Lil Yachty Nothin 2 Prove Review For Northern Transmissions

5.5/10

Nuthin' 2 Prove

Lil Yachty

The last thing any creator wants to do is make an album title that self-fulfills itself in the worst way possible, but Lil Yachty clearly isn’t safe from his own hubris. Between a record of almost completely generic production, and delivery that’s borderline negligent. While we’ve seen Yachty drop great bars in the past and he’s proven to be wiser than his music would let on, this album boasts tracks that are genuinely easy to call filler. Considering it’s already his second record of the year, one has to wonder why he’s put this out.

As creepy and abrasive as the production on “Gimmie My Respect” can be, the track’s flow is so generic these days that it starts the album on a weaker note than you’d expect. The production gets even weirder and more digitized on “Get Dripped” where Playboi Carti gets dirty and plays with his own voice subversively. Though Yachty is able to go even further in his delivery, the lyrics are so bland it plays against him. Unfortunately it’s impossible to take any of Yachty’s claims that other rappers are lazy when listening to “Riley From The Boondocks” as even his own vocal delivery turns into the oft-mocked mumble-core at times.

The current trend of inoffensive beats plagues this record particularly harshly, though much of the melodic backings at least show something more intriguing. “I’m The Mac” itself loses the often interesting lyrical side of many of these tracks, as he descends into the go-to boasting track. Whether it’s partying or gunning people down, there’s nothing interesting going on “Yacht Club” as Yachty and Juice WRLD follow the same flow again and again until you want to yell at them to stop. An old hip hop adage Lil Baby offers one of the better flows of the record, but is often hard to make out and isn’t given enough of a track to play on.

Earl The Pearll’s production is particularly forgettable on this record (though ISOBeats is equally bland), and recalls an old hip hop adage about how bad a song will be with how many names are called out as they start. “We Outta Here!” is one of the rare fun tracks on this album, through its dark and heavy sound, hilarious use of bleeps and all the playful writing throughout the track. However Cardi B show’s how underrated she can be on “Who Want The Smoke” as her passion and use of vocables enhances her rapping. Even Offset takes off on this track as he goes unbelievably fast with strange breaks around every corner.

Tracks like “Worth It” and “Everything Good, Everything Right” also seep into the record, being almost cartoonish in their preppy sound and questionable in their suppressive mix and lazy vocals. Yachty is also outperformed by the more dynamic performance by Kevin Gates on Nolia, making one question exactly what Yachty is hoping to do right now. Though there’s a great production and intriguing sound to “Fallin’ In Luv” it’s harder and harder to back up Yachty’s lyrics here.

Words by Owen Maxwell

 

Advertisement

Looking for something new to listen to?

Sign up to our all-new newsletter for top-notch reviews, news, videos and playlists.