What Yeat lacks in substance, he makes up in pure energy. Yeat has been releasing music nonstop for the past few years and was propelled to fame after his songs “Gët Busy” (2021) and “Sorry Bout That” (2021) went viral on Tiktok. After cosigns from the likes of Drake and The Weeknd, Yeat has become the one of the most successful rappers in the rage beat scene. His unique use of autotune and slurred enunciation give his voice a distorted and robotic sound, his ad libs are reminiscent of Playboi Carti and Travis Scott, and he brings an infectious energy to all of his songs. His lyricism is not the most complex, but his various different flows and cadences keep things interesting.
Yeat’s second studio album, “2 Alivë” (2022), is an incredibly entertaining listen held back by its long runtime and problematic subject matter. It’s Yeat’s most polished work so far, and features from Gunna and Young Thug have the potential to push Yeat into the mainstream. Still, the problematic connotations of his continued references to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and the turban he constantly wears cannot be ignored. It is shameful at best, and derogatory and racist in nature. Yeat’s absurd one liners give many of his songs a humorous charm, but resorting to offensive humor for shock value is unnecessary. It’s important to remember this reality when considering his music, no matter how catchy it is.
The album certainly is catchy. “Poppin” is a fun opening track featuring almost everything that makes Yeat special, for better or worse. The song features bouncy production, crooning ad libs, bars about Percocet addiction and references to Osama bin Laden that make you think, What is wrong with this guy? “Outside,” featuring Young Thug, is a masterpiece. Yeat’s signature bell is back, and he’s flowing effortlessly. Young Thug sounds so smooth that one would be forgiven for thinking it’s his song. “Rackz got më” featuring Gunna is similarly great. Yeat’s voice is more distorted than ever, and his words blend together like they are an extension of the beat. There are moments where his lyrics are nearly unintelligible, but it doesn’t matter because he’s not saying anything of substance anyway. Yeat uses his voice like an instrument, as he cares more about how it sounds rather than what he’s actually saying. Gunna’s verse feels a little out of place, but it is a refreshing change of pace. “Doublë” is Yeat at his absolute best. There’s no real chorus, the bassline is aggressive, and he is rapping like he has something to prove. Yeat drops bar after bar about Percocet and expensive cars for nearly three minutes straight, switching up his flow multiple times throughout the song.
At about an hour, the album is too long considering that Yeat almost exclusively raps about drugs, money, fame, cars and designer brands. Rappers such as Lucki address their struggles with addiction and mental health, but Yeat’s lyrics are surface level. There are a couple fleeting moments of introspection, but they are hard to take seriously. On “Rollin,” Yeat shows appreciation for his fans and talks about his rise to fame but also manages to say “Osama bin Laden, my bro.”
Because every single song has the exact same subject matter and the production is so similar throughout, the album becomes a tiring listen in the second half. “Taliban” is a forgettable listen, Yung Kayo’s verse did not really add anything interesting on “Narcoticz,” and the mixing is lazy on “Gëek High.” The album would have been better as a 30 to 40-minute project with less filler and less offensive content.
Yeat’s sound is still refreshing, but it would be nice to see him get a little introspective or at the very least expand his subject matter beyond just flexing. Still, Yeat’s sound is virtually hypnotic. It is music meant to be played in the car or at a party at full blast rather than seriously analyzed. While the album is not something anyone will listen to front to back more than a couple times, the bouncy production combined with Yeat’s unique vocal effects make the album one to remember. It’s a little bloated, but Yeat has created yet another album full of unique bangers.
