His upward spiral accelerated with the platinum single "One Night," assists on the Top Five pop hits "Broccoli" and "iSpy," and widespread exposure through a prominent television ad,
Lil Yachty goes all out with his first proper album. Much of
Teenage Emotions contains the gleefully slapdash spirit that characterized the preceding EPs and commercial mixtapes, but there are signs that the rapper might evade binary characterization as a delightful reveler or one-dimensional prankster. In some instances,
Yachty puts forth as much effort as a fan who has been asked to explain the appeal of a primarily lackadaisical rapper who isn't into throat clearing or connecting coherent thoughts. The longest reaches occur on "Bring It Back," where a modulated, forlorn
Yachty fronts what resembles a mid-'80s synth pop demo, and on "Better," a shot at optimistic tropical pop. There's also a handful of pop ballads that are open-hearted and charmingly clumsy with lines like "Do you not want to be what we once talked about?" and "If I break your heart, then I'm a dumb dude." For all the stylistic broadening that occurs here, the album's 70-minute length allows enough space for a bounty of trap productions that support energized boasts. ~ Andy Kellman