Young Thug is one of the most popular artists of our generation. Through his unique voice and delivery, he’s paved the way for many other artists. He’s already been in the game long enough to have inspired people through his music. With a label under his belt and successful members on it, he’s already left his mark on the game. He’s also collaborated with multiple other popular artists both in the rap world and outside of it. These include not only people on his albums, but his features on other people’s albums. With so much music in discography, one might wonder which songs are bringing in the most listeners. In this list, we’ll be examining his most streamed songs on Spotify.
#10: Never Hating - Lil Baby feat. Young Thug
Young Thug and Lil Baby have multiple songs together. This one comes from Lil Baby’s album It’s Only Me. Young Thug comes in on the second half of the track and uses a flow that dances over and around the production. The strings on the song add a small sense of drama to the head nod-inducing production and trap drums. Thug doesn’t weave in any singing this time but the flow is what holds listeners attention during his portion. His verse is short but fits in well with the tone set by Lil Baby on the hook and his verse. They may not trade bars on this one but their presence compliments each other on the song.
#9 Metro Spider - Metro Boomin (with Young Thug)
This is one of Young Thug’s most recent songs and his performance on it was very well received. As one of the solo cuts on the Metro Boomin helmed album, Thugger made sure he left his mark. The focus is on him and he made sure listeners stayed locked in on everything he had to say. Over menacing piano keys and bell chimes, Thug crafted an earworm of a hook and verses that complement it well. The most standout point is in his second verse where he goes into a bouncy pocket with his flow that’s catchy and infectious. His adlibs on this one are more understated but they still are effective. It may not be gym playlist worthy, but the energy is still present on this one.
#8 Trance - Metro Boomin (with Travis Scott and Young Thug)
Thug and Travis’s melodic techniques have been well-documented across the years. In this cut from Metro Boomin’s album HEROES AND VILLAINS, the iconic duo put their vocals on display. Metro crafts a dreamy atmosphere for them and they deliver. Thug opts for a rap sung flow that matches the atmosphere of the song well. The strings that come in during portions of his verse enhance his flow well and take the song to the next level. As expected, Thug blends his vulnerabilities and flexing in a unique verse The final moments of his verse have him in a mini duet and his vocals blend well with Travis’. This is one for late-night listening and everything in it sets the tone for that.
#7 Potion - Calvin Harris (with Dua Lipa and Young Thug)
Rappers collaborating with pop artists is not something that’s unheard of. But, when it does happen, listeners are always curious about how it comes out. This one has pop superstar Dua Lipa and producer Calvin Harris on the production. Thug’s first verse finds him showcasing his rapping and singing skills over a summery beat. Towards the end of it, he uses a unique singing technique. He comes back in for the song’s bridge which features more vocal gymnastics from him. Dua’s hook takes up most of the song but Thug makes his presence known. Anyone who wasn’t familiar with him found out quickly once they heard his contribution to the song. This one was interesting to say the least.
#6 Solid - Young Thug feat. Drake and Gunna
Drake and Thug have had several tracks together over the years. Gunna has a verse after Drake’s and before Thug’s. The eerie production of this one is one of the main draw-ins to this song for sure. At the beginning of Gunna’s verse, there’s a beat switch and the original comes right back flawlessly. The second beat comes back during his verse too. Young Thug closes out the song with a verse that sees him using a more understated delivery. He’s not whispering but still keeping the volume at a relaxed level. There’s some alliteration towards the end of his verse and Thug delivers it effortlessly. We get a beat switch during his verse too which adds to the layers of production the song has and showcases his ability to adapt to it.
#5 Hot (Remix) - Young Thug feat. Gunna and Travis Scott
This remix was on the deluxe edition of Young Thug’s album So Much Fun. The original featured frequent collaborator Gunna. This remix features another frequent collaborator, Travis Scott. Thug starts his verse with some vocals that are hard to hear because of his volume and how he’s saying them. However, after this moment he picks up in volume and energy. Many may remember how much Thug name-dropped Cartier in this verse. His flow skated all over the horns on the song and he ended the verse the same way he started it. But, at the end, he had vocalizations from Travis in the background and he did deliver the bars at a slightly higher volume.
#4 Way 2 Sexy - Drake feat. Future and Young Thug
If there’s one thing Drake and his team know how to do, it’s generate buzz. When the tracklist for Certified Lover Boy released, many were equally skeptical and intrigued by this track title. The song samples another song titled “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred. Future interlopes the hook from that song and also has a verse. Thug comes in calm and confident after that verse with a flow of his own. Thug’s flow is unique as it has a “start-stop” cadence to it that fits the bounce of the song. Much like the entire mood of the song, several of Thug’s bars have a certain silliness to them. Still, we all remember how we felt the first time we heard this one.
#3 Go Crazy - Chris Brown & Young Thug
This song came out in 2020 but radio stations still have it in rotation like it came out last week. This track comes from Chris Brown and Thugger’s collab album Slime & B. Fittingly, Thug’s verse on here heavily favors singing. Over glistening keys, he croons about his thoughts on his lover. Background vocalizations enhance the melodic delivery of his verse. This time around, he’s not on hook duty with Chris and has only one moment on the track. However, before his verse begins, we do get some vocalizations from him. We have come to expect these to precede his verses as it lets us know he’s on the song. While it can be generally classified as R&B, this one fits better in the daytime. The upbeat drums and keys make it ideal to play during a day out.
#2 pick up the phone - Travis Scott feat. Young Thug
This was not the first collab between these two artists but it was one of their most popular. The hook has Travis on the first half and Thug on the second half. Thug’s portion sees him showcasing his vocals with just a splash of autotune in the hook’s first appearance. Thug uses his verse for braggadocios bars in the first half of his verse. He also weaves in reflection on his mother in the second half of the verse. Almost each line of his verse has an ad-lib on this one and they are all fun and hype as we expect. For many listeners, this was the song that sparked the idea that these two needed a collab project.
#1 The London - Young Thug feat. J. Cole and Travis Scott
Hearing J.Cole and Young Thug on a song together is something nobody imagined would ever happen. Travis Scott is on this one too. J.Cole’s verse was praised, as per usual. Thug comes in after him and uses three flows total for his verse. All of them blend well with the production which is a testament to his versatility. The first one is somewhat scattered yet cohesive. The second finds him in a high register with a rap sung flow. The third one finds him in a more traditional one that closes his verse well. This was easily one of the most popular songs the year it dropped mainly because the collab was so unexpected. It also came out really well.
Do you remember how you felt about these songs the first time you heard them? Are they still in your rotation? Let us know in the comments section.