Yep, it’s coming full circle now. I started writing album reviews here with a Lil Yachty project, and here we are again.
Now, in case you’ve forgotten how I felt about Lil Boat 2, I was very harsh on the album citing that Yachty fell into the vein of other ATL trap rappers, doing the same basic raps as them except with less of their bravado and enthusiasm. Looking back on it, it’s not something I would ever go back to, but my dislike of the album and my criticism of Lil Yachty as a rapper has died down since.
In fact, it died down when he released his other project in 2018, Nuttin’ 2 Prove in October, but he has made himself a presence in other media: Teen Titans Go! To The Movies as the Green Lantern, How High 2 in 2019 (the direct-to-DVD sequel to the 2001 Method Man/Redman stoner flick), and he also co-wrote “Act Up” performed by City Girls, a hip hop duo signed to Quality Control, the label Yachty is also on.
Many were expecting Lil Boat 3, the third and final installment of his Lil Boat series, to drop in October 2019 as he stated, but it got delayed into 2020. Now that the project is here in full, with an official single in “Oprah’s Bank Account” (feat. Drake and DaBaby), and a tracklist of 19 songs clocking in at 55 minutes with some notable features that I’ll get into later, did Lil Boat 3 float or sink?
Well… here’s the thing… it’s a very standard trap album with all the usual trimmings.
Everything from the trap production to the lyrics about wealth, getting girls, flexing a lot, etc. is his usual territory, and while this can get monotonous, there were some bars that I actually dug from Yachty. The track “Westside” came to mind with these lyrics:
Two straps on me, I’m nervous, I need protection (Brrt)
Feel like a teenage white girl, I follow one direction (Yeah)I made more guap than all my teachers with they degrees (Woo)
Can’t have no fun in white neighborhoods, they call police (Woo)
And there were even some good lines on “Wock in Stock”:
Ten-carat earrings, a hundred grand, no kizzy (Ya dig?)
This bitch geekin’ off a school bus, she Miss Frizzie (Beep)
Her best friend took too much boot, she too dizzy (Too dizz)
I’m about to put ’em both in a figure-fourThis bitch thirsty, she need more water, you folks are Flint (Water)
It’s already better than whatever set of lyrics he delivered on any song on Teenage Emotions, but that also meant there aren’t many other bars that stand out. The album is very competent for what it is, and at least it isn’t wholly embarrassing. Of course, the big set of features that people were talking about when the tracklist was announced is “T.D.” with A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator and Tierra Whack, and to no one’s surprise, it’s my favorite track of album. In case you’re wondering what “T.D.” stand for, it’s “Tokyo Drift,” as it samples the Teriyaki Boyz’ “Tokyo Drift (Fast and Furious)” from The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, and while I liked Rocky and Tyler’s verses, I was feeling Tierra’s verse more.
I did it all with the passion, I’m a god in this fashion
Niggas tryna fit in with their arms in the jacket (Ugh)
Had to pull myself together like it’s all elastic
Got the heart of a dragon, I’m a star, call me Patrick
Heard the bitch was talkin’ shit, so I caught him in traffic
I’m the type to walk in your house and shit on your mattress
Other than that, “Oprah’s Bank Account” has a nice melodic trap beat going for it, and while I haven’t been keen on most of his recent album releases, DaBaby dropped a nice verse. Yes, Drake is there, too, but he originally wanted Lizzo to be on the track, and now that I’m thinking about it, I wouldn’t mind a version with her on there either.
Also expect some repetitive yet annoying hooks like in “Pardon Me” featuring Future, although it’s more of a Future song featuring Lil’ Yachty since he takes over the song with Mike Will Made-It on the beat, and “Range Rover Sports Truck” with Lil’ Keed is slightly OK with what we’re given.
Yeah, there isn’t much left to say about this project that hasn’t been repeated on the last project I reviewed from him. It’s a slight improvement from Lil Boat 2, and yet the project is still the basic trimmings of trap beats although I’m liking some of the production on here, especially from Buddha Bless and EarlOnTheBeat, but never once was I dreading listening to it. It’s just the usual trap sound that I have heard before from other rappers.
FINAL VERDICT: Stream it. This won’t make you a fan of his but you’ll find some tracks you’ll bump to.
Lil Boat 3 is on Quality Control/Motown/Capitol Records and available on CD, digital download and streaming services.