''Lil Boat'' is the debut commercial

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by American rapper

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles "One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...

. It was released on March 9, 2016, by

Quality Control Music Quality Control Music (also known as Quality Control or QC) is an American hip hop record label founded by Kevin "Coach K" Lee ( COO) and Pierre "P" Thomas (CEO) in March 2013. Its productions were distributed through Universal Music Distribution ...

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

and

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

. The mixtape's production was primarily provided by

TheGoodPerry Perry Paris Moise (born September 21, 1996), better known by his stage name TheGoodPerry (formerly known as Burberry Perry), is an American record producer and Hip hop music, hip hop recording artist. Perry gained recognition for his production in ...

, along other record producers such as 1Mind, Earl,

Digital Nas Nasir Pemberton known professionally as Digital Nas or DN, is a Grammy-nominated American record producer, singer & songwriter. He initially began producing for underground artists and later rose to prominence for his work with Kanye West on his ...

and Grandfero; as well as Yachty enlisted the

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

s from

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), known professionally as Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He is best known as the co-founder and former frontman of hip hop group Migos. Quavo is the uncle of late fellow Migos m ...

and Byou, among others.

Background

Yachty first came to prominence in December 2015 when the

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

version of his song "

One Night One Night or 1 Night may refer to: Film * ''One Night'' (2002 film), a film produced by Winchester Films * ''One Night'' (2005 film), an Iranian film directed by Niki Karimi * ''One Night'' (2007 film), a film featuring Christian Campbell and ...

" was used in a viral comedy video. In February 2016, Yachty debuted as a model in

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's Yeezy Season 3 fashion line at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

. The cover was designed by Mihailo Andic, using stock images and some images obtained from

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to ...

Critical reception

In a positive review, Nick Henderson of ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

'' wrote that "''Lil Boat'' is the kind of music that does not need to make a case for its own value, only judged on the intangible, absurdist metrics of its self-contained universe." Sheldon Pearce from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' was more critical and found that the mixtape "makes a grating mess of varying influences." ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' ranked the mixtape at number 31 on its "Best Albums of 2016" list. Critic Edwin Ortiz wrote that Lil Yachty "carved out his own lane with his debut mixtape" and praised the project for "showcasing his bubble-gum trap approach to hip-hop and his delightfully weird overall individuality."

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

ranked the album at number 19 on its "Best Rap Albums of 2016", commenting that "Yachty uses

Auto-Tune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-T ...

to polish and blur his sad, vindictive and romantic instincts, steering through choppy waters of adolescence with the same wide-eyed selfishness and wonder of any teenager in America."

Track listing

Notes * signifies an uncredited co-producer * "Run / Running" was removed from streaming services after

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

copyright claimed its sample. Sample credits * "Intro (Just Keep Swimming)" contains a sample of "Just Keep Swimming" from ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was wr ...

''. * "Not My Bro" contains a sample of "Killing You", performed by

Broods Broods is a New Zealand musical duo from Nelson, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges", which w ...

. * "Good Day" contains a sample of "かけてあげる", performed by Daoko. * "Run / Running" contains a sample of "File Select" from ''

Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ...

''.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2016 mixtape albums Alternative hip hop albums by American artists Lil Yachty albums Quality Control Music albums