Steve 'Flash' JuonOver the last 12 months the term “yeet” has gained an even bigger presence in mainstream culture than it already had in rap music. Professional wrestlers are now using it in their promos and selling t-shirts emblazoned with the word. If you’re late to the phenomenon it means “excitement” or “reckless abandon” in a celebratory manner; also, it can mean to toss something high into the air without regard to where it falls or if it lands safely. It’s easy to see how the two definitions overlap and why it was a word almost tailor made for wrestling. Tossing people high in the air with little concern for them landing safely is routine in a match. It is of course an illusion since good wrestlers actually care greatly about the well being of their opponents — the trick is pretending you don’t to make viewers believe it.
Yeat is performing a similar trick on “2093.” He already spent a significant part of his last album that he didn’t care about his fans, social media trends, critics, or the internet in general. It always sounds cool to say you’re so above the fray you don’t give a fuck about anything anyone has to say. The lead single “U Should Know” sees Yeat trying again to convince us he’s too cool for the haters and the listeners alike. The video may put even more effort into it than the lyrics.
“I know you say you know me
I know you know you think we different
I know you think you gettin a lot of money
You don’t got no women
I know you say you got them finest cars
You ain’t got no engine”
Personally I don’t care if Yeat is the coolest guy in the room or not — all I care about is if the songs on “2093” are worth listening to. With at least three (possibly four) different versions of the album being released that is harder to discern than you’d think. Fortunately most of them have the same lineup save for a bonus track or two. For example the Synthetic, Fendii, Aywhat produced “Lifestylë” featuring Lil Wayne is on every version that I can find, and it’s a guaranteed banger.
To its credit “2093” spends a lot of energy trying to convince us this is the far off future from at least the production standpoint. This trick was so convincing that at first I didn’t even realize “Breathe” was built on a sample from Regular Show. If Bart How and Star Boy were going to pick from any surreal cartoon that seems like it could be from an alternate sci-fi future (anthropomorphic animals, talking gumball machines, vaporous cloud girlfriends) they chose the right one.
In fact Yeat’s album spends so much time being too cool for the room that guest stars like Future on the GeoGotBands produced “Stand On It” really aren’t necessary. Perhaps his own lyrics aren’t either? “Sit, like a mutt, yeah yeah, sit, you a bitch.” “You can suck my dick, I don’t give no fuck about this shit.” It’s pretty obviously a trope for Yeat at this point that he wants you to know he doesn’t care at all. He could have just looped Big Sean saying “I don’t, give a, fuck about you or anything that you do.”
It’s also a trope for me to mention pro wrestling in reviews every now and then, but even without comparing Yeat to Jey Uso it was irresistible to bring it up for “2093.” I enjoyed this album the same way I enjoy a pay per view (or “premium live event” as they are now called) — with my full suspension of belief on that I don’t already know the outcome nor that the performers aren’t aware of it either. They may improvise moves on the fly. They may even “call an audible” if someone gets hurt and change the finish of a match if needed. Otherwise though it’s all sleight of hand to make it feel as real as possible even though it’s predetermined. Yeat’s sleight of hand is to make us think he doesn’t care if we enjoy his music or not, but he’s trying so hard here there’s no doubt that he really does give af. Aside from leaning too hard into the baller and misogynistic cliches “2093” is a solid listen.