The album, which was released on the 27^th January, displays a welcome departure from Lil Yachty’s established trap sound and moves towards soulful neo-psychedelia. Praise for the evolution has poured in from all corners of the music sphere with Clash Magazine, Rolling Stone, social media, and even Grammy-winning musician Questlove hyping up the rapper.

Miles Parks McCollum, the rapper known as Lil Yachty and sometimes as Lil Boat, is from Georgia. Dropping out of Alabama State University in 2015 to pursue his rap career, he first gained recognition shortly after when his singles ‘One Night’ and ‘Minnesota’ from his debut EP exploded on the internet. He managed to seat himself in the prime position for fame as the world became engrossed in SoundCloud and “mumble” rap stars such as Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, Lil Uzi Vert, and Juice Wrld. The number of streams of ‘iSpy’, the Kyle track he featured on in 2016, displays his popularity with its 480M views on YouTube. With collabs with Migos, Young Thug, Gucci Man, Lil Baby, Offset, Cardi B, Wiz Khalifa, Drake, DaBaby, Kodak Black, and Diplo there’s no doubt of Lil Yachty’s impact.

Over the last few years, the SoundCloud rap style has taken a backseat with the revival of neo-soul, R&B, and psychedelia triggered by the likes of Danger Mouse & Black Thought with their warm mellow production, Silk Sonic and their soulful lush melodies, and Tame Impala’s trancey sound. In a talk before his album release, which Yachty shared on his Instagram, he told the crowd, “This album is so special and dear to me. I think I created it just because I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist. Not just some SoundCloud rapper. Not just some mumble rapper. Not just some guy who made one hit. I wanted to be taken serious because music is everything to me. I respect all walks of music, not just rap and hip hop. Everything.”

“I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist”

Lil Yachty

The psychedelic genre allows Yachty to explore and experiment with a new direction to the fullest ability. With the help of many of the leading alternative producers and songwriters such as the slacker rock SoundCloud famed Alex G, beloved indie rock hero Mac Demarco, the bold electropop duo Magdalena Bay, MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser, and Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberley, the rapper has developed an unconventional sound through the amalgamation his soft trap vocals with wavy instrumentals.

The opening track ‘the BLACK seminole’ sets the listener on a voyage with its rolling bassline, tight jazzy drumbeats, and echoey guitar solo. Yachty lets us know he’s not playing anymore drolling in his autotuned vocals, “No time to joke around, the kid is now a man” before Diana Gordon ends the track with some impressive cries which wouldn’t be amiss on Pink Floyd’s Darkside of the Moon. At times the instrumentals sound otherworldly and alien like on ‘the ride-’ with the contrast between the deep distorted bass and the high-pitched electronic synths. One of the standouts on the album is ‘running out of time’ where the groovy slow instrumentals and Lil Yachty’s laidback delivery juxtapose the lyrics that lament the loss of a relationship. Another surprise comes with the track ‘pRETTY’ in which Lil Yachty taps into his feminine side singing, “I am so damn pretty” and “I am too sexy”. He even pops a “bestie” in there which is guaranteed to make you smile. Mac Demarco and Alex G team up to provide the background instrumentals to Lil Yachty’s moving monologue about overcoming frustrations on ‘:(failure:)’. On ‘THE zone~’ Lil Yachty contemplates his career and his new direction pleading, “I’m so far gone/Can you take me back home?”, whilst guitars fuzz in the background. The song flows into ‘WE SAW THE SUN’ where Yachty’s anxieties are abated temporarily by his kaleidoscope-like visions. The song ends with a smooth sample from adored painter Bob Ross. Diana Ross takes centre stage on the impossibly mellow number ‘drive ME crazy!’. ‘sAy sOMETHINg’ features cascading autotuned vocals from Lil Yachty resulting in an earworm you won’t be able to – or want to – shake from your head. The album ends with ‘REACH FOR THE SUNSHINE’ a track that crackles with different elements trying to grasp the audience’ attention and Lil Yachty’s demonic cackles. For a nearly hour-long album, it’s impressive that there isn’t a single skippable song in sight

A music video for ‘SAy SOMETHINg’ was released on the same day as the album. Rich warm reds fill the shots and the dreamy transitions between Lil Yachty and his girlfriend (played by the gorgeous Anok Yai) talking in a plush dinner to the couple cruising around in a vintage car create a surreal feeling. The video takes an ominous turn after Yachty tells his girlfriend he loves her much too early – they’ve only been dating for two weeks! A waitress appears with an uncanny valley smile plastered on her face (similar to the album’s Aphex Twin-esque AI-generated album cover), his girlfriend becomes mouth-less before the table stretches drifting her away from him, and the baby he imagines them having pops into dust along with his love. The style in the video is impeccable with Yai dressed in a boxy leather jacket with glittering gold chain earrings before changing into a luminous white fur coat. Lil Yachty’s best fit is a sequined red and white shirt paired with baggy ripped light wash jeans and 70s orange square shades. Crowns & Owls, who have worked with the artists Slowthai, Skepta, and PinkPantheress as well as brands Nike and Diesel, direct the video.

The transition is such a surprise to fans, particularly because of Lil Yachty’s recent success with trap single ‘Poland’, which was released last year and went viral on TikTok. Despite the initial shock, we are delighted that Lil Yachty’s experimentations have resulted in the fun out-there hallucinatory sounds of Let’s Start Here and we can’t wait to see where Lil Yachty’s journey takes him next.

Words By: Molly Sutherland

_{^{Header Image: Lil Yachty, sAy sOMETHINg Music Video}}

The post *Add To Favourites* Lil Yachty’s New Album ‘Let’s Start Here’ appeared first on Voir Fashion.

The latest celebrity to join the entrepreneurial beauty ranks is American rapper, Lil Yachty. He recently teased the arrival of his gender-inclusive nail polish range CRETE, launching on May 21st.

“I’d like to introduce my new nail paint line @crete__co,” reads his Instagram caption, and clicking through to the official page, the tagline proudly reads ‘For You. Not Them.’ With a rising interest in gender-inclusive cosmetics, Yachty has not missed a beat with his new business venture.

CRETE features three exclusive lacquers dubbed ‘Negatives 001.’ The monochromatic all matt range includes white, light grey, and black which are packaged in a convenient pen design – activated by clicking the top.

A firm believer in being unapologetically yourself, the rapper turned entrepreneur said: “It’s unisex but I want it to be more focussed on for men to use it, and to be more comfortable in their own skin,” he said. “Because bro, it’s 2020, you know what I’m saying, like it’s about to be 2021. Come on, what are barriers? We still have barriers?”

Say it louder for the people in the back. He is one of the long list of male celebrities sporting “man-icures” (ASAP Rocky, Harry Styles, and Machine Gun Kelly, to name a few). Take a peek at the promo video below.

Words By Rosina Findlay

The post “For You. Not Them.”: Lil Yachty Launches A Range of Genderless Nail Polishes appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Insofar as influencer-led campaigns go, Reebok has championed pioneering celebrities Ariana Grande and international supermodel and style icon Gigi Hadid for their Spring/Summer 18 ad campaign. A subversive mix of today’s highly creative and rebellious talent include rapper Lil Yachty; K-Pop star Somi; graffiti artists Felipe Pantone and SANY; Hip Hop duo Rae Sremmurd; recording artist, actress and model Teyana Taylor, and model Sharina Gutierrez.

In a challenge to convey what it means to be “Always Classic”, this campaign is all about daring to be different. To Reebok and the stars of the campaign, classic means following your own rules, and having the freedom to express yourself, not being afraid to stand out from the crowd.

In the words of Gigi Hadid: “it’s now and it’s also something that will hopefully inspire the future.”

See the film below.

Reebok Classic has a long rooted heritage of nonconformity and commitment to pushing boundaries, constantly reimagining their definition of what it means to be classic. In this campaign, the stars can be seen donning the Reebok Classic silhouette that best represents their unique character, and turn the word classic on its head.

From a term that is usually associated with such words as conformity, elegance and timeless, is is now being seen as one that means different, daring and individual – because being classic is all about being unapologetic in showing the world who you are.

Or in the words of Todd Krinsky, General Manager at Reebok Classics ”Our brand has a history of pushing boundaries and the Always Classic campaign is no different. It’s a modern celebration of pioneers, darers and authenticators who are reimagining what it means to be Classic on their own terms and are inviting everyone to do the same.

And our viewpoint: it has become our strapline for quite some time.

The post Reebok: Influencing a New Generation appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Art directors team up with image-makers, stylists add a touch of flair, hair and makeup take it to another dimension, and the fashion campaign springs to life. As times change rapidly, the quest is on to delve deeper into the human psyche – to what makes us tick, and to deliver storylines which engage our emotional responses. Here we select a handful of fashion campaigns which are entering into another realm.

1. Balmain

Olivier Rousteing introduces his nomadic Balmain army to Steven Klein for Spring/Summer 2017. Shot in the Californian desert, it features top models Doutzen Kroes, Isabeli Fontana, Natasha Poly, Jon Kortajarena, Gabriel Aubry and Tony Ward. The megaphones and speakers add a sense of bewilderment as well as a futuristic mood.

2. Prada

The ‘365’ project is the Prada way of introducing a continual campaign which includes motion and stills photography. Shot by Willy Vanderperre, this stunning SS17 collection is presented in unique ways, embracing the themes of Pathways, Frontiers, Stations, Exits and Terrains, across an array of indoor and outdoor landscapes.

3. Loewe

Jonathan Anderson teamed up with photographer Steven Meisel, and supermodel Amber Valetta to capture an essence of continual movement, echoing the pace at which fashion evolves.

4. Alexander Wang

Photographed by Inez & Vinoodh, the take to the party. Models Binx Walton, Anna Ewers and Lexi Boling join American rapper Lil Yachty and Kim Kardashian to high fashion into the morning.

5. Brandon Maxwell

Featuring top model Riley Montana, this campaign is styled and captured by the designer himself. Domestic bliss!

6. Céline

Céline’s Spring Summer 2017 campaign was shot by Juergen Teller, and has an underlying narrative of mystery as underscored by the colour red.

7. Acne Studios

Captured by the inimitable Paolo Roversi, Acne Studios features a group of creatives for the brand’s SS17 collection. Artists, writers and other creatives of Iranian, Iraqi and Kuwaiti origin are shot in intimate polaroid portraits, to imbue “a spirit of openness” and celebrate differences.

The post What are they Campaigning for? appeared first on Voir Fashion.