Young Thug Essentials

Gloriously weird in his delivery, Atlanta singer/rapper Young Thug is well known for bending his voice in spontaneous fashion. Those vocal quirks were apparent from the start: just listen to the many swerves he makes during 2015’s “Check”, his first platinum-selling solo single, or his work with Travis Scott and Quavo on 2016’s oddball smash “pick up the phone”. Thankfully, mainstream audiences have embraced his scene-stealing stylistic flourishes, whether on 2019’s “The London” and “Hot”—both plucked from his studio debut So Much Fun—or his formative mixtapes. Yet Young Thug also knows when to dial back his eccentricities, as when he raps against a nostalgic loop from Elton John’s “Rocket Man” on 2018’s wistful “High” or croons about Coachella and family life on 2023’s spacy “From a Man”. For someone who commands the spotlight so easily, he has worked with prolifically with others, yielding memorable teamups with Drake, Future and repeat collaborator Travis Scott over the years. From his ever-changing hair colour and wardrobe to his vocal detours and surreal lyrical imagery, there’s never a dull moment in the Thugger camp.