Let’s Start Here. by Lil Yachty

I can feel you all collectively rolling your eyes at this pick. That’s ok, I understand. And yet… Lil Yachty’s complete reimagining of himself, his fifth studio album Let’s Start Here., is the 24th best album of 2023.

I’d be surprised if you’ve not heard of Lil Yachty or this album. When it came out at the end of January 2023, the popular music wing of the World Wide Web was up in arms about it. Despite efforts to the contrary, I live in a fairly protected musical world, and consequently had not heard of Yachty prior to release of Let’s Start Here. So in hearing the hubbub about the album and how divisive the opinion was about it, I was intrigued. What could possibly be causing all this fuss?

Upon first listen, it’s clear this is no rap album. Experimental rock? Acid jazz? Synth pop? Psych rock? The world seemed dead set on defining the album as a Tame Impala ripoff (another band I’ve not paid any attention to — maybe now I should?) While being unable to define what it was I was hearing, I could say that I was enjoying the music. It travels all over the musical landscape, but does so in a way that feels cohesive, similar to Wish You Were Here or The Age of Adz. This is a concept album – but what is the concept?

Yachty, whose real name is Miles Parks McCollum, was just an exceedingly accomplished, viral-song inducing rapper until he released this album. A year before the album came out, and two years after his previous album, Lil Boat 3, Yachty announced in an interview his next project would be a “non-rap album,” calling it “alternative” and “like a psychedelic alternative project. It’s different. It's all live instrumentation.” It’s not his fault nobody took him at his word, because a year later that’s exactly what he released.

You’ll need to put the album on yourself to hear first hand the album that could cause so much turmoil. It might not be for you, but you’ll better understand why so many people are so confused by it.