Written by Matt Slocum
After releasing collaborative project Slime Language 2 in April, Young Thug has already started the rollout for his upcoming project Punk, set for release on 15 October.
Thug is one of the most consistent artists in hip hop today, with 25 projects in his discography at this point in his career. He’s won a Grammy and has collaborated with some of hip hop (and music’s) biggest names. From dropping separate joint projects with Future and Chris Brown, to working and be-friending Elton John, Young Thug continues to gain the respect of his peers. He always finds ways to innovate and evolve, and you should expect nothing less on his upcoming record. Punk is easily one of the most anticipated hip hop albums this year, despite huge names such as Kanye West, Drake, A$AP Rocky and Travis Scott all set to release projects before 2021 is up.
He’s 10 years into an incredibly stacked career, but he may be about to drop his best project yet.
‘Punk’
This month has been big for Jeffery. He debuted a new song called ‘Tick Tock’ at Rolling Loud Miami, which will feature on Punk. He then featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. In this performance, he played four songs from his upcoming album and also wore merch which promoted the album’s release date in October. Thugga was also featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.
After the release of his number 1 and first studio album So Much Fun in August 2019, Thugga announced his follow up project Punk, which was set to drop later that year or early 2020. After Slime Language 2 debuted at number one earlier this year, Thug will look to follow this success with his highly anticipated second solo album.
Expect a much different Thug on Punk, and prepare to learn a lot about him. Thug said in an interview with The FADER in 2019 that Punk will be more about “real life”. Thug explained that Punk would be a very personal album. He defined the term Punk as not just a style of music, but being “brave, and authentic”.
For Young Thug, an artist who refuses to be put in a box, Punk is a very fitting way to describe him. One thing is for sure, he is one of the most interesting, influential, and revolutionary artists in music today. Different is something Thug has always been. Whether it’s his fashion or music, he can’t help but stand out from the crowd. From posing naked on the cover of 2015’s Barter 6, to wearing a dress on the cover of his next release JEFFERY, Thug has done it all. Punk should follow suit, as he has well and truly already lived up to the name.
While there is no official track list as of right now, it’s likely that close collaborators such as Gunna and other YSL members will appear on his album. There has been speculation that iconic Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker may be involved with Punk, as he featured in the NPR home concert to offer a different version of Thug’s hit ‘Ski’. This would also make sense given the title of the album.