Missed opportunity for a [4] Loko pun…
[Video]
[5.50]
Alfred Soto: YG going mariachi? It’s better than expected, but it’s a hook adrift, a song in sight but far enough away.
[6]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: YG going full mariachi is better in theory than in practice, but the practice is pretty fun too — he seems much more comfortable here than on last year’s Stay Dangerous, and the production is the most inexplicably beautiful thing I’ve listened to this year. As for the guests, they mostly cancel each other out, with Tyga’s smooth skeeviness and Jon Z’s chaotic energy acting as counterweights to YG’s poise.
[7]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Instrumentation so delicate and exquisitely mixed that even the bedspring sound effects end up being tasteful. YG and Tyga blend right in, but the second half of Jon Z’s verse takes one out of the song’s humid atmosphere. Thankfully, the extended instrumental break brings one back into a transfixed state. I feel prepared for 2019’s upcoming heat waves.
[6]
Will Adams: A fine production from Mustard (apart from those damn bed squeaks) that recalls the humidity and moodiness of “Havana.” YG and Tyga are also fine, but their subdued energy is too in line with the track; only when Jon Z shows up does the song approach something dynamic.
[6]
Taylor Alatorre: This is really just Mustard showing off that he can turn a mariachi guitar line into a Mustard beat, in case you were thinking that he couldn’t. Even if he’s only interested in the surface-level aspects of Mexican music, as evidenced by the placement of a Puerto Rican rapper on the track, it’s integrated so seamlessly into his production style that it avoids coming across as a gimmick. The sex-obsessed rapping ranges from passable to forgettable — let Tyga’s verse disabuse anyone of the notion that he’s actually sorta good now — but that can be forgiven on a track that’s more about easing you into its atmosphere than generating verbal heat.
[6]
David Moore: Mustard at least dependable here, YG less so, with the combination of pretty guitar figure and tired sex boasts making this sound a little like a demo for an unfinished beat. (Jon Z has a bit of fun with it.) There’s plenty of authentic YG/Mustard alchemy on the new album, though; try “In the Dark.”
[5]
Julian Axelrod: In 2016 YG and Sadboy Loko released “Blacks and Browns,” an imperfect but impassioned screed against the evils ingrained in America and their effects on black and Latino bodies. That latter part was important; the dearth of mainstream Latino rappers made Sadboy’s scowled soul-searching feel like a revelation. Just three years later, YG released “Go Loko,” the musical equivalent of an ironic sombrero at a Cinco de Mayo brunch. It’s almost morbidly impressive how many tone-deaf Spanish signifiers YG stuffs into the song, from low riders to “mamacitas” to a goddamn Santana interpolation in the first two minutes. And while Sadboy offered a much-needed change in perspective, Jon Z’s verse only answers the question “Wait, so there’s a Latin trap Tyga?” Obviously I don’t need subtlety or political correctness from a YG song. He’s an artist who works with big, bold primary colors and occasionally finds deeper shades within. But it’s sad to see him go from the next Ice Cube to the next Sir Mix-A-Lot in just three years.
[3]
Iris Xie: I appreciate this song, because anyone who has pre-gamed with Four Lokos before going out for the night knows how much of a bad idea that is. (I learned from one night and that was enough. Why and how are they only $2.50?? And I had the caffeine-free version…) “Go Loko” is an extremely good sonic description of what kind of night that is — a cheesy, messy, trying-to-have-composure-when-you-have-none-but-you-will-still-try kinda night. The relaxed mix of Spanish-sounding guitar riffs and some cheesy stereotypical Latinisms create a song that would be suitable background filler at a random house party. But its true potential is not fulfilled — I absolutely would dig the censored version and what that would do to the song, because it reminds me of all the rap songs with constant blips and interruptions that would play from the loudspeakers during my high school lunch period. Overall, “Go Loko” is proficient for a sedate party song.
[5]