While it’s debatable whether or not Super Slimey, Young Thug and Future’s joint album, was a great/underrated or forgettable/overrated entry into the past year in hip-hop, it’s a sure-fire way to pad your aux cord game on a night out, so there’s no need to overthink it.
When Young Thug and Future burst separately onto the world’s radar, there is no shame in admitting that it took non-Atlantans a second to take in the lyricism both brought to the table. Both with distinct accents, sing-songy cadences and quick deliveries, bending your ear to take in all of what Hendrix and Thugger had to say was a little challenging at first, but totally worth it.
Since they now share a lengthy catalogue of songs together, the HNHH office decided to pick 10 songs across their shared discography to use as a basis for a good ol’ fashion bar-for-bar shootout.
Just like our face-off between Jadakiss and Fabolous, we’ll judge the winner based on delivery, punchlines, flow, metaphors, and entendres across the following 10 tracks. Let’s begin.
You already know our “Who Had the Better Verse” competitions wouldn’t be the same without fan participation, so after reading our rankings, go ahead and vote or give your thoughts in the comments.
Relationship
The most popular song off BEAUTIFUL THUGGER GIRLS is an upbeat back-and-forth between the two Atlanta natives, and was heralded at the time of its release, if only because we had yet to receive Super Slimey. The back-and-forth aspect of this collaboration makes it among their most exciting, however, it's really Future that carries most of the record-- there would not be a collab without Thugger, to be sure, but it appears he phoned this one in a bit. Future fits in some casual flexes and word play that paints vivid, if simplistic pictures of the lifestyle he lives.
Winner: Future
Favorite Future Bars
"White toes, give me a tan, cocaine, killing time
All a bitch wanna do is shine, Audemars, pick which kind
I made you a starter, you went from a dime to a quarter
I Chico DeBarge it, I'm leaving that loud in apartments, yeah"
Favorite Thugger Bars
"Yeah, I built relationships with all my bitches, yes
I put my dick right in her mouth before she act
I got your bitch in a backpack
I paid extra for the crib, it got a kid shack"
Who
DJ Esco and Metro Boomin beat gave Thug and Future some flexibility with their lines, but it’s Future who comes out on top for this one. His rhythmic, punchy, duplet flow compliments the track well, although he may have fallen slightly short on the lyrical front. Young Thug gets across a much simpler message, still dripping in bravado, about how he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty in the hook of the track.
Winner: Future
Favorite Future Bars
"In Milan eatin' fettuccine
Front row with the fashion show niggas
Fuck around and go buy a Lamborghini
I'm goin' NASCAR on niggas"
Favorite Thugger Bars
"Who the fuck think I'm a sucka?
Who the fuck think I won't pull up and let loose?
I got three bitches with me
I'ma pull up on Bleveland, they gon' fuck the crew
Who gonna stop me now? Who's gonna stop me now?
Who's gonna stop me, boy? Who?
I can't get all of you, somebody come with me"
Chanel Vintage
OK, first of all, who came up with this song? Who told Future to yell for almost four minutes straight? You can hear the man’s vocal chords straining to hit that high note on “Chanel” over and over. It’s hype, but you gotta wonder.
Despite Future flexing the pipes, you gotta give this one to Young Thug. We’ve heard the name of this track enough up until Thug's verse, and perhaps he realized. He begins his verse by shouldering the theme without beating it into our brains too many more times, all with vocal quirks that create an even more exciting verse. Over all, he’s just more fun despite Future’s best efforts here.
Winner: Young Thug
Favorite Thugger Bars
"I'm turnin' these girls into brats, Chanel vintage, menswear
You know that there's no strings attached
My money 'bout long as a 'Lac, SHEESH, let it breathe"
Favorite Future Bars
"I bought your bitch a bag by mistake
We takin' up the whole murder rate
I'm takin' up the whole murder rate
I killed your swag, I killed your swag, I killed it"
High End
Who doesn’t love a good lead-in to the beat drop? Future set the tone for the turnup right away: simple lyrics and rhyming scheme, no-nonsense delivery that gets out of the way for the bangin’ beat. Sometimes less is more.
But, then, Thug comes in and snaps, totally making my minimalistic preferences look dumb. He sings a bit, raps a bit, ad-libs a bit, flexes on Chris Brown’s (frankly forgettable) verse and leaves Future to do the outro. Point, Thugger.
Winner: Young Thug
Favorite Thugger Bars
"Put the dubs in knap sacks (snacks)
Put some ice on a basic bitch (put some ice on a basic bitch)
Put some hundreds in gem clips (look like a thotty)
Freaky in my car (yeah)
Maybach seat massage (skrrt, skrrt)
Backseat turn to vault (yeah)"
Favorite Future Bars
"Plain Jane watch, Richard Mille (yeah)
Richard Mille cost me 'bout an Aston-Martin
Left my Tesla sittin' at the house on the charge
I just met the owners of Chanel and Dior Dor
'Cause they say I'm spendin' too much money in the stores"
All Da Smoke
This is an extremely tough one. Both rappers come through with firey verses, Thugger relying more on a squeal-like flow to deliver most of his verse, and blessing us with some lines like, "I'm in the backyard feeding deers, I'm in a penthouse poppin' seals." Meanwhile, Future, who actually gives us the first verse, flexes for the streets with little regard for the opps.
Thank Atlanta mainstay producer, Richie Souf, for letting both rappers shine on the beat in different ways. Ultimately we're going to give this one to...
Winner: Young Thug
Favorite Thugger Bars
"Lift it up, cash all on your bitch, she on the living room floor, yeah
Having a private party, you know how that go
Music all in my ears (yeah), instruments in my ears
I'm in the backyard feeding deers, I'm in a penthouse poppin' seals
I got pom-poms in my rear, Chanel CoCo in my gear"
Favorite Future Bars
"I'm superior, I'm imperial, I ain't feelin' ya (ooh)
I been eatin' me some heroin, oh about a brick (yeah yeah)
I got Barry Bonds on my wrist (yeah)
Blowed your college fund on my bitch (where, woo)"
Mink Flow
Thugger’s best bars on this track are the ones he opens up the verse, however, it's goes downhill from there. Regardless, it’s a fun song and it’s clear Young Thug had fun writing, so we’ll let it slide-- he also delivers the wobby hook. Nonetheless, Future comes with the heat and tries out two disparate flows, both to great effect, while laying down the law when it comes to his interactions with women: "I can't let her go nowhere, she too pretty, truthfully / She gone have a bad day, she ever think about crossin' me," "She tucked her phone, I think she schemin' / Ain't been to sleep, bitch, stop dreamin'"
Winner: Future
Favorite Thugger Bars
"About to feed my dogs, need pedigree, oh
Ain't let no money get away from me, ohh
TSA ain't ready for me
These bitches wish they was bartenders, just to get next to me
The latest coupe, way too fast, you can't get next to me"
Favorite Future Bars
"Rock them dog collar chains, P. Diddy (P. Diddy)
I can't let her go nowhere, she too pretty, truthfully
She gone have a bad day, she ever think about crossin' me
I done paid all the lawyers, but they can't talk for me
When it come to closing deals, I finger fuck currency
Pop a half a pill and chill, all my ice is currently (all my ice is currently)"
Real Love
Young Thug delivers an emotive verse, with stand-out lines like "I tat the footprint of my kids," however even with one-liners, it's not enough to win the debate-- especially when Future paints more of a vivid picture, that is drawn from real life trials in love with Ciara. Both rappers are equally emotional on the song, rightfully so.
Winner: Future
Favorite Thugger Bars
"Show me the love to my friends bitch
I dropped the top out the Benz
Been rockin' since creme de la creme, yeah
I know we never go in
I tat the footprint of my kids, yeah like forensics
Starvin' to ceilings"
Favorite Future Bars
"These photos and quaaludes, they got me dehydrated
Turn on me, sue me, now nothing seems to amaze me
I left on a commercial flight and downgraded
If I can change anything I wouldn't erase it (I wouldn't erase it)
Came back on a private plane and upgraded (I made it)"
No Cap
Winner: Future
Favorite Future Bars
"Every week I change my closet
Got a Fendi store in my house
Got a Bentley garage in my house
Got a watch on my wrist cost a house
My bitch can't sleep at my house
Make her sleep at a hotel now"
Favorite Young Thug Bars
"Yeah, free Bobby Shmurda, motherfuck the Rikers
I'ma lean back in the 'Bach, she suck like lolli-suckers
I lied when I said I love her
Backstabbed the bitch, like I'm Myer Michaels"
Three
If this was recorded straight after "No Cap," it would make sense. After both got in their feelings a little bit about the women that are wrong or have wronged them, both hit back with big bars, bragging about who's the wealthiest, scariest, most unhinged. The two aren't trading blows as much as they are big upping each other, and the formula works. This is what Thug and Future are capable of when they stick to a simple theme.
Winner: Young Thug
Favorite Thugger Bars
"I got more bracelets on than you got chains, bro
Me and my dawg's dope came in on the same boat
Whippin' the same dope, I put the bitch in the eighth stroke
Right out the ghetto, too rap for the Leto, yeah
Caught my first body out in Bentley Coupe, yeah
Ten real murders from my migos, yeah
Rock the Cuban link, top of my knees (yeah, yeah)
Ostrich seats, bite your sleeves (yeah, yeah)"
Favorite Future Bars
"Check on Google, I'm out my noodle
I feed shrimps to all my shooters
Ayy my bitch a bad bitch, so I turned her to a recruiter
I'm a real assassin, quarter M for a back end
Shawty got real sassy when I gave her that Patek
If I bust it down today she'll never gon' go back average"
Drip On Me
"Drip on Me" is all about the combination of the flows and production, the definition of melodic trap, really. Future carries the melody to start, and it's a hook that works well to introduce Thug. Future's melodic abilities are often underrated, and this seems to be an example of that phenomenon. Thug gets passed the torch to do his thing, and does Future's ground work proud. It's a short track with unremarkable bars, but a catchy melody and infectious hook. Listen in the background for some ethereal synth sounds and it's east to understand why the track sounds so effortlessly nice.
Winner: Young Thug
Favorite Future Bars:
"God protect me from all of the bogus, the niggas who roguish
Yeah, water me down like Pacific, my watch and my chain, my rings
Yeah, all the drip on me, I had to go change my name (yeah)
I came from Lil Mexico, this shit ain't gon' ever be the same"
Favorite Thugger Bars:
"Lickin' molly like ramen (R.I.P.)
Getting head on the private plane
Cost me 23 thou' like LeBron James (LeBron James)
Might put me some gators on
And get in the 'Lac and just blow the brains (blow the brains)
I fuck on her face
I came fast like when Sonic came, oh, oh"
The Winner
Welp, this was not planned nor expected, but it seems we have a tie. Next time, we'll choose an uneven number of songs...Or not. If for some reason you need a further breakdown of those numbers, the talley is below.
Young Thug: 5/10
Future: 5/10