With Lil Yachty accompanying Tyler, The Creator on his upcoming tour stop in Auckland this August, we thought we’d look back at the Atlanta rapper’s discography and pick out 10 highlights to get you prepared.
1 Night
To some, his breakout single stands high above the rest as the definitive Lil Yachty song. It’s got all his early artistic characteristics: auto-tuned singing, laid-back verses, and a fast approach to relationships. What that skips over is how good of a pop song it is, barely feeling like a four-minute song due to Yachty’s catchy hook and efficient storytelling. He floats on the production, slowly shrugging off the arms of his one night stand, and then leaves until the next night with his Lil Boat moniker.
Minnesota (feat. Quavo, Skippa Da Flippa, and Young Thug)
The second hit from Yachty’s debut Lil Boat mixtape, this track is a show of his Atlanta connections. Minnesota’s production is piano-driven, underlined with booming 808s, and features a tongue in cheek hook from the lead artist warning listeners to keep their wits about them. Migos’ Quavo gives a pre-Culture appearance, Skippa Da Flippa lays down 8 bars of hard rap, and Young Thug finally arrives to build on Yachty’s infectious melodies.
NBAYOUNGBOAT (feat. Youngboy Never Broke Again)
Jumping ahead to the second entry in the Lil Boat series, 2018’s Lil Boat 2, Lil Yachty has levelled up his production budget and is bringing on features from more of his contemporaries. One such product is ‘NBAYOUNGBOAT’, a hard-hitting, loud collaboration with strong middle finger energy from Lil Yachty and an (at the time) rising NBA Youngboy. This two-minute song is a strong contrast to the previous two and showcases what other sides to his artistry there is. Perfect for the mosh pit.
Get Dripped (feat. Playboi Carti)
Featured on his second release of 2018, Nuthin’ to Prove, Yachty enlists Playboi Carti during his famous baby voice era for a short head-bobber. Over EarlOnTheBeat’s production, the two trade verses flexing their fashion sense through triplet flows. The music video verifies their affinities for high-end brands but brings the price tags and attitude back down to earth with their fun lack of seriousness and streetwear tendencies.
Split/Whole Time
The last of the three Lil Boat projects, Lil Boat 3 is the longest and the best. Again, over production from EarlOntheBeat, Yachty, real name Miles McCollum, shows he is more than just his early work with a song full of rapping and a two restarts to top it off. His delivery is assured and engaging. This attitude is present on the following Fast and Furious sampling ‘T.D.’ and the Mike WiLL Made-It produced ‘Pardon Me’ but the three track run starts with ‘Split/Whole Time’ thus deserving the mention.
Coffin
No stranger to the deluxe reissue trend of the 2020s, Yachty released Lil Boat 3.5 six months after the original Lil Boat 3. On first inspection, there is not much to find but with repeat visits, ‘Coffin’ is the standout solo song. At only 90 seconds, he doesn’t have a lot of time to get the work done but, again, he taps into his self-assured energy and combines it with his joking nature to deliver one of his hardest rap tracks yet. It’s long enough to almost overstay its welcome but short enough to run it back—and the string number don’t disagree.
Dynamic Duo (with Tee Grizzley)
Still upset at not being taken seriously by the masses as a legitimate rap presence, Lil Yachty’s 2021 Michigan Boy Boat is his best rap release yet. The opening section is full of unapologetic rap. The second track is opened by Tee Grizzley talking his talk over a driving beat by producer Helluva and his energy carried by Yachty like a baton. He’s found such confidence in himself that he starts playing with his cadence and clarity, resulting in a fun energy. Sure, the subject matter is braggadocio but you never once stop to question his validity.
G.I. Joe (feat. Louie Ray)
The fifth song on Michigan Boy Boat features a business-first Yachty over Buddah Bless production. Coming in at just under three minutes, the song starts off with repeating kicks before Yachty warms up. The falling synths dance around lyrics about money and credit, with Yachty drilling home the message with so much grit that when Louie Ray finally gives his feature, all he has to do is walk home the beat to finish the song off. It really marks a shift in Lil Yachty’s rap career and the start of a post-Lil Boat world.
the BLACK seminole.
The first song on Lil Yachty’s 2023 Let’s Start Here. is seven minutes long and immediately starts with analogue synth instrumentation. More instrumentation layers in with drums that would sound more at home on a Tame Impala or Yves Tumor song. When Yachty comes in, he sings with filters on his voice that make him sound whispery whilst reverberating into the abyss. The song then paints the album as a psychedelic rock project and the biggest departure from established Lil Yachty canon yet. I’ll remind you the song is seven minutes long and reveal that after two and a half minutes he leaves the track, only returning to give featured vocalist Diana Gordon the go ahead to guide us on a spiritual journey for the minute-fifty of the song.
drive ME crazy!
Rounding out the list is the most listened to song from Let’s Start Here. ‘drive ME crazy!’ is more repeatable at three minutes, forty seconds, and opens with a groovy baseline and drums courtesy of Mac Demarco. Diana Gordon returns and is given the privilege of lyrics to sing this time around. She starts a courtship with Yachty before hearing his side in the second verse. It is one of his most romantic songs, mainly because he abandons the tired trope of toxic love that many rappers sing about. The song has another progression, taking the pair high above the world and looking back. I like to think of this moment and the song is Yachty’s greatest statement that his Soundcloud rap days are long behind him and that you cannot box him into a single genre.
