Jan 2, 2016 i just started a new blog. not sure how much time/effort i'll put into this, but hopefully i'll be able to attend to it regularly. for now, i wanted a home for this piece on Thug I wrote but wasn't able to get published before 2016. https://pelicanflyblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/young-thugs-secret-sauce-a-year-in-review-2015/ Young Thug’s “Secret Sauce” (A Year In Review: 2015) Posted on15 Minutes Ago by narsh94 Young Thug hates doing interview in the U.S. He believes that those in the states have an issue with, um, “honesty.” That we approach him with an agenda, rather than with the genuine curiosity that he greets us with. Therefore, in the span of a few brazen months (filled with sold out European tours, two mixtapes, a handful of music videos and a short-lived twitter beef for the ages) Thug has taken it upon himself to do his three most articulate and fleshed out interviews overseas. The most recent interview has him lamenting on everything from the internal strife he faces when having to discipline one of his children, to just how the f--- he has upwards of a 1,000 songs to his name — and yet one rarely ever sounds like the other. The first interview, from back in October, has him claiming him and Kanye West are from the same block on the same planet in a different galaxy — you know, that “new Earth” Nasa discovered back in July. Yet, the most interesting interview may have been the second one, for Mouv, which is also responsible for birthing his now infamous freestyle. The misunderstood genius of the freestyle aside (because that’s a whole ’nother piece waiting to happen), the interview is noteworthy seeing as how it was done entirely in French with a translator on board for the ride. Relaying messages about everything from Young Thug’s insightful breakdown of his impenetrably titled forthcoming debut album, Hy!£UN35, to the sounds his guns make (pew pew), the translator was the real MVP of the session. At one point, the hosts ask Thug what his secret is — his secret for just…everything. His creativity, his taste, his ability to draw from influences he’s never heard of and birth styles he’ll never use more than once. How does he seem to possess this innate sense of enlightenment? And his answer, translated wonderfully by the middle-aged French man next to him, was that he wouldn’t“spill the beans” because — if you remember Spongebob — there’s that “bitty little man always trying to steal the recipe.” He seems as serious as the search for real Actavis when he says “you know I got secret powers right?” And while he may not wish to spill the beans, as bewildered onlookers to the trail he’s been blazing as of late, we can sure try to pinpoint just what makes Young Thug such a driving force in hip hop at the moment. It’s impossible to reverse engineer his talent and that isn’t the goal of this exercise. The “secret sauce” to his recipe is not easily derived from just analyzing one or two tracks. However, the following five tracks are some of Young Thug’s most significant contributions to the genre in his most prolific year to date. Each track is easily accompanied by two more, proving that these moments of brilliance don’t exist in a vacuum — they’re the norm for Young Thug. These tracks not only reinforce his pure talent, they each represent a unique facet of his skill set. And with an arsenal like this, it’s no wonder Vince Staples thinks hip-hop isn’t ready for this man. (disclaimer: only officially released tracks were up for consideration). 1. Pop Sensibility Young Thug’s pop sensibility is understated because he never conforms to conventional norms. When handed the rambunctious template for “Pacifier” by Mike Will Made-It, Thug took the embedded wails and the soaring electric guitars and seemingly made an anthem for dads all over the world. In between rapping his a--- off, contemplating about why one’s own community may hate on him down the line (because they weren’t atin’ — oops, I meant eatin’), Thug cries out for a “pacifier” (for his babies, for his haters, for himself — who knows?). In between asking you to “shake your rumidi bum bum” and drinking out of a“baby bottle,” Thug takes a moment to fiercely ask us to “bleed the block…bleed the cops, bleed it, bleed it, bleed it, bleed it, bleed.” His ability to craft incessantly infectious hooks will only continue to make one of the most sought after artists in 2016. His natural talent sees him creating everything from tightly packaged bursts of adrenaline to sprawling anthems that warp the actual textbook definition of a “hook.” Although this particular track was actually dead on arrival, it’s pop sensibility cannot be denied. The fact that it wasn’t the hit it should have been says more about us as an audience than anything else. We are not worthy. Honorable Mentions: 2. Personality Despite what they may think of his music, I refuse to believe someone can legitimately hate this man after taking even a passing glance at his incredible origin story. He’s the youngest of eleven children (many of whom who have either been incarcerated or murdered), has six kids of his own (three boys and three girls — which is “perfection,”according to the man himself), and his best friends seem to be his two sisters and his mom (“Mama Duck”). Any hate you can throw this man’s way most likely stems from personal insecurities, above all. But that’s enough of me putting my behavioral neuroscience degree to use (for once). “Halftime,” aside from being a tour de force in technical rapping, is brimming with poignant self-awareness. Although a casual fan may have qualms about Thug’s diction, and that may create an understandable disconnect between him and said fan, when it clicks, it’s magical. It’s a world jam-packed with inside jokes and running gags, tongue in cheek references, and an unparalleled sense of self.“Got 100 million flat like my motherfuckin’ idol/I might eat it, I might lick it, but I swear i’ll never bite ‘em” he ruminates, offhandedly addressing every Lil Wayne/Young Thug clickbait article in existence, before boldly declaring that “every time I dress myself, it goes motherfuckin’ viral.” And he’s right — on all accounts. Honorable Mentions: 3. Vocal Range The atypical example for the range Young Thug possess would be “There’s Gonna Be (Good Times),” however, there’s nothing quite like Thug urging himself on during the bridge for “Raw (Might Just),” assuring himself of his talent, before letting out his next conflicted wail. “L-O-V-E” he proclaims at the start of the second verse and, for an instant, that word regains all the childlike wonder and mystique it carried back when we were still in grade school. Produced by Treasure Fingers, this track not only allows Thug to flex his vocals over foreign production, it gives him the space needed to be at his most whimsical, as well as his most endearing. Thug has often thanked God for this “weird voice,” but sometimes it feels like he’s leaving out the radioactive ooze he fell into as a kid — you know, the one that gave him these superpowers. Honorable Mentions: 4. Songwriting Although his material may seem haphazard to some, everything Young Thug does has been proven to be deliberate. Various interviews, coupled with in-studio footage, show Thug meticulously crafting each verse. He moves line by line, often times repeating a bar multiple times until he molds it into the surreal monster we come face to face with once we hit play. Each ad-lib is done with purpose, nudged a bit to the left or to the right until it finds its home in a previously undetectable pocket behind the main vocals. As far as content is concerned, “Flaws” is a prime example of Thug’s songwriting. “Baby I love you, in a house full of grown folk, baby I love you/I swear to God you’re my bread and butter/you can still be my all if the Feds destroy us,” declares Thug towards the end of the song — succinctly summing up the premise: underneath all the gambling, all the drinking and sipping and smoking, underneath even the cheating, Thug is a romantic. He offers himself up for those who are willing to accept him, “flaws and all.” Young Thug’s songs often times follow a standard structure, but they never feel anything less than organic. A Young Thug song can span multiple topics and touch on a platitude of emotions. At any given moment it can shift from rib-cracking humor to heartfelt poignancy with a whiplash inducing flourish. And that’s what makes all the jumbled ideas, themes, and feelings — his execution. His songwriting should result in the audio equivalent of a Jackson Pollock drip painting and, to many it is, but there’s a method to the abstractness. Because for every sonic drip painting we get it (see: “I Swear To God”), we get 3 clear-cut, insightful, narrative-driven tracks such as the ones showcased here. Honorable Mentions: 5. Versatility The final feather in Young Thug’s high-end fedora is his versatility. From the type of production he can inhabit (what other rapper could treat “Constantly Hating,” “There’s Gonna Be (Good Times),” and “Pacifier” like his playground?), to his content, Young Thug is an enigma. He is pure, unfiltered, expression. He is whimsy personified. “Wanna Be Me” is the kind of track Kanye West wishes he could make. It’s the type of track Lil Wayne tried to make for a while but eventually gave up on. Neither of the aforementioned greats have Thug’s sense of style. His innate ability to craft melodies out of cosmic dust and channel his innermost pinnings, often times seemingly to his own surprise, is unparalleled in this day and age (and, quite frankly, stands strong even when pit against the genre as a whole). “Wanna Be Me” is part endearing, and part completely savage (“if I can’t find a place, I’m pouring your children down the sink (d---!),” Thug declares at one point). Over twinkling production that sounds like it could be part of a new-age holiday soundtrack, Thug declares his love for f---ing like rabbits and dressing in karats. It’s no wonder “Wanna Be Me” is one of Thug’s favorite tracks off of the first Slime Season. When making a hit comes so easily to you, I’d image you’d need to dig a bit deeper to be invigorated and feel fulfilled. And this forward motion, the need to keep impressing and surprising yourself, is what has Thug continuously barreling down through all pre-existing genre barriers. He’s honestly already transcended rap this past year, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. Honorable Mentions: happy new years. -Narsimha Chintaluri (@Narshh) share/check it out/etc. and let me know what you think! I'll probably make a thread about in CreativeSXN or something later @ThuggerSXN
Jan 2, 2016 Read this whole thing. This is incredibly written. You are definitely a talented writer and the analysis on this is great. Props for this man, keep it up!
Jan 2, 2016 If Narsh wrote a book about Thug I'd be his first customer. This is great piece man. I'd love to see similar one about future. It would be dope.
Jan 2, 2016 thanks friend, i'm glad you enjoyed it thanks a bunch my fellow husky Well yeah, I do love his music. But this came from a place of me being fan of hip hop more than just Thug. not a bad idea not sure what im gonna write next to be honest. glad you liked this man
Jan 2, 2016 up vote please friends https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/3z73y9/pelicanfly_young_thugs_secret_sauce/ @ThuggerSXN
