''Kyoto'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

. It was released on February 16, 2018, by

Last Kings Records Last Kings Records is an independent record label. It was founded by American recording artist Tyga in 2015 after a dispute with his former label, Cash Money Records. In 2017, Tyga signed a multi-million dollar deal with EMPIRE to distribute th ...

and

Empire Distribution EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vario ...

. The album features guest appearances from 24hrs,

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

, Kyndall and

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

Background

Tyga announced the album's release date and cover art on January 22, 2018, via his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. The rapper has teased that the album will be a departure from his rapping style and will be more of a singing focused album and personal than his previous works:

Artwork

The cover art for the album was illustrated by Japanese artist

Hajime Sorayama is a Japanese illustrator known, along for his design work on the original Sony AIBO, for his precisely detailed, erotic portrayals of feminine robots. He describes his highly detailed style as "superrealism", which he says "deals with the tec ...

. It features a fully nude

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

-woman, posing in a provocative manner, over a background made off

Japanese flag The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red circle at its center. This flag is officially called the , but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising S ...

. The artwork was met with negative receptions from general public and critics alike, who called the image "vulgar" and "disrespectful" to

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

Singles

''Kyotos

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

"Boss Up" was released on October 4, 2017. The second single "Temperature" was released on December 22, 2017.

Critical reception

The album received negative reviews from music critics. Scott Glaysher of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' said that "''Kyoto'' proves that Tyga should stick to rapping" and that "His fearlessness is commended but on the scale of experiment albums, ''Kyoto'' is much closer in quality to

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

’s forgettable ''

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * ''The Re ...

'' album than to

Kanye Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ear ...

’s striking ''

808s & Heartbreak ''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studi ...

''". '' Crack'' writer Chris Kelly criticized Tyga's vocal performance and his songwriting reviewing the album, saying that "For all his talk of “singing”, Tyga sometimes struggles to sustain the melodies, sounding unsure himself about whether or not this was a good idea. Never particularly skilled as a lyricist, here he provides plenty of cringe-worthy moments". Torii MacAdams of ''

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'' said that the album is a "quasi-introspective R&B album" and "suffers from an almost total lack of imagination".

Track listing

Credits adapted from BMI.

Charts

References

Tyga albums 2018 albums Empire Distribution albums Concept albums {{2010s-hiphop-album-stub