the gruff tone and solid technicality to make him more exciting), but Jesus…have the Migos just collectively decided to make all of their songs the same, even when they do solo stuff that should sound different? I feel like this is the trap album that kinda defines the term “it’s so inoffensive that it’s offensive.” It’s so bog-standard that it’s just garbage. Yeah, there are a few cool lead-ins between tracks and some neat, spacey (ha ha) production here, but the songs themselves are just wash-rinse-repeat versions of each other, and I just wonder when the general public is gonna become tired of these guys. Outside of “Infatuation” (which is only really a favorite of mine for how goofy and bizarrely catchy it is), everything else just sounds so “been there, done that” here. I personally don’t even know where the Migos are gonna go with “Culture III” and how they’re actually gonna make it any better than their output this year, but regardless, Takeoff’s debut solo album “The Last Rocket” doesn’t make a convincing argument that these guys can handle their own records.
Favorite tracks: Last Memory, Insomnia, Infatuation
Least favorite tracks: Martian - Intro, She Gon Wink, None To Me, Vacation, Lead The Wave, Soul Plane, Bruce Wayne - Outro
Rating: Awful
Imagine Dragons, “Origins”
This album was pretty huge this year, but I’m not gonna lie, I’ve never been much of an Imagine Dragons fan. I disliked “Believer” and “Thunder” so much last year that I just roundabout ignored “Evolve,” so I wasn’t really looking forward to this. And right from the start with the track “Natural,” I just felt like this was gonna be another collection of overproduced electronic/rock mush from a group that seems to be too good at creating that. And yeah, there are a few somewhat nice-sounding songs like “Boomerang” and, especially, “Bad Liar,” and I can kinda get some of the appeal of this and understand why people listen to it, but again, it just kinda feels like overproduced white noise to me. It almost seems like the group had a big, anthemic hit in “Radioactive,” and have just decided that everything they’re gonna create from here on out is ESPN commercial songs. Even songs like “West Coast” and “Digital,” which had nice, lighter-sounding starts at first, turned into heavy, grating messes with annoying hooks and bland instrumentals. Furthermore, you kinda know the album’s gonna be pretty bland when the song “Zero - From The Original Motion Picture ‘Ralph Breaks The Internet’” is smack-dab in the middle of the album. They didn’t even tack it on, they put it in the middle because…I can’t even answer it, the song is too hideous to be in the middle of the album. And while most of the messages are good, the bonus track “Real Life” honestly feels conflicting to me: Dan Reynolds is telling this girl, who is mourning over deaths and mass shootings, to turn off her phone and enjoy the “real life.” So…is he implying that she should ignore the world around her and only focus on him, instead of being sympathetic over the fact that innocent people lost their lives? I’m sorry, but this all just feels so bland to me: it’s energetic yet hollow, and there’s not much that makes the album worthwhile if you’re not already a fan of the group. It means well, and the messages it sends are great, but I feel like these guys should spread those messages in a medium other than music…or in a different genre or something, just do something less bland, please.
Favorite tracks: Bad Liar, Only, Stuck
Least favorite tracks: Natural, Machine, Cool Out, West Coast, Zero - From The Original Motion Picture “Ralph Breaks The Internet”, Bullet In A Gun, Digital, Real Life
Rating: Awful
J.I.D, “DiCaprio 2”
Ahh, here’s the album I’ve been hearing so much about. J.I.D’s latest record has been receiving critical praise up the wazoo, and while I’m only familiar with J.I.D thanks to his appearance on Denzel Curry’s “TA13OO” album, I was pretty excited to see what this album offered. And, yeah, it’s as good as everyone’s been telling you. Right from the jump on “Slick Talk,” J.I.D. establishes himself as a very sinister but charismatic performer with catchy, rapid-fire flows and surefire confidence in his bars. He continues to show this on several songs throughout the album, such as “151 Rum,” “Mounted Up,” and “Hasta Luego.” His lyricism is also clever and hard-hitting on songs like the anti-drug anthem “Off Da Zoinkys,” and the more emotional “Workin Out,” where J.I.D talks about how things aren’t working out for him in spite of his success. And his production throughout the album is equally dark and sinister (and often emotional) on songs like “Just Da Other Day,” adding to his brooding and dangerous vocal performances. J.I.D’s features are also in top form throughout this album: A$AP Ferg’s hook is catchy on “Westbrook,” J. Cole contributes incredibly to the rapid-fire, lyrical destruction that is “Off Deez,” 6LACK’s fun flow (and Spyro reference) mesh nicely alongside Ella Mai’s typically smooth vocals on “Tiiied,” I like BJ The Chicago Kid’s soulful performance on the (R.I.P.) Mac Miller-curated “Skrawberries,” and “Hot Box” features some solid performances from Joey Bada$$ and Wu-Tang Clan’s very own Method Man, even if the song was a little too slow for me. Either way, I also got excited for this album because anyone that titles a track “Despacito Too” has my vote of confidence, and while it’s not my favorite track on the album, I do like the lyrical message of J.I.D being whatever he wants to be. All in all, this album is worth all the hype: J.I.D comes through with hard-hitting bar after hard-hitting bar all throughout the record, establishing himself as one of the more interesting lyrical rappers in the game. Definitely give this a listen if you haven’t already.
Favorite tracks: Slick Talk, Westbrook, Off Deez, 151 Rum, Off Da Zoinkys, Tiiied, Skrawberries, Mounted Up, Just Da Other Day, Hasta Luego
Least favorite tracks: Hot Box (if I had to pick one)
Rating: Excellent
So that’s nearly it for 2018 in reviews. I’ll discuss this next announcement later, but I just want to say that my next review, #150, will be my last review on this blog. From that point forward, I will no longer be posting reviews on this blog, as I’m transitioning to becoming a YouTube music reviewer/reactor. I hope you guys continue to check me out there, but for now, I want to say thank you to everyone that came along for the ride on this blog. I will be keeping it up so you can check out the old reviews, and I’ll probably still be using it for the “THINK PIECE” segment, so stay tuned for that. Otherwise, thank you to Blogger for hosting my first 150 reviews, and I can’t wait to make more over on the YouTube channel. Hope to see you guys over there.
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