Graphic courtesy of Geffen Records
Tae Hong
Columnist
2 Alivë, Noah Oliver Smith’s highly anticipated latest album was released Friday, February 18th. The same day, the album reached #1 in the world on Apple Music charts. This would be his fourth album in the past year as well as his second studio album. These are my first thoughts on some of the tracks.
Outsidë ft. Yung Thug, prod. Bass Charity, Supah Mario:
“Pullin up in tonkas we learned just how to finesse”
When I first listened to this song, I thought the melody of the bells sounded like something in the Hamilton soundtrack, or from Disney Channel. Although Yeat’s use of the bells in his 808s is iconic, it was overused in this track. Despite this, I felt the beat was very melodic and pop-y though, and it’s growing on me. I think at first listen, some people would be put off, but I really like Thug’s verse. It was super smooth, and I feel like this collaboration unexpectedly worked really well.
“The new album has really good features like Young Thug who has good chemistry with Yeat and the rest of his discography,” he says junior Shoshana Liebowitz. Daniel Brown agrees. “I love the album because Yeat chose good people to collab with,” he adds.
Nvr again, prod. bart how, Trgc:
“Yea we gon ride around town luh geeky life we gon pull up and lurk”
This is the basic Yeat sound. Simple yet superior. The melody sounded really familiar and the beat is actually sampled from Ken Car$on’s “murder_mulisk,” a truly great song that makes this one even greater.
Luh gëek, prod. GeoGotBands:
“All my pockets lift weights”
Yes.
Rackz got më ft. Gunna, prod. Takado, Trgc:
“Let’s get it slatt slatt slatt slatt slatt slime”
Although both creators are cult favorites, my one critique would be I think Gunna’s flow doesn’t compliment Yeat’s as well as I anticipated. 7.2/10
Doublë, prod. Synthetic:
“My diamonds real pissy they potty”
This might be my favorite song so far. It is so cohesive, and every single sound goes together. It is consistent with my preferred type of music. Not to sound like a 14 year old boy, but it goes really hard.
Jus bëtter, prod. Lil Flexer, Dream Awake:
“eh ah eh ah”
The ad libs in the beginning made me laugh, but I liked the rest of the song. It has addictive lyrics. The whole song he raps about how he’s at the top of the game and better than everyone else. I’m not arguing.
Jump, prod. Starboyrob:
“Jump jump jump jump jump”
The beat really brings out and enunciates Yeat’s inflections. Not my favorite, however. I didn’t add this one to the playlist. I think this specific track shows how he is really trying to live up to the pressure that comes with his newfound fame. 5.4/10
Dnt lië, prod. Beats By Bangs:
“Why would I tell you to get in this GLE Tonka then swerve?”
At first instinct, I was going to say this song was mid, but then I thought about how I had been listening to Yeat for an hour, and I re-evaluated my thoughts, and it’s still mid. The rapper’s flow is smooth in this though, I appreciate that.
Narcoticz ft. Yung Kayo, prod. KeleWya, Synthetic:
“She got good knowledge”
I love Yung Kayo, and he pulled through with this one. I hope they collaborate more; YEET is one of my favorite Yeat songs as well. Also I really needed the switch up of the tempo in this song, it really makes the song feel floaty. There’s a line in the middle of the song that states, “Good college, she got good brain, she got good knowledge,” which I feel like is taken from that TikTok song called, “Want Me” by cl4ppers. It was made by a little kid and the line in his song states, “Bad lil’ b*tch, she givin me knowledge, shawty real fine and she go to college” if you know the song I’m talking about.
Call më, prod. malikai, Rision:
“I ain’t reading all these texts, baby, you need to call me”
One of the artist’s more “wholesome” songs. He raps about how he wants his girl to call him instead of texting him too much. It is truly a love song. Additionally, I feel like this song has an Uzi type rhythm, especially in the intro.
Kant dië, prod. Trgc, Frankie Bash:
“Couldn’t decide if I put on the jacket or I put on the Ricks”
This song doesn’t miss. The beat reminds me of P’ierre Bourne and a nostalgic summertime.
Gëek high ft. Ken Car$on, prod. Skimayne, Flansie:
“I’m gettin’ too much money, you know I can’t lose”
I have been waiting for this song. Ken Car$on is a favorite of mine, and the song lived up to my expectations. Ken is great on this track. My one criticism of this song is that it wasn’t long enough, I wanted it to keep going. I needed a longer Ken feature too. It’s okay though, I can just listen to it on repeat.
Smooktobër, prod. Arman Andican, F1lthy:
“My wifey say she love me, I bought her a Birkin”
What is with the title of this song? It sounds so goofy. The actual music content makes up for it though. It is produced by one of my favorite producers of all time- f1lthy.
Unfortunately for me, 2 Alivë doesn’t top Up 2 Më (a revolutionary collection of masterpieces), but then again I’m not sure any of his albums ever will. But overall, it was an album that met up to the hype it cultivated, which is a hard thing to do, especially with his rise to fame on TikTok. Part of the attraction to this creator is his unique approach to just about everything. From his intimidating music, to his style, to the Spëlling of his titlës, he surely catches the eyes of anyone who encounters his work. It makes it difficult to take seriously though. Additionally, for me personally, there are no skips. As for lyrical content, it was pretty typical Yeat writing, but I noticed in many of the songs in this album he referenced his feelings of mistrust. Moreover, after listening to these songs for over two hours, I came to the obvious conclusion that many of his lines are very repetitive, not only in this album, but throughout his discography. But I think that’s part of his one-of-a-kind style: a genre of music barely understandable, with made up vocabulary, and spacey 808s. Beautifully done album Mr. Smith, thank you for blessing us with this release.
