Few can compete with the cultural infatuation earned by Young Thug over the past few years. The Atlanta rapper garnered the respect of influential leaders such as Gucci Mane and Birdman, all while releasing a steady stream of well-received projects marked by his eccentric and captivating presence. Off-kilter enough to be lauded for his experimental approach and boasting a charismatic persona worthy of widespread attention, Young Thug is an artist who steers his ship through self-conjured storms and comes out without a drop of rain on his vibrant attire. His animated and vibrant style shined on 2015 releases such as Barter 6 and Slime Season 1/2, but while fans were highly anticipating Slime Season 3 a few weeks back, Thugger ditched his freshly paved path of consistency and threw us a curveball, saving SS3 for a later date and dropping a different collection of records titled I’m Up. The project may be slightly disappointing for those seeking a gargantuan body of work with a new batch of buzz-worthy singles, but I’m Up succeeds in its brevity and offers a nice appetizer as we await Thug’s forthcoming, and more high profile, albums.
Not surprisingly, it does not take long for Young Thug to hit his stride on I’m Up with its intro track “F Cancer” (feat. Quavo) being a perfect example of Thugger’s polarizing nature. Those expecting a song revolving around the evil disease are met with lines such as ‘Ok it’s bath time just like a birdie, I cop a foreign I pull of a skrting’ with Thug’s flow navigating the upbeat production with an expertise of Rey Mysterio on the ropes of a wrestling ring. Rather than wallow in the perils that come with cancer, Thugger pays homage to Boosie in a celebratory fashion and depicts how life is to be enjoyed after overcoming the odds. The infectious record proves to be a clear highlight and it effectively sets the tone thematically for I’m Up, a concise collection revolving around fellowship and how Thug will always look out for those who he considers to be family.
Unlike previous Thug projects, this concept noticeably manifests itself due to I’m Up limiting itself to nine tracks. The benefits of the approach are apparent as Thug hones in on camaraderie amongst his troops through a diverse set of varying song structures and sonic atmospheres. Tracks such as “My Boys” (a collaboration between Thug, Ralo, Lil Durk, and Trouble) and “King TROUP” (dedicated to a fallen friend of Thug and respected representative of Atlanta’s rap community) are reflectively composed in comparison to energetic affairs like “For My People”, which thrives thanks to its lively instrumentation warranting a ‘dance around the wildfire’ type of gathering. Young Thug’s ability to alter his delivery to best fit his wisely selected production is well-documented and this quality continues to redefine itself on the tape. Released in not-final form last year, faithful Thug listeners should be overjoyed with the inclusion of the Metro Boomin-produced “Hercules” on the project. Providing a proper home for the never-ending set of vocal cadences Thugger has in his arsenal, it’s fair to envision Thug recklessly climbing up the ranks of hip-hop’s Mt. Olympus as the common people below pray to the gods for the official Metro Thuggin joint project.
However, there are some understandable grievances one can air about I’m Up. For a project clocking in at 38 minutes, the mixing and sequencing are not quite up to par and seem to have been completed hastily. Despite the downfalls that commonly arise with unpredictable roll-outs, Young Thug’s money making motivations and dedication to family prevail throughout the tape, especially on closer “Family”, on which Thug raps alongside his sisters Dora and Dolly about their shared viewpoints of the grind and how blood relations are the only superseding the green faces. Consistency isn’t the first word that comes to mind when describing Young Thug’s music, but placing constant attention on this idea of family ties gives us a comforting level of assurance while we are willingly pulled into a musical expedition dominated by sporadic yet pleasurable tendencies.
With fitting guest features and no songs sticking out as glaring missteps, Young Thug leaves us little reason to harshly critique a somewhat spur of the moment project other than the sequencing/mixing. Backed by production that succeeds due to its sheer force rather than cohesiveness and holding onto the raw, distinctive qualities which levitated his rise within the genre, Thug delivers another fine effort on I’m Up and there is still room to grow because of his naturally limitless artistic makeup. This tape won’t be looked upon as a groundbreaking body of work in his catalog and it certainly wasn’t what people were expecting. But there has never been anything predictable about the Atlanta rapper, and discovering joy amidst the chaos is a vital aspect of Thug’s appeal as we wait on more impactful music from the enigmatic artist.
Repeatable: “F Cancer”, “Hercules”
Skippable: “Special”
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