2093 Album Review
By Guest Contributor: Klara Vadaszi of K's Corner
Originally published in Febuary 2024
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INTRO:
2093 is Yeat's 4th studio album and was released earlier this month and has a longer-than-average rap album length of 22 songs spanning over one hour. The album features some of rap's biggest artists such as Lil Wayne, Future and previous collaborator Drake. The album also features background vocals by Childish Gambino and an array of producers.
Originally thought by fans to be a deluxe version of the 2023 AftërLyfe album (Lyfëstyle), Yeat began to tease his new album 2093 with images posted in major US cities. He also posted song clips and concept images on his Instagram, plus an AI art account called @Lyfestylecorporations which started posting back in November. 2093 is Yeat's first concept album and the album follows a dystopian city concept with secret societies and a post-apocalyptic society. Yeat mentioned in a previous interview with 032c magazine that "Between the last record and this upcoming one, it feels like a ten-album difference in time. People have no idea what it’s going to sound like. It’s, like, 2093, dystopian society".
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
After listening to 2093 some things were clear to me, first, Yeat's departure from his previous style and work. All of Yeat's work has a strong sound with an alien vibe. Yeats' concept is that he is an alien from a far-off planet called Twizz, so this disorienting and deep electronic music makes sense and easily puts the listener in a sort of 'spacey' state of mind. As if you were to be inside a sci-fi film. However, this album departs from his previous rage music and really dives deep into the dystopia. The instrumentals of the album are different from previous works, they highlight the atmosphere of the whole album concept and flow into each other to create the vibe of the year 2093. Yeat had previously worked with the producer BNYX often, BNYX only produced one song on this album and had produced eight on his previous album. On 2093 however, Yeat opened up and collaborated with all new producers allowing him to pursue a new sound, something more instrumental. There truly is no music like Yeat's on the charts right now, and this album brings on even more experimental and new-sounding music, which is extremely exciting.
This album may also be considered a break from the kind of "tik-tok" or mainstream music, as many musicians are turning to social media for approval. A lot of today's music has a repetitive chorus or a uniform sound. I didn't think that was evident with 2093, and I liked how unique a different marketing strategy was. Yeat has been spotted wearing a black mask most of the time since his career began, peaking in 2020–2021. In 2093, the balaclava was removed, suggesting the possibility of a new chapter or a changing strategy in either his music or marketing. This, in my opinion, is also related to his growing self-assurance in both himself and his music, which is evident in the way that both his appeal and output are growing.
A 2093 DEEP DIVE
Personally, I think the best song in 2093 is easily "Breathe", it has a bit of that classic Yeat "rage" sound but mixed with the catchy chorus, deep vocals and a strong beat, it's a great hype song. The song is about Yeats's unapologetic attitude towards his fame and his haters and even uses a regular show sample. Unfortunately, I can't drive... but if I could I would want to drive to this song. Besides "Breathe" the songs "Psycho CEO", "Keep Pushin" and "If We Being Rëal" stand out to me. I like the "Keep Pushin" instrumental, and honestly, many of the songs have awesome instrumentals. "If We Being Rëal" kind of gives a DUNE vibe which easily ties into the goal of the sci-fi/dystopia energy Yeat is going for. "Psycho CEO" is a super strong opening to the album, it reveals the atmosphere of the album right away and showcases some of the best producing and rapping on the entire record. It's aggressive and confident but it works.
Now, this seems to be an unpopular opinion of this album but I am not the biggest fan of "ILUV", it just doesn't have that same hype or future-dystopia vibe as the rest of the songs on 2093 and I think it gets annoying pretty quickly. It's repetitive, like a lot of the music but I don't think it flows into the rest of the record as much as the other songs do. It takes me out of dystopian fantasy. I've heard others critiquing the second half of the album being weaker, which I don't necessarily agree with. I think the best feature on the album is Future on "Stand on It" which is later on the album, though the rest of the features are pretty weak. The Drake feature isn't bad but for such a hyped-up collaboration I found it a bit boring and weirdly advertised. The second half of the album features more emotionally vulnerable songs with Yeat talking about his issues of wanting to be alone and dealing with substance abuse. It's a deep dive into his emotions, which is a great change from his previous non-sober writing.
OUTRO
I love concept albums, so even though this isn't my favourite Yeat record or perhaps the best example of a concept album in rap, I still think Yeat's concept and execution on the 2093 album are great. It's a solid album, with excellent writing, production, and performance. I believe that the reason the album's excitement was so high was because it shows a new, more confident and emotional side to the artist. It also says goodbye to his prior sound and image. A lot of the 2093 songs are really exciting and enjoyable to listen to, but they also do a great job of transporting me to this dystopian future. And though AftërLyfe is still likely my favourite Yeat album, 2093 was not a letdown and has me excited for more music in the future. Despite some of the tracks not being as consistent on the album and the features not being that outstanding, Yeat's 2093 is a step forward and attracts all fans of rap. With some of the biggest names in music working together and promoting 2093, this album further demonstrates the industry's admiration and approval of the young artist.
Article by Guest Contributor Klara Vadaszi - You can find more of Klara's work by visting https://www.ks-corner.com or clicking here
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