The only purpose these tracks serve is to showcase an expensive sound system, not a talented rapper.
“Killa,” “Letter,” and the Ciara-featuring single “We Can Get It On” all observe those rules to a greater or lesser extent, effectively reducing Yo Gotti to a supporting role, where he can inject a harsh physical presence into a free-standing production that would otherwise feel too anonymous. The few worthwhile songs on Live from the Kitchen replicate that formula, lacing pitched-up vocals around his barks and mutters, then looping some kind of vocal sample for a hook. Yo Gotti’s best single to date is “Women Lie, Men Lie,” where he’s carried along by a surging beat and a hypnotic hook. His flow is solidly in the “functional” tier of similarly street-oriented rappers like Wacka Flocka and Young Jeezy, but he’s at an even greater deficit of charisma than either. And as easy as it is to admire the MC’s drive, you can’t exactly say the major labels were wrong to pass on him year after year. Naturally, patience is where the Memphis-based rapper’s saint-like qualities begin and end: He’s a rapper in the mold of Too $hort and Bun B, and he’s as likely to brag about his prowess as a coke slinger as he is to give an X-rated account of his last visit to the strip club. Yo Gotti has weathered his benchwarmer status with dogged persistence, releasing four independent albums and eight mixtapes over the last decade, turning in dutiful cameos whenever rap superstars beckoned, and then going back to his grind in the Southern gangsta scene.
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