Lil Yachty has been a bit of a main character on Necessary Evil since my ears were pricked enough by the majesty of Minnesota to name it the 6th best song of 2016 (“Jesus, where did this come from? I’ve followed Lil Yachty religiously since I heard this utterly amazing track, and he has never come close to recreating its majesty”) and ended up being 47th best song of the last ten years.
I stuck by them though, and when their debut album proper placed at #44 in 2017, I said that (don’t worry, I’m cringing harder than you) “He is the closest thing rap has had to a proper punk movement” and that “He might be the most important artist of his generation”. I did at least concede that their music was “frequently fucking unlistenable”, but I had high hopes that this kid could really do something.
Then came ‘Nuthin’ 2 Prove‘ (#78 in 2018), in which Yachty had a great identity crisis and decided to prove that they could be a respected mainstream rapper. It stunk, but I was still convinced enough to claim that Yachty was ” a fascinating figure who has the sufficient lack of self-awareness and disregard for the supposed former statesman and accepted tropes of his genre that he could potentially create something very special”. Next album maybe??
Nope.
Next came 2020’s ‘Little Boat 3‘ (#66) and I was existentially moved enough to declare that “Fuck… I have backed the wrong horse here, haven’t I?”. I also outlined what I thought at the time would be the final word an mine and Yachty’s relationship:
So, for the next few years I kept following him closely, waiting patiently for the record (or even fricking song) that I knew he was capable of that would blow everyone’s tiny minds and literally change music. I honestly thought he was up to that. If you read my reviews, I compared him to the Sex Pistols multiple times. Of course people think he’s an absolute tool! I thought to myself. This guy’s tearing down barriers! He’s upsetting the status quo! He’s on the right side of history! My delusion was strong enough for me to forgive him gash album after gash album, because I knew the big breakthrough was coming! I was even willing- and this is particular shameful- to gloss over his abhorrent homophobia and plentiful references to the F word (no, not ‘fuck’, the new F word) because- hey!- he had two guys kissing on his debut album cover, didn’t he?? He’s still on our side!! And, Oh God, I managed to look past the “Turned your mother into a paedophile” and the “You stinky and dirty like farts” and, Jesus, the endless, endless allusions towards incest. Because… I dunno… was I in a cult or something…?
They released another mixtape in 2021 to generally positive reviews, but it struck me as more of a compilation focusing on artists from their “second home” of Michigan, so I never bothered. Laudable stuff, using their own fame to shine a spotlight on other talented but undiscovered artists, but I was just about loosening myself from my weird Lil Yachty obsession, and listening to artists he’s mates with wouldn’t help me with that. I’d already said that ‘Lil Boat 3’ “will likely be the last time a Lil Yachty record makes this list, but I’ll always give them a listen”. I’d give it a listen, but mostly out of perverse curiosity (and the fact that Yachty always know their way around a banger or two). And this year I’m doing a top forty?? Yachty’s highest ever placing was #44. The guy’s done.
Then, in January of this year, came this.
Psychedelica, synths, funk, jazz, choreographed improvisation and kaleidoscopic musical threads. Yachty tries something spectacularly new and completely disparate from where his music once was. He has name checked Tame Impala and MGMT in recent years, and the ultra cynical might just deride this album as an obvious cut and paste from other artists that Yachty has deigned to be buzzworthy at this particular moment. Personally? I think that’s just an offshoot from the continued hate from hip-hop purists that Yachty has been getting for years now: their real and actual admiration of the source materials is obvious, and ‘Let’s Start Here’ burns with the obvious passion of an artist actually doing what they want to do. If you have decided that an artist isn’t authentic, then suddenly “they were influenced by people” sounds like a legitimate complaint. Also, in what world are MGMT and Tame Impala really cool bands to namedrop?? In the Pitchfork office in 2007??
And the music simply suits Yachty’s crazed and scattershot delivery, their adlibs and pilled pauses now flow into the rich musical backing. Suddenly, they have found a style that’s as jittery and as borderline obnoxious as their own vocal delivery. And this is an album, a complete 57 minute (oooh, same length as ABSIB at #31!) work that jabs another finger in the eye of the detractors who would likely hold them up as an example of Gen Z laziness or poor attention spans. They’re here for a good time and a long time.
But, no, while it may represent a fantastic left turn, it’s not wholly original. As great as it is, the most shocking thing about it is still who’s doing it rather than what it is. However, it’s still an outstanding sign of artistic life, which could really turn into that changing of the world I’ve long predicted. And just look at all the alternative artwork it’s inspired! I know! Perhaps a little too much for one blog post, right! But it shows that people were moved by this record, people were inspired by this record, people’s artistic sparks were lit by this record. There’s something happening here, when for a while I worried that the light had dimmed, if it ever existed at all.
2020 (no.66), 2018 (no.78), 2017 (no.44)
Necessary Evil 
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