Since Young Thug was released from jail at the end of last year, he’s been in the news for everything but music.
From leaked jail calls, sneak dissing his industry friends, to police interrogations where he appears to be snitching, the Grammy-winning artist’s behavior had fans begging for him to get back to music.
But honestly, most Thug fans wouldn’t have been so eager if they knew the product would be this lackluster.
On Friday, Thug finally answered the calls for new music with his fourth studio album, “UY SCUTI,” named after one of the largest stars in the known universe. The 20-song album features a few of Hip-Hop’s household names, including Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Cardi B and Travis Scott.
But despite taking his time to release the record, it still feels rushed and directionless.
The project lacks cohesion or a consistent theme, and some of Thug’s decisions reek of rage bait.
If the album cover picturing Thug with white skin and blue eyes wasn’t enough, he introduces the project with “Ninja,” where he repeatedly spams the “hard R” for the last 30 seconds of the song,ruining a great start to the album and overshadowing the entire tracklist.
Thug fans are used to these antics. On the cover of “Barter 6,” he’s naked, and on “Jeffery,” he’s wearing a dress.
But those antics were followed by whimsical flows, emotional verses and experimental production.
“UY Scuti” is laden with uninspired melodies, out-of-place features and tame beat selection.
However, the album isn’t terrible; it has its highlights.
Thug attempts to be vulnerable on tracks like “Catch Me I’m Falling,” “Blaming Jesus” and “Sad Slime,” where he details the mental struggles he went through during his time in jail.
The rapper speaks of feeling trapped in prison, being hurt after his co-defendants cooperated with prosecutors and regretting being unfaithful to Mariah the Scientist, his longtime partner.
While the songs don’t necessarily evoke emotion from the listener, at least he’s singing about topics of substance–something that can’t be said for most of the project.
Thug is also fairly aggressive on a few songs, bringing an energy that’s desperately needed.
The artist showcases his bravado and exudes confidence on tracks such as “Ninja” (before the unnecessary slurs), “Yuck,” “Pardon My Back” and “I’m So Dope”.
These tracks and a few others do their best to elevate the project, but it ultimately grades out as mediocre and a far cry from projects like “So Much Fun,” “Beautiful Thugger Girls” or “Slime Season 3.”
After months of waiting for Thug to stop aimlessly tweeting about rats and snitching, I can confidently say the album wasn’t worth the wait.
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