First, Lil Yachty spent a year doing so-so Michigan rapper cosplay. Then he moved on to his Tame Impala wannabe vanity project. Now, his next racket is a rap crew. That group is Concrete Boys, a five-member collective that, with Yachty as their frontman, includes the rappers Camo!, Draft Day, Karrahbooo, and Dc2trill (the latter is from Texas, and the only one of the five without any ties to Atlanta). In the last few months, the clique has formally introduced themselves with a string of pretty music videos, a viral On the Radar freestyle, and color-coordinated photo shoots. All of these efforts have led up to their debut compilation album It’s Us Vol. 1, where they seem to be presenting themselves as a modern-day version of the kind of rap crews who would have had a spread in a mid-’90s issue of The Source. That homage is loose and mostly sartorial instead of musical: On the album cover, the five are dressed in vintage Polo Sport and Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland boots, and jean shorts—outfits that make them look like they’re extras in Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
It’s Us Vol. 1 has much less of an identity than Concrete Boys’ fit pics. Their thing is that they’re cool, I guess. That wouldn’t be a problem if the music itself oozed cool. The album just doesn’t do that. In fact, the main appeal is that it’s an innocuous, easy-listening collection of songs—perfect to throw on in the background while you chat with your friends or pass time on your commute. Like Drake, Yachty has become an expert at dissecting and shaving the rough edges off regional and internet sounds. Here, he’s streamlined the highly collaborative, shit-talking spirit he picked up in Michigan, giving that style a neater, smoother, and more widely accessible sheen (If you’ve wished for music with the structure of Michigan rap, but with less chaos, then this is for you). For instance, the tape is heavy on punchline-based rhyming, but the bars are fairly tame and only mildly clever. And there are a decent number of beats that bring to mind the chill bounce of Detroit producer Topside’s instrumentals for Baby Smoove and Babyface Ray, except they’re not as funky (see: “Playa Walkin”). One way or another, it’s hard to get worked up about this music.
Each member of Concrete Boys has their moments. Draft Day has the most memorable voice of the crew, like he’s rapping with strep throat. It’s best in spurts, but when he pops back in on “2 Hands 2 Eyes 10 Whips/Rent Due” for a second verse after a hardened beat switch-up, his strained vocals reach Lil Wop levels, which gives the song an energy boost. Camo! is the most anonymous of the bunch—not sure what’s going on with that Jersey club flip of Pinegrove he sings over on the intro—but he can sometimes drift into a Lil Wayne-influenced zone of wisecracks. “Put my fingers inside her holes, I’m tryna bowl you,” he spits on “Hit Diff.” That’s about as funny as he gets. Dc2trill is the clique’s smooth-talker; he’s decent at it, gliding with a Curren$y-like ease on the jazzy “My Life.” Yachty is pretty much on autopilot, but he seems to have a good time when he raps with Karrahbooo. Surprisingly, her bored, deadpan flow on highlights like “Where Yo Daddy?” and “Not Da 2” has a way of making pretty simple flexes and quips stick.
It’s Us Vol. 1 mostly works as a launchpad for Karrahbooo; she’s the only one of the bunch who will leave you wanting to hear a solo mixtape. The video for their On the Radar cypher—the recording of which is included on the tape—is a solid glimpse at that potential. For four and a half minutes, the boys spit inoffensive and fine-enough verses that eventually blend together over a hypnotic, naked sax sample. It’s all build-up for the final minute, where the song really comes alive. There, Karrahbooo takes the floor, as the skittering Michigan drums kick in and her unbothered, sleepwalking flow elevates a show-offy trip down memory lane: “I was sellin’ lemonade while y’all would double dutch/I used to scam, I used to trap, I never cuddled much.” In that minute, you almost forget anything that came before her verse—aside from the fact that the guys had on nice outfits.
