Lil Yachty - Lil Boat (Mixtape Review)

Lil Yachty has been dropping a lot of singles, including a song sampling the Rugrats theme song, for a few months now. He's been slowly and steadily building hype. The surprise drop of his debut mixtape, Lil Boat, is the culmination of this big hype building in the first part of 2016. This mixtape is spot on in both image and sound. In a world where Young Thug and Future are releasing surprise mixtapes and albums it can be tough to compete.

Yachty's Lil Boat mixtape is worth taking a moment to check out. In fact the presentation, delivery, and quality of songs found on this mixtape competes with how well Future is able to roll out projects. The artwork is instantly eye catching and features Lil Yachty standing on what appears to be a lake in a boat named Lil Boat. The emphasis on the color red compliments Yachty's hair style and the coordinates featured on the cover add to the nautical theme of both the mixtape and the rapper's name. It's one of the best mixtape covers I've seen in a while. The sound and style featured on this mixtape is somewhere in the middle of something like Young Thug and Future. There is definitely use of autotune in some places. I think Yachty is able to bring a lot of personality and the production style adds a uniqueness that really makes the project a must listen. The "Minnesota" remix featuring Quavo (Migos) is a big standout track. "Never Switching Up" is a slower song and features autotuned vocals over a really interesting beat that has some interesting sounds and punchy moments that made it an instant favorite on my first listen.

Lil Boat is easily one of the best mixtapes I've heard this year. With a release like this I think Lil Yachty is one of the better underground rappers who should be on people's radar this year. This mixtape is interesting, it has a lot of standout songs, and Yachty has the personality on these tracks that holds my interest through the entire mixtape. This is a must check out!