Tyga 'Kyoto' review

Image: Tyga (credit)

Tyga has spent more time in the news for the wrong reasons of late. With more column inches taken up with tales of his personal life and relationship with Kylie Jenner than you can shake a stick at, his musical abilities have seemingly been pushed to the back seat.

This meant that his next effort had to capture everyone’s attention from the music itself even down to the risqué album artwork. Tyga hits the mark in his attempt to make something that would grab people’s attention, and this album certainly delivers on that front.

Having heard the opening track, ‘Temperature’ back in December it’s heavy use of autotuned and dancehall feel sets the tone for the album but came as no surprise. The punching bassline and upbeat production feels more like a Drake track than a Tyga one with the 'Rack City' rapper’s electronic vocals standing out above the jarred beats, an effective use of the studio technology at hand.

It will come as no surprise that the rapper may be drawing inspiration from his Canadian counterpart, Drake having both formally belonged to the Cash Money/Young Money enterprise together since 2009. Though they have had their differences it would be hard to not draw inspiration from the OVO rapper with his R&B style of hip-hop having dominated the charts for nearly a decade.

'Leather in The Rain' follows suit with the thumping bassline underlaying the tropical beat and almost EDM infused chorus. Featuring Kyndall’s soft vocals help compliment the minimalism of the track, but this sometimes leaves you wanting more from the Houston based singer.

The finest moments of Kyoto come from the Compton rapper’s more emotional tracks. Tyga has notoriously been a more aggressive artist, not being afraid to hold back with his harsh lyrics in the past. From this perspective this album is a refreshing change of pace with songs 'U Cry' and 'I Need A Girl Pt. 3' highlighting his more sensitive side to great effect.

There are several stand out features on the album but the inclusion of Atlanta’s most notorious rapper, Gucci Mane is a cut above the rest. The rawness of his lyrics and flow perfectly match the softer production on 'Sip A Lil' and provide those bars that help take the album into a different dimension.

Tyga has created an album more suitable for a club or Caribbean holiday soundtrack than anywhere else. The more lyrical Tyga that we saw on such albums as The Gold Album and Hotel California is very much missing from Kyoto but he deserves huge credit for his take on a new style.

Tyga comes to Manchester's Victoria Warehouse on Saturday 3rd March for a huge all nighter that also features Yungen, Fuse ODG ad heaps more - you ca find Tyga Manchester tickets below.