Jun 45 min read

Yeat’s 2093 - A Futuristic Powerhouse

In terms of exciting drops, 2024 stands out for having a strong start.

Up until Yeat’s latest album, I wasn’t drawn to the psych trap and rage hip-hop subgenres like Future, Ken Carson and Playboi Carti. Despite how staunch Opium defenders emphasise the need to absorb the vibes instead of looking for profound lyricism when listening to these subgenres, I struggled to connect with the aesthetics of the music, which seemed more like over-saturated and unintentionally chaotic production to me.

My issues surrounding Yeats didn’t lie as much in the production of music genres associated with him, but more so in his repetitive rapping over the same BNYX beat while sounding barely intelligible from his concerning substance abuse. Still, there was always something about Yeat that peaked my interest. For one, his marketing is very odd and unique. While staying in tune with the mainstream hip hop tropes of money and megalomania, Yeat also brands himself as a bit of a reclusive “alien from another planet”, which stands out from the rest regardless of whether his music matches this intergalactic odyssey image yet.

His newest LP, 2093, however, saw him fully flesh this idea out in a way that feels refreshing, original and show-stopping. The refinements of his sound are instantly apparent. Having gone sober recently, Yeat seems able to focus more in the studio, incorporating these wild, off-kilter flows that are endlessly entertaining and razor sharp.

‘Nothing Changë’ exemplified his refined vocal delivery, with Yeat tapping into his rich vocal range: some verses occupy a lower, more cold-blooded register, whereas others see him rapping in a higher cartoonish pitch. By altering his voice, he explores alternative identities, with the latter register embodying an alien who fell to earth. This battle between different delivery styles almost feels like a character portrait at times, with the megalomaniacal, greedy and drugged out “CEO from the future” fighting for supremacy with a more vulnerable, despondent and paranoid Yeat.

The opener, ‘Psycho CEO’, introduces this recurring CEO personna and the central themes of wealth and power. The haunting background vocal chants, battered by dirty kicks and snares, powerfully complement Yeat’s aggressive delivery, making him come across as a menacing deity. At one point, Yeat calls for his “army” which makes you feel like you’re getting initiated into a apocalyptic cult under the boot of a madman. The money flexing is taken so much further than anything I’ve ever heard on a hip hop record, with Yeat asking Elon Musk, “where his planet is” in ‘Nothing Changë’, as well as buying the Earth in its entirety and selling it on the track ‘Böught the Earth’, which is honestly a really hilarious take on rap braggadocio. In his own way, Yeat’s funny, weird style is the perfect language to navigate the framework of this record.

‘Böught The Earth’ also features some strangely evocative introspection, with Yeat asking himself questions and reflecting on his addictive tendencies. The song is a beautiful, futuristic ballad and Yeat’s vocals have a static effect that likens them to the sound of a distant transmission from a far away spaceship – a creative touch that amplifies the emotional journey in the track. Another poignant moment of depth is the song ‘Tell më’, which details the feeling of wanting to be honest and needing help, but rejecting it aggressively (“Don’t tell me ‘Go help yourself’, you can go and die”). These contradictory sentiments are accompanied by the use of Yeat's deep terminator voice juxtaposed by his intimate singing tone, all the while paired with a somber instrumental that evokes image of a desolate futuristic wasteland.

Although the lyrics do carry relatively more weight on 2093 than his past projects, the stellar production is really what people are here for and is the strongest selling point. Brought together by the thoughtful craftsmanship of various producers, including Yeat, who co-produced 9 tracks himself, 2093’s dystopian and futuristic soundscapes are vast, entrancing, off the wall and very intentionally broken. Distinguishing itself from mainstream rage practices of empty distortion, 2093 has a take on rage chaos which creates disorder with almost medical precision and stays loyal to the genre while showcasing skillful levels of curation.

The mixing remains quite unusual and challenging at times – the drums and percs are side-chained to new extremes, the synths are jarring, the snares are a bit shit, but the end result is compelling in unfamiliar ways. There’s an overwhelming feeling that the songs aren’t made to appeal to an audience in 2024, constantly forcing you to time travel to a warehouse rave in the distant future. Tracks like ‘Pöwer Trip’ and ‘Möre’ are so crazy and off the wall, painting this captivating, glitchy vibe that’s intoxicating on another level. I’ve heard somebody describe this album as “Batman’s gym playlist” and, honestly, I can totally see these songs in Bruce Wayne’s rotation while he’s lifting weights.

‘Möre’ is for the hardest drop on the record especially for its memorable progression from the disorientating introduction to incendiary synths followed by interferences that explode into a cinematic beat. The bars are funny as hell too, with CEO Yeat talking about “pissing diamonds' ' and putting a condo on the moon so nobody can talk to him. Escapism becomes a recurring theme delivered through signature hilarious one liners, all of which offer a peer into Yeat’s psyche. That he doesn’t take himself seriously and is so unashamedly over the top makes this project so entertaining, with this track in particular squeezing the best out of him.

Then there is ‘Breathë’, which is arguably the biggest, shooting-for-the-charts banger on here. Yeat and his producers pulled out a Regular Show sample and made one of the wildest, most out there club ragers I’ve heard in a long time, brought together by these extremely fat 808s, syncopated background breathing, speeding motorcycle samples, pitch shifting “breathe” ad libs, insane bars about needing “Dove” (the soap) to wash the blood of his hands and many other brilliant touches. The track radiates cyberpunk, Blade Runner car chase type energy that’s addictive to its core and I adore it.

‘ILUV’, ‘Shade’ and ‘Riot & Set it off’ are honorable mentions too, adding to 2093’s run of tracks that sound like a malfunctioning space shuttle in overdrive. The core sample in ‘ILUV’ is borderline impossible to turn into a hook, given that it’s literally just a wall of cacophonous, driving synths that possess little to no melodic qualities, but the madness-infused “I love, I love, I love” repetitions that keep shifting in volume, as well Yeat’s eccentric delivery style, wrap everything together in a way that makes it work. ‘Shadë’ is among the weirdest moments of 2093, with a sea of disconnected, industrial glitching noises making the backbone of the beat and almost fighting against one another. ‘Riot & Set it off’ contains possibly my favourite drum pattern on the record and some blood-boilingly tense synth work, kicking things off with this wonderfully alluring intro, where the synths are haphazardly overtaking one another and battling for supremacy, giving you no indication whatsoever as to where you are being taken.

The album overall does feel a little bloated at times and it could have definitely used some trimming, numbering 24 songs in total. The aesthetic throughline spanning the track list is very consistent, sometimes so to its own detriment, as it does eventually become familiar, leaving me wanting some more variety towards the end. Still, the fun is incessant and even the low points have momentum. Moreover, the fact that Yeat managed to carry the entire project practically on his own, with only 2 features from Lil Wayne and Future, neither of which are chart-selling standouts, is an impressive feat in its own right.

Whilst 2093 is not a flawless release from Yeat, it’s undoubtedly fun to listen to. In this record, the vibes are so good I can actually turn my brain off and embody Yeat’s psyches, thereby manifesting what all psych trap and rage hip-hop aspire towards. Without a doubt, I’ve been converting to a Yeat fan.