Nuthin' 2 Prove

Lil Yachty and his consortium of backers either didn't hear a single on Lil Boat 2 or held a losing vote in favor of issuing one. Despite being termed an album rather than a mixtape, the set had a strangely brief promotional cycle, and within four months of its March 2018 release was trailed by "Who Want the Smoke?," a single off the follow-up LP, Nuthin' 2 Prove, which was out that October. Technically the rhyming entertainer's third album, this is split between what he categorizes as "rap" and "melodic." The first half, supported with productions of austere booming menace, indeed continues with aggravated boasts and threats similar to those heard on Lil Boat 2. He's more at ease on the lightheaded "melodic" tracks of the latter half, back to goofy-vulgar observations, musical crib-mobile melodies, and occasional openhearted moments that sound natural rather than forced. ~ Andy Kellman