Young Thug is an ATLien.

February 17, 2016 2:45 PM

There’s nothing about Young Thug that’s not a paradox. He wears women’s Uggs but travels with AR-15’s everywhere he goes. He calls his friends, the same ones carrying the AR-15’s, “babe” and “lover” yet is from one of the toughest parts of Atlanta—the south side—where he is at once a hero and an outsider and a leader of the psychedelic fashion movement of rap hippies. Devin Friedman chases music’s most colorful enigma around the streets of Atlanta to answer one question: Exactly what planet is Young Thug from?
posted by gucci mane (39 comments total)

posted by gucci mane (0 comments total) [add to activity] [add to favorites] [!]

Eponysterical!
posted by Violet Hour at 2:47 PM on February 17, 2016 [6 favorites]

Exactly what planet is Young Thug from?

The same one as Bootsy Collins
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:56 PM on February 17, 2016

“You will never see bigger guns tucked into smaller pants.”

I'm generally not a fan of guns, but something about this scenario is wildly interesting to me.
posted by redsparkler at 2:58 PM on February 17, 2016 [3 favorites]

Favorite Young Thug tracks:

Raw (Might Just)
Peanut Butter Jelly

I'm kinda torn on Young Thug. I understand using your voice as a instrument such that your lyrics don't really need to make sense, and like some of his songs in small doses, but I don't understand the thugger stans who listen to him constantly. Makes me feel old.

Good post though, I'm super interested in hearing what other people have to say about him.
posted by yeahwhatever at 3:15 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Exactly what planet is Young Thug from?

Sol. And believe me, it gets much weirder than that down here.

Where's the author from?
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:46 PM on February 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm partial to Picacho (sic)
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:59 PM on February 17, 2016

My close friends and I are fans. There is just an aura about him--something so effortless about his artistry. I really felt like I was listening to something special when I first heard Barter 6. Perhaps it's a talent that one can ignore everything but the cadence and melody and mood of it without having to do the hard work of reconciling his words or his reality as a human being.

What I'm saying is that I am actively flushing my brain of this article in hopes of keeping my listening experience uninhibited.
posted by Don Don at 4:12 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

young gay black men are numerous here in Atlanta and the GSU campus in the heart of downtown is a mixture of either professional clothes, lazy college jammies, and super duper dressed up probably finished this piece this morning fashion students

I imagine he borrows cultural capital from everywhere. I mean, he comes from a city that's predominantly black. and I don't think black means a singular kind of culture like it does in suburban America. come ride the MARTA sometime, why don't you
posted by runt at 4:37 PM on February 17, 2016 [14 favorites]

I did a job with him in November. It was unpleasant.
posted by rock swoon has no past at 4:39 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

This covers some similar territory to this earlier profile though it takes it a little bit further. There are some good anecdotes in there and to be sure being a weirdo - being an artsy weirdo while also being from the streets - is part of Thugger's appeal but... I wish they sent somebody who knew or cared more about the music and the context of the music?

I like Young Thug. He's taking the Lil Wayne/Future direction in rap as far as it will go. He's not exactly a spectacular lyricist - though he has his charms - but he's something else a as vocalist.
posted by atoxyl at 4:43 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

I have an ongoing hope he'll hook up with an equally outre producer. I like some of the guys he works with now well enough but it's not that far out of the same trap mold as everybody else still.
posted by atoxyl at 4:53 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Sol. And believe me, it gets much weirder than that down here.

Arrgh. That's the system, not the planet, of course. It's weird how often I make that substitution.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:00 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

snuffleupagus: "Arrgh. That's the system, not the planet, of course. It's weird how often I make that substitution."

Yeah, I was thinking "Wait, he comes from the sun? No wonder he wears Uggs, he must find Atlanta freezing cold compared to home."
posted by Bugbread at 5:12 PM on February 17, 2016 [8 favorites]

Coldlanta?
posted by symbioid at 5:25 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Arrgh. That's the system, not the planet, of course. It's weird how often I make that substitution.

Except it's not. Like, really not. The Earth isn't "Gaia" either.
posted by Betelgeuse at 5:46 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

As an uncool dude in his 30's, let me opine: This also reminds me of the Chicago bop scene which is (was?) a bunch of super tough dudes rapping about the usual but against day-glo, neon-bright candy beats that wouldn't be out of place on a chiptune record. I'm obsessed.

Case in point: Sicko Mobb - Robin Jeans
posted by GilloD at 5:49 PM on February 17, 2016 [5 favorites]

Technically I wouldn't call any of these things paradoxes they are really cultural symbols that are normally associated with vastly different identities put into a new context and used to build a new identity
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:59 PM on February 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm such a Stan of this guy sometimes I feel bad. He's ruined me for other music. My friends were at first annoyed, now they are fans too but I'm still overdoing it. When is SS3 coming out?! I need more thugger!!!
posted by chaz at 6:05 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

His real name is Jeff. JEFF. He is 24 years old and six feet three inches tall but has the tiniest little feet, size 8.5, like someone had bound them when he was a child. A 26-inch waist. He eats almost nothing.

What in the actual fuck is wrong with the guys writing for GQ? In the past few years every single featured celebrity profile article I've read from them-- Adam Driver, Peter Dinklage, and now this shitshow on Young Thug-- has had the same kind of bizarrely intrusive, uncomfortably objectifying, super creeper tone, like they're reveling in how awkward their man-crushes on their interview subjects are and are trying to make them as uncomfortable as possible. Maybe it's some kind of toxic masculinity thing; they don't want to seem too ~gay even though they're writing pieces on the physical presence and careers of other men? "Like someone had bound them when he was a child"? ???? What even is going on here? I'm embarrassed reading this on behalf of both the subjects and the men conducting them; I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in a room with some of these writers. I wouldn't want to answer any of their questions either. How and when did this style evolve?
posted by moonlight on vermont at 6:52 PM on February 17, 2016 [10 favorites]

I don't know, m.o.v., but I've seen it around for a while--a recent retrospective of Winona Ryder's career that was written in much the same way reminded me that I'd read similar profiles of her back in the eighties, when she was still a teenager (and boy, wasn't that creepy).

As for this guy, he may be talented, but this profile makes him seem very much like any other flavor-of-the-month star who carefully cultivates an IDGAF attitude while being absurdly egotistical; the anecdote about "Thug and his sister almost caus[ing] a riot because a door wasn't opened for them at the Weeknd show"was telling.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:10 PM on February 17, 2016

I'm pretty sure it's the same guy who wrote the overwrought thing about Magic City (the Atlanta strip club). To me it's just like - of all their writers this is the guy who they think is most engaged with hip-hop/prepared to write about rapper?

As for this guy, he may be talented, but this profile makes him seem very much like any other flavor-of-the-month star who carefully cultivates an IDGAF attitude while being absurdly egotistical; the anecdote about "Thug and his sister almost caus[ing] a riot because a door wasn't opened for them at the Weeknd show"was telling.

So here's an odd artifact. A very short reddit AMA from someone identifying himself as "Young Thug" (from Atlanta) before the Thug we know really got famous. If it actually is the same guy it does kind of suggest that the persona is a bit of an act. But I mean come on, the clothes, the savant routine - a couple of people have told stories about him "drawing" his notes for songs instead of writing lyrics - do you really think he doesn't know he's cultivating his mystique? By the way I've seen several people say he's actually a pretty nice guy in person, if maybe a little withdrawn and not fond of the media. But then someone in this very thread claimed otherwise so I don't know.
posted by atoxyl at 7:30 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Just the week before, a former security guard had been assassinated in his home near downtown Atlanta. No sign of forced entry. Shot to the back of the head.

He might want to hire better security guys.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:30 PM on February 17, 2016

This is a pretty terrible profile of an admittedly enigmatic, insular musician. I'm not sure that it's worth writing a profile of someone like Thug, but then I don't subscribe to the "gotta know everything about this person" variety of hero worship. It's definitely not worth doing as a white middle class writer "out on assignment."

That said, Thug is the most creative "mainstream" musician today, though I'd accept arguments for Kanye. His lyrics aren't necessarily consistently deep - he sticks to his themes - but he strings together pretty out-there metaphors and punchlines that put him in his own class, imo. I would disagree with the GQ writer that he's unintelligible if you listen to him or other Atlanta rappers with any frequency.

His range, too is impressive. From the fatalistic but incredibly intimate "OD" to the payday anthem "Check" to the hyper hectic touching love of "That's All."

I've reconciled myself to the reality that Young Thug isn't for everyone, but I'm definitely glad he's alive and making music.
posted by MetalFingerz at 7:32 PM on February 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

Except it's not. Like, really not. The Earth isn't "Gaia" either.

Wait, you can't just say that and split! Is there a separate astronomical designation for the planetary system surrounding Sol? I thought systems were referred to by their stars, and thus '[the] Sol [system]' being one of many 'solar systems' or 'star systems' in various galaxies. Or, is it only our own local system that astronomers and astrophysicists ever bother to refer to specifically, and thus 'solar system' only ever means 'Sol's [planetary] system' and everywhere else we just have galaxies and planets?
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:33 PM on February 17, 2016

Keep in touch

Cos you're on garden food
And I'm on garden food
posted by jcruelty at 9:03 PM on February 17, 2016

Mov, women are creeped on like this by male journalists in their writing ALL THE TIME.
posted by brujita at 10:05 PM on February 17, 2016 [4 favorites]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but I don't really understand. Young thug has been arrested for cocaine posession, threatening a mall cop's life, and illegal possession of a firearm. He's been linked to a hitman who attempted to kill Lil Wayne. If you knew someone personally who had that kind of rap sheet, you likely would want nothing to do with them. So why is he being celebrated here? Not a bad faith question, genuinely curious.
posted by Philipschall at 11:05 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think his music is interesting. I'm not sure if it was the way the article was written or what, but it just sounded like he is the 24 year old boy that he is. Nothing more. That's sounds very normal for a 24 year old who is caught up in fame, drugs, and with a difficult background/childhood.
posted by Vaike at 11:24 PM on February 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Philipschall: "If you knew someone personally who had that kind of rap sheet, you likely would want nothing to do with them. So why is he being celebrated here? "

It's just the way Western culture related to art and music has developed. People will be very accepting of things in musicians that they wouldn't be accepting of in visual artists, and they are accepting of things in visual artists that they wouldn't be accepting of in architects, etc. etc. It's not really a hip-hop thing (though the crimes involved may differ by genre); go check out the Bowie thread, for example.
posted by Bugbread at 12:32 AM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

Wait, you can't just say that and split! ...

Our star is "The Sun."
Our planet is "The Earth."
Earth's moon is "The Moon."
Our system of planets and star is "The Solar System."
(ref)

I mean, Sol, Luna, etc. are Latin and unless the rest of your writing is in Latin (or you're a certain kind of science fiction author), there's no real reason to use the Latin names.
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:27 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thug drinks prescription cough syrup all day, takes Xanax, smokes marijuana, eats molly. Sometimes he does all of them at once. He rarely sleeps. A former friend said Thug would stay up for days, take lots of different kinds of drugs, then sleep for 24 to 48 hours.

I love it when articles pose the question "Why is Artist so odd, and what’s behind it?" and then throw something like this in as an aside.

Whatever else he has going on, I can’t fault the fashion. Maybe the music will grow into it one day.
posted by bongo_x at 11:33 AM on February 18, 2016

kind of bizarrely intrusive, uncomfortably objectifying, super creeper tone, like they're reveling in how awkward their man-crushes on their interview subjects are and are trying to make them as uncomfortable as possible. Maybe it's some kind of toxic masculinity thing; they don't want to seem too ~gay even though they're writing pieces on the physical presence and careers of other men? "Like someone had bound them when he was a child"? ???? What even is going on here?

...what? i'm 5'10 and my shoes are size 9 and they're kinda small, i would go as far as saying that 8.5 on a 6'3 guy is like, remarkably small. he's describing the dude's physique, he used a kind of strange comparison but in what way is that objectifying young thug? isn't the definition of objectification to reduce a body to a sexual object? he's just saying the dude is rail thin and has tiny feet across a couple of sentences. this reaction seems so hyperbolic that it comes off as parody or something to me.
posted by p3on at 11:40 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Violet Hour: Eponysterical!

The worst part about this is I got really stoned with my friend for the first time in forever and I don't remember posting this. I was browsing through metafilter this morning, read this article, went to look at the comments and just saw this and now I'm laughing. Ugh never again.
posted by gucci mane at 11:50 AM on February 18, 2016 [5 favorites]

Some supplemental material:

Young Thug reads the lyrics to Best Friend
posted by gucci mane at 11:57 AM on February 18, 2016

And yeah, this is a very weird profile. He makes Young Thug seem like a really unsavory character, but if you see the videos that he posts on Facebook and probably Snapchat if he has it, he seems like a really sweet, likeable guy. He posted a video earlier of him and a bunch of people at a playground and him saying "this is where it all began." Another video was of him being really cute wth the "on-again-off-again" girlfriend mentioned in the profile, which comes off as really aggressive to me, like the author is saying black men can't stick with a relationship, even though a lot of people have those types of relationships.

It's just important to realize people have their experiences and these inform their lives. He's an interesting person. Talented. How many more people out there are like that who haven't had a chance to "jump off the porch"?
posted by gucci mane at 12:01 PM on February 18, 2016

I can't quite even say "oh this is some exoticizing bullshit" because I'm pretty sure the guy does want to be perceived as otherworldly. It's just - the biographical stuff is affecting but nearly identical to what was gleaned in the Fader piece, and the "let's hope he keeps it together" angle of that one was least sympathetic. And while some of the anecdotes are good (and often endearing) I'm not sure the writer quite gets his subject. I mean, I haven't met Young Thug but between "nihilistic" or "fatalistic" or "emotionally armored" would you have chosen the first of those options to describe the man in this article?
posted by atoxyl at 1:39 PM on February 18, 2016

Bugbread: "People will be very accepting of things in musicians that they wouldn't be accepting of in visual artists..."

Ain't it the truth. See what happens every time Dave Sim's name gets mentioned around here...
posted by word_virus at 1:52 PM on February 18, 2016

And like I said there's a reason people get excited about him musically. Lil Wayne started this free-associative croaky-voice-through-autotune Atlanta rap thing and Future - abandoning all fucks about the line between rapper and singer - is its current commercial standard bearer. Well, Thugger's not as quite as clever lyrically as Wayne, and so far he seems like he might be a little... too much to sell as well as Future, but he's actually taking rapping itself to places nobody I know of - nobody as visible for sure - has taken it before. Everybody who's worked with him that I've seen interviewed says he has an exceptional musical sense and clarity of vision and obviously he has the drive to make 75+ songs a year right now. So I have high hopes that he's going to keep getting better.
posted by atoxyl at 1:54 PM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

RollingStone: French artist creates bizarre Young Thug biopic.
posted by Violet Hour at 3:16 PM on February 19, 2016