Before Yeat began making his ascent from a rising mixtape artist to one of the most label-chased MCs in the game, he shared 4L, a 2021 project that firmly established him as an exciting new voice in rap. The release is one last victory lap before his career really takes off with an Interscope deal. The bravado with which Yeat raps suggests the MC knew he was in for a massive payday even before he put pen to paper. Album opener “Tëslas & Rovers” features a beat that sounds like an alien remix of an early Jeezy song, with massive synths and pitched-up horns providing a brilliantly noisy backdrop for Yeat to break down the various riches that arrived with his instant success. “I fell in love with the yerkie, no, y'all not fly, y'all a turkey,” he raps, shouting out his drug of choice (Percocet or yerkie) while also making his grandparents’ generation proud by referring to his haters as turkeys. Yeat found massive success with this project, thanks to his ability to blend hyper-modern styles with a sly wink toward familiar cultures of yore—especially his embrace of modern and anachronistic lingo. On “Jus Wokëup,” saccharine-sweet melodies lead the way before Yeat comes charging into the foreground, beautifully melding his delivery with the playful synths and clanking hi-hats. He then name-drops commercial entities like they’re brand partners. But Yeat’s references are less calculating than that; on 4L, he is merely a narrator of the highs and lows of the modern world. Here, he offers his cultural takes and serves them up straight—without sugarcoating them or dousing them in vinegar.