ALBUM REVIEW: YoungBoy Never Broke Again - I Rest My Case

    YoungBoy, outside of being the one rapper that consistently appears on Twitter when one of his fans inevitably replies "YB better" to any rap-related tweet, has pretty much existed throughout his entire career as a trap artist. Of course, it seems like trap is starting to finally die out - with the release of Carti's Whole Lotta Red three years ago now (Jesus, that long?), rage is becoming the new purveying trend in rap, for better or worse. Why do I mention this? Because I Rest My Case is mostly filled with beats that lean heavily into the rage trend that was effectively invented by Carti, with hints of trap scattered throughout this project. It shouldn't surprise you that I Rest My Case effectively plays like a shitty ripoff of Carti and his associates, with nearly every generic beat sounding the same as the last and feeble lyrics from YoungBoy - this is the guy that people insist is "better"? I Rest My Case plays like shitty independent DatPiff music rather than a major release by a major artist.

    As previously mentioned, YoungBoy embraces many elements of the increasingly popular rage movement in rap - take the trap drums and throw some aggressive buzzing synths over it and you essentially have every single beat on this album. Just swap out the verses and rhymes that YoungBoy is bringing to the mic and you have yourself I Rest My Case - chances are anyone reading this very review could make this album in like a week or two. It's not a good sign when the production is fucking ass - while the synths and "energy" are there, the drums are incredibly flat, to the point where they essentially leave no impact. This is pretty much a running theme throughout the entire record, and it castrates every single song. With the beats being as repetitive and flat as they are, the project feels like a real slog to get through, as every single song ends up bleeding into the next - good luck telling which is which. The only thing keeping any cohesion or flow between the album is the three incredibly stupid skits. To give any credit where almost none is certainly do, they at least keep SOME cohesion throughout - if I had to name a favorite, it would be "I Love YB Skit," because it meant that I was almost done with the album.

    Still, if YoungBoy put the slightest effort into making any of his ideas sound like more than clones of his contemporaries, maybe it could be salvaged somewhat. This is the part where I tell you that pretty much everything on this record sounds like a Clover Valley Playboi Carti - the vocal inflections, the aforementioned feeble beats. The result is assuredly uninteresting and lacking in any distinguishing qualities from whatever the fuck his contemporaries are doing. Because so much of the album is as bland and tasteless as it is, no moment is particularly worse than the next outside of the horrid "Bitch Yeah." Combine all the vapid and boring qualities with some shit lyrics and you get "Bitch Yeah."

    2023 is off to a hell of a start indeed. YoungBoy certainly delivers, but along the way he must've forgot to deliver the goods. I Rest My Case is the definitive proof that simply chasing trends will not result in a good or appealing product. This time last year, we were getting Dawn FM as the first major release of the year, and as much as I think it wasn't the greatest record of the year, I'm certainly wishing for that over whatever the fuck this is. Whole lotte eh.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to I Rest My Case.