In October 2022, a new Lil Yachty snippet leaked to the internet titled “Poland”. The hypnotic hook immediately was in everyone’s heads, achieving viral status straight away through being popular on TikTok, spawning various memes and posts from Drake, Steve Lacy and Offset singing along. Unlike most rappers, Boat capitalised on this moment, releasing the official track to streaming platforms on October 11th alongside an accompanying music video on the Lyrical Lemonade Channel.
Throughout this year, Yachty said his next project would be a “non-rap album” where the sound is “alternative” and “psychedelic”. In December the entire project leaked under a fake name “Sonic Ranch”.
After the unfortunate leaks and teaser mentions, the album would be officially announced on January 17 2023 through Yachty posting the cover art, title and release date on his Instagram.
On January 25, Yachty released a skit in promotion of the album titled “Department of Mental Tranquility”. The video features Boat being asked a series of questions by the receptionist in a waiting room full of people behaving erratically, with him then walking down a narrow hallway and into a bright white room. These visuals were very trippy and unsettling, leaving all fans to be intrigued and excited for the release as it was very clear a lot of work has gone into this project.
1 day before release Boat celebrated “Let’s Start Here” through an exclusive listening event. Die hard fans were there waiting in the cold, once they entered, the guest swere greeted with an overwhelming amount of “fine dining” such as endless candy, cereal boxes and milk, cotton candy, rap snacks, popcorn, cookies and more. Once seated in the planetarium, Yachty came out to greet his guests and introduce his album before heading upstairs to sit with his special guests and VIPs. Special guests included Drake, Offset, Lil Baby, P and Coach K to name a few. The experience itself was truly unforgettable, with the the visuals playing above in the planetarium taking listeners on a journey through Yachty’s vision. From the depths of space to a ferris wheel ride to the bottom of the ocean floor to an animated world with giant flowers to candy adorned mountains, this experience was truly a trip.
The album was released on January 27 2023 alongside a music video for one of the best tracks on the album “sAy sOMETHING”. The visuals were incredible, completely encapsulating the feeling and creating a world for the album. Both of these videos were directed by Crowns & Owls - a collective of filmmakers and photographers, based in London. “sAy sOMETHING” would be the only music video from this project but Yachty would go on to do live performances for tracks “the BLACK seminole.” and “drive ME crazy!” on Saturday Night Live. Months later in October 2023 he would perform “WE SAW THE SUN!” live on Jimmy Kimmel. All live performances were very special, featuring an amazing live band and especially the stunning vocals from Diana Gordon.
Yachty had extreme confidence with this project, he knew he had made a phenomenal album and the music would speak for itself. The album was done in April 2022. Boat would express that sitting on something for so long gets nerve wracking but he knew he was ready to give it to the world. He went on to further express how it felt like he was cracking out of a new shell as if he was dropping his first album.
I love to see Boat’s progression over the years and to finally see him get his recognition in 2023. This album was so special and dear to him, it was clear he wanted to be more than what others saw him as and to be taken seriously as an artist.
“Let’s Start Here” received well deserved high praise from fans and critics, truly cementing Yachty’s career, as he redefines his artistic identity going into the next chapter.