i've grown fond of the opener but i can see how people may experience it as a little bit indulgent in its way of setting the scene for the album. been listening to this record over and over again for a little over a week and i don't often listen to the end of the song (and even usually just start the album with 'the ride'). but the main section of the opener has a great groove and some lyrical highlights that hook me in to the rich, introspective story yachty is telling throughout the record
the tone of the album largely exists in a space between the moody, introspective sound spawned by kanye's 808s & heartbreaks, and the humorously disingenuous sound that pervades modern trap music (especially so lil yachty's back catalog) with both old & new rock, soul, and alternative influences (names that come to mind are hendrix, floyd, beatles, radiohead, frank ocean, daniel caesar, tame impala, anco, weezy, cudi)
the album art seemed to me at first to be sort of a piss take, but i like how it subtly toys with the Have A Cigar trope while pulling in modern context to represent today's post-truth culture, as well as our (mainly the youth's) jaded, often goofily expressed detachment from that post-truth culture
to me, there's something profound happening here that connects the spiritual lineage of rock, soul, r&b, electronic music, and hip-hop, and it's caught electricity because lil yachty is going through a moment of transformation in his own life and work. and heck it's just so fun to listen to too, filled with earworm melodies and hooks. anyway i'm probably gonna 5 it soon even though there are a couple tracks (mainly opener and 'failure') that are hit or miss depending on my mood. i hope it grows on you guys. alright it's way past my bedtime now GOODNIGHT
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