Last week, Lil Yachty released his first studio album in nearly three years, a record titled ‘Let’s Start Here’ that makes a major departure from his usual trap-pop stylings.
The album – which follows on from 2020’s ‘Lil Boat 3’ album, as well as 2021’s ‘Michigan Boy Boat’ mixtape – draws heavily from psychedelic rock and pop, and features some recognisable names from the indie world in its credits list.
Much of ‘Let’s Start Here’ was produced by Chairlift‘s Patrick Wimberly, brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen and Unknown Mortal Orchestra bassist Jacob Portrait. British producer and DJ Jack Latham (aka Jam City) helped produce three of the album’s tracks, while synth-pop duo Magdalena Bay have a production credit on ‘Running Out Of Time’.
Slacker-pop king Mac DeMarco is credited as a writer on two tracks – ‘Drive Me Crazy!’ and ‘Failure’. The former also features a songwriting credit for MGMT‘s Ben Goldwasser, while Alex G and Nikolas Hakim are credited on the latter. Guest vocalists on the album include Daniel Caesar, Fousheé, Teezo Touchdown, Justine Skye and Diana Gordon.
Yachty teased ‘Let’s Start Here’ in January 2022, when Atlanta-based jewellery store Icebox shared a video of the rapper’s visit to the shop. “My new album is a non-rap album,” he said in footage captured at the store. “It’s alternative.”
Yachty added that he’d “always wanted to” make an alternative album, but had recently “met all these amazing musicians and producers” to collaborate with. He continued: “It’s like a psychedelic alternative project. It’s different. It’s all live instrumentation… I’ve changed my dynamic… I’m creating music a whole lot differently.”
Earlier, in late 2021, Yachty signalled his move into psychedelic rock territory when he appeared on a remix of Tame Impala‘s ‘Breathe Deeper’, which appeared on a deluxe version of the band’s album ‘The Slow Rush’.
In March, Lil Yachty will perform at this year’s edition of Rolling Loud California. This year’s festival will take place between March 3 and 5 at Hollywood Park, headlined by Future, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti.
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