Yeat “2093” Album Review - New Hip Hop News

Music fans are always looking for the new wave to hop on, and with so much amazing material dropping every day, these trends could dominate and vanish within months. Many folks out there thought Yeat would suffer this fate. His arrival on the scene, paired with the wider emergence of rage, brought a lot of buzz, an instant cult fanbase, and even a Minions collab. But with four albums under the Portland MC’s belt now, plus a wealth of mixtapes, he’s had plenty of time to capitalize on this hype. However, this didn’t answer the question that many fans still have: is he here to stay? Will this sound and approach age like fine wine or is it just a passing fad while we wait on the real future? Well, speaking of the future, the AftërLyfe visionary is here to take us to 2093.

This new album aims to provide a forward-thinking, fresh, unique, and alien artistic statement. Its 24 tracks (including the two “Phase 2” extras “As We Speak” with Drake and “Never quit”) are defined by buzzing and soaring synths, distorted percussion, a lot of reverb atmosphere, and a slew of verses, ad-libs, and vocal effects battling each other for your ear. Unlike past material, the lyrics here are actually highlighted quite intently, and this overall sets 2093 up as the most idiosyncratic release in this catalog. Fortunately for fans and new listeners alike, it’s also its best project yet. Although it’s not perfect, this is a truly definitive, impactful, and above all needle-pushing record that will probably join the likes of Whole Lotta Red, Yeezus, and even Exmilitary as aggressive and industrial benchmarks in hip-hop. But it’s clear that Yeat is in a class of his own.

Yeat’s Performance

If you want proof of that, look no further than his performance on the mic here -– and behind the board. If you recall last week, we published a list of five “wants” from this album, one of which was that Yeat would prioritize and focus on his best weapon in his arsenal: his voice and his delivery. We’re glad to say that he’s still got it. Through a lot of vocal layering, woozy effects, energetic ad-libs, and switches between slurred deliveries and clearer high notes, the 23-year-old maintains what makes him such a memorable and captivating artist. He switches between frantic flows, measured croons, and passionate screams with ease on any given track. The “Nun id change” creative feels so comfortable and seamlessly integrated into his sonic vision, which is the second-most important achievement of 2093. We’ll mention the top priority later.

He also takes over most of the production here, with credits on 13 tracks of its 24 offerings. In fact, one of the best songs here, “Riot & Set it off,” is produced entirely by the California native, and that speaks for itself. His vision is able to meld a lot of different influences together and make something new out of them. There’s a lot of Travis Scott and Kanye West worship here, distorted vocal treatments akin to Sematary, industrial tones and timbres that you might catch on material from Death Grips or HEALTH, and sci-fi soundscapes that seem more like scores than streaming success stories. But they all fit under 2093‘s universe like a glove, and have Yeat’s special touch all over them. It’s the most impressive part of this album.

Read More: Yeat Receives 10 RIAA Plaques

The Future Is Here: 2093‘s Production

This high praise is thanks to the cavalcade of producers here, of which there are too many to shout out individually. Key players, though, include Synthetic (7 credits), Dulio (5), GeoGotBands and Perdu (4 each), and LRBG, Radiate, and WhoIce (3 each). Together, they all execute Yeat’s vision in a cohesive way that also leads to another big strength on 2093: its engaging and well-paced flow. The dreamy and atmospheric outro on “Bought The Earth,” which is a nice cool-down moment on the LP, leads right into the rambunctious trap on “Nothing Changë.” Clubby rhythms and dance inspiration take center stage on “Breathe” (another absolute standout), “Shade,” “Keep Pushin,” and the title track. Most importantly, the distortion, synth variety, noisy mixes, and string embellishments all fuse in an epic and entrancing way.

Still, not every beat is a hitter. 2093‘s length means that cuts like “Tell më,” “Stand On It,” and “Psychocainë” feel repetitive. Regardless, this isn’t a sign of the album taking significant quality dips, as there are amazing records all the way to the last song. Also, there is so much quality behind Yeat’s production choices that, even if they sit in the same space, they don’t feel diluted in their impact. “U Should Know,” “ILUV,” “Mr. Inbetweenit,” and “If We Being Rëal” are just a handful of progressive, crunchy, well-structured, and thoroughly immersive beats. “Familia” is one of the most overtly psychedelic moments here, and “Never quit” ingeniously flips a guitar-driven beat into something more than a rock-rap fusion. Overall, this album is a true auditory treat, and likely a very influential one. The cherry on top? How they effortlessly set up his verses.

The Portland MC Reaches New Lyrical Highs

Lyrics never define any Yeat album, but this album takes his success and paints a dark picture with it. “I’ma cut you off, cut you off when you talkin’ to me,” he raps on the opener “Psycho CEO.” “I’m in 2093, where your life at?” The now-established Drake collaborator focuses a lot on financial success, loyalty, material wealth, substance use, and not feeling human. But he contrasts this with murderous thoughts, admissions of his own dishonesty, his apathy, and nihilistic remarks on what all this money and status even means. Through jumbled trains of thought, loose verses, and consistently catchy refrains, these themes become almost contradictory, yet never inauthentic. There’s a lot of CEO talk on 2093, and it seems like hedonism eats at its own tail here. The salient point is that these pleasures make this darkness worse, but also give it the freedom to roam freely.

Particularly sharp meta bars on “Run Thëy Mouth,” like, “I got four rings, four albums, b***h, I’m out / I was alivе for 4L, but it’s up to me for after now,” embody this theme well. It’s a scary picture, and one that Yeat paints with a “less is more” brush. While these topics and expressions are always compelling, they can feel like retreads.

2093‘s Less Futuristic Moments

Similarly, there are a few moments in 2093 that don’t match up to its futuristic vision. For example, the features are 50/50. Lil Wayne drops a good verse on “LyfeStylë,” but it feels a bit mismatched from the album’s established energy. Future’s appearance on “Stand On It” is mixed way too low, but he does his thing. More impressively, “As We Speak” is probably the wildest beat Drake’s ever been on, and he’s much more charismatic and well-presented here than on their previous collab, “IDGAF.” Childish Gambino’s uncredited vocals on the outro of “Power Trip,” though, are the only guest contributions that truly feel futuristic and wholly connected to this project. Since Yeat is so standoffish, homicidal, and downright misanthropic from a lyrical standpoint, this makes these inclusions a bit more out of place. That being said, it’s still a small blemish.

Otherwise, what keeps 2093 out of the higher echelons of hip-hop albums in their respective eras is its consistency. The aforementioned reruns of aesthetics and song structures, plus static lyrical focuses and underwhelming feature verses, bring things down a bit. But we want to emphasize that it’s only a bit. An overwhelming majority of this LP took Yeat to the next level in our eyes. In particular, his character portrait here is the most understandable, clear, and un-replicable. It seems like the Gen Z leader is embracing the villain role here, and his contradictions and extraterrestrial imagination -– or rather, reality -– seem just like they were there before the fame. Power is another central idea, one that seems just as indebted to physical possessions as it is to primal proclivities. Bloodlust and existentialism are palpable, and don’t aim for anything else but to shock, inspire, and evoke.

Conclusion

So, how exactly does 2093 shock, inspire, and evoke indescribable feelings of ambition and dominance in its listeners? Much like its creator, the album shrouds itself in a lot of mystery, both through its muddy and aggressive production and the varied rhythms and sonic worlds that it cycles through. The beats here progress, evolve, and keep ears locked in from song to song, and don’t allow for even a second to free you from its spell. Yeat is right at the center of the chaos, and gives up control to tap into his demons and desires as a dead man walking. He doesn’t mind calling others out for being dead too, as long as they know who is on top of the graveyard. The totality of these elements achieved the most important thing this record had to represent: evolution. Progress. The next step. The future.

The artist’s unique musical identity preserves and develops itself further into idiosyncrasy; the consistency and intent make this a fully satisfying listen; the rap styles of tread, witch house, rage, and more push forward; he might see his first No. 1 album of his career with a watershed moment of an LP; and the features… at least Donald Glover killed it. Jokes aside, they still played their role well and allowed Tonka’s biggest fan to take the whole spotlight. With all this in mind, did 2093 take us to 2093? Absolutely. It’s so exciting to see an album this mainstream be so challenging, so masterful with its influences, and so fun all throughout. Yeat’s come a long way, and he fully cemented himself as a legitimate mainstay and leading face of hip-hop today. Well, 70 years from now, anyway.

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