Over the past half-decade, Young Thug has solidified himself as one of the most prolific rappers of all time - comparable only to the likes of Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne (his mentor and self-proclaimed idol, as it were). Although he’s cooled down a considerable amount over the past year, seemingly focused on transitioning from cult hero to full blown pop renegade, the track record he’s left in his wake is nothing short of staggering. Nearly a dozen official projects are dwarfed by triple the amount of guest spots and just as many street singles, unceremoniously leaked tracks, and forgotten snippets.
Thug’s versatility is as apparent as his prolificacy. It’s hard to find a point of reference for his style without cherry picking the best attributes from 12 different artists in 4 different genres. Rap is built on intangibles - it’s not just your bars, it's your ability to deliver them in a captivating manner day in and day out. And during his relatively short run, Thug has not only mastered every trick in the book, he's written about seven new editions.
The best Young Thug songs are carnal in their lust and primal in their aggression. They juxtapose exuberant wealth with heartbreaking loss, loyalty and family with the unpredictable nature of fame. And, more often than not, his melodies become infectious earworms, refusing to loosen their grip on your frontal lobe until the next bop Thug wills into existence. Once you’ve plunged down the rabbit hole, it can honestly start to feel as if you're simply replacing old Thug classics for new ones.
All this considered, creating a definitive list of “Best Young Thug Songs” is impossible. The ten biggest fans will have 10 different lists. This is simply ours. We chose to focus on his best solo efforts - that means, no guest spots or songs with features on them. But solo Rich Gang material, leaks and all other loosies are all on the table. The list might inadvertently favor older material, but that’s only because we’ve had more time to sit with those songs.
So yes, this means that song you’re thinking of won't be on here. Yes, the other one too. Yes, we agree that they all deserve a spot on here, but no, we won’t change our list for you. Yes, we’d love to see your own lists in the comment section.
Without further delay, here are HotNewHipHop’s Top 50 Solo Young Thug Songs.
50. "I Swear To God"
Thug has many songs in this vein - ambient yet uptempo tracks with an added layer of crackling, auto-tuned crooning (“Cloud 9” just missed the top 50). But “I Swear To God” takes the cake for it's unfiltered self-expression. A song like this feels like a natural progression of the experimentation that took over late-00s Lil Wayne.
49. "Should I"
You would be hard pressed to find another Thug song that sounds like “Should I.” As catchy as it is introspective, this track sees the elusive songwriter uncharacteristically insecure, confused by the mixed signals sent by his significant other. It’s honestly a shame that this song was lost in Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 2 leaks.
48. "Best Thing of All Time"
A rare 2017 leak, “Best of All Time” is a heavenly tune dedicated to Thug’s fiancee, Jerrika Karlae. While he’s made countless songs about her in the past (“Worth It” was very close to making this list as well), “Best of All Time” turns the stakes up a notch. He wants to walk with her, talk with her, go on private flights with her. Not only is she the perfect foil for him, she’s downright the best thing to ever exist in his eyes.
47. "Pacifier"
Produced by Mike WiLL Made It, this rap-rock hybrid is as fiercely energetic as it is lyrically sound. When this monster of a track was finally released in 2015, Lyor Cohen let it be known that he actually discovered this track personally while scouring through thousands of unreleased Thugger joints. The actual date of creation? Probably as far back as 2013. Even Mike WiLL had tweeted about it a whole year prior to its official release. Saying Thug is “ahead of the game” seems redundant at this point, does it not?
46. "Can't See Em"
Another futuristic cut, “Can’t See Em” boasts an off-kilter and seemingly lackadaisical song structure. However, the end results are nothing short of mesmerizing, proving that sometimes we - the listeners - can’t even see as far as two bars into the future when it comes to Thug. The production is a testament to Metro Boomin’s versatility as well as to the chemistry him and Thugger have exhibited since day one. While "Some More" would be the go-to collaboration from this seminal project from Metro, the understated romanticism of "Can't See Em" should not be dismissed. Seriously, MetroThuggin when?
45. "Keep It Leave"
Speaking of MetroThuggin, this song was first teased in a vlog by Metro, shortly before the massive Young Thug leaks that occurred in early 2015. Beyond the playful, drug-addled content, this song feels like an intimate love letter from King Slime to his then go-to producer.
44. "I Just Might"
This is a gambler’s anthem, an ode to high-stakes risk-taking. At one point, Thug claims, “I’m an angel in the sky, I look down on drive-bys,” reaffirming our idea that if left to his own devices, Thug would be content just surrounded by his loved ones and the dead presidents in his pocket. In some ways, it seems as if he's still the same kid who would shoot dice for hours on end with the singular goal of buying slim-fitting women's clothing (much to his father's disapproval).
43. "Spaghetti"
Initially dubbed as the original version of Travis Scott’s “Skyfall” (a standout from his 2014 breakout tape, Days Before Rodeo), this is a prime example of what happens when you just let Thug loose on a track. The lyrics range from suggestive (“I want your spaghetti/I’m bleeding like Freddy”) to extremely questionable (“I’ll design her in the latest/pussy tighter than a baby”), but the delivery is immaculate, ranging from measured crooning to explosive growls. Yet another damn reason we need - no, deserve - MetroThuggin.
42. "Miss U"
This underrated 1017 Thug cut is a prelude to the more affectionate songs Thug will naturally gravitate to as his career progresses ("Keep In Touch" is an equally endearing track that unfortunately didn't make the list). In typical Young Thug fashion, it’s as silly as it is touching:
“Pubic hair
Oh my gosh, I’m going there
Where are you going Thug?
To her spot
When she get out the shower
Drink her bathtub”
41. "You the One"
Another instance of Thug’s distinct brand of love, “You the One” is an outright marriage proposal to Jerrika Karlae (“I-I-I wanna marry you,” he stutters shyly at the start of the second verse). This has always felt like one of the most delicate and sincere tracks in his catalogue.
40. "Eww"
A street single that never found its way onto an official project, “Eww” (or “Ew Ew Ew”) is as ahead of the curve as it gets. Thug shrouds his hard-hitting bars (“Pussy mothafucka scared to say it to my front/So I'm blowin' out his back”) under a pronounced, autotuned delivery that perfectly matches the electronic beat. It was once rumored that Drake was supposed to hop on a remix of “Ew Ew Ew” but never delivered on his promise (which may have lead to Thug remixing “The Blanguage” as well as dropping the line “I don’t want your verse on my remix” on the Slime Season 1 cut, “Again”). Of course, all this is pointless speculation since Thug and Drake have since become bffs.
39. "Drawn Down"
One of the most underrated cuts on Slime Season 1, “Drawn Down” is a dazzling display of Thug’s technical prowess. He invokes the spirit of old western shootouts and is poised to draw down on anyone threatening his livelihood (while hilariously ad-libing “quick draw McGraw”). At one point, after spitting what feels like 60 consecutive bars, Thug claims that he can “go all day like a fuckin’ poet,” and you have no choice but to believe him 100%. (Sidenote: "I don't like to talk, bitch I'm not a spokesman," seems like a direct shot at all the off-kilter interviews he was forced to be a part of back then).
38. "My Baby"
A bonus track from his critically-acclaimed Slime Season 2 mixtape, “My Baby” might be home to one of Thug's sharpest hooks to date. “Okay, lil mama sharp with a razor/Okay, lil mama fresher than a blazer,” he begins before belting out an unexpected, “hooooooly ghost with an angel.” The verses may feel inconsequential compared to the fantastic hook, but the slew of one-liners he strings together are equally enjoyable in their own right (“She told me that she love the way I dress like a Prince but I'm a boy”).
37. "Friend of Scotty (OG)"
Fun and inexplicably catchy, “Friend of Scotty” does a great job at highlighting the chemistry Thug has with one of his earliest producers, Dun Deal. Yes, this song is home to Thug’s infamous, “no homo, but my blunt look like a dick,” line, but our favorite bars might have to be: “I'm doin' my best, like the fifth-grade test/Gotta make it to the sixth, my bro gone buy me that new vet'." And while the “official” version, released with an added Ty Dolla $ign verse over a year after this originally leaked, is serviceable, we believe the OG version best encapsulates Thug's playfulness.
36. "Oh Yeah"
A Beautiful Thugger Girls highlight that has already grown on us immensely, “Oh Yeah” is a sublime display of Thug’s songwriting, vocal capabilities and emotive range. Over a detailed and ruminative Wheezy beat (arguably Thug’s best producer), the young man reminisces about his growth as a father, his bipolar relationship with Jerrika, and the overarching love he has for his family.
35. "2 Cups Stuffed"
While “Stoner” and “Danny Glover” might be his breakout songs, “2 Cups Stuffed,” sure turned a lot of heads. The pure punk energy, the reckless rhyme patterns and animated ad-libs, the colorful imagery - this is still one of Thug’s most viscerally satisfying songs.
34. "Raw (Might Just)"
Produced by Atlanta based DJ Treasure Fingers, Slime Season 2’s “Raw (Might Just),” boasts one of the more unique beats in Thug’s discography. The ambient instrumental provides ample negative space for the versatile rapper to ease into a measured R&B groove. Over the cavernous soundscape, Thugger Vandross croons about L-O-V-E, while also dropping fortune cookie gems such as: “A wise man told me nothing - he said, 'them snitches, they get stitches.'”
33. "Hercules"
The song that ended the short-lived beef between Thug and Metro Boomin, “Hercules” was one of the most anticipated Thug snippets long before that beef was ever ignited. And boy did it deliver. One of Thug’s most hard-hitting hooks is matched by equally ferocious verses: “Fuck your conference call, pull up with the check and get my sig,” might be the best rapper-to-label demand of all time.
32. "Danny Glover"
One of Thug’s most notorious songs, “Danny Glover” had Drake turning up on a Tuesday, Kanye West shutting shit down in Paris and Nicki Minaj going out of her way to remix it. With one song, Thug seemed to bring a whole new energy to the rap scene. It's an inimitable, gritty, high-wire performance for the ages. In one interview, TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad actually cited the way Thug delivered that first line in the second verse (“I knew I was gonna run my money up and everybody didn't”) as inspiration for his own work. Thug is a rapper’s rapper at his core, but songs like this one make it hard for anyone to deny his talent. "Now, who the fuck told you that Young Thugger Thugger don't fuck up the beat?"
31. "Let Me Live"
So underrated that it doesn't even have a Rap Genius page, “Let Me Live” was tweeted out by Thug on February 5th, 2013 in honor of the approaching one-year anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s passing. It's really a morbid song behind the triumphant beat ("Them crackers think they slick, just like Rick, want us to die young, no Vince") and sees a disillusioned Thug begging President Obama to "give a fuck mo'." Thug's sporadic yet lucid thought process is a thrill to keep up with; even while he’s in the middle of making funeral arrangement for himself (“If they come take my life tonight, put me in mama’s garden (Mama Duck!)”), he takes a moment to laugh in the face of racism and belittle those that perpetuate its existence (“They want to take our life away because we make their women suck and slurp," reminds us of a certain Ras Kass line from "Rasassination"). Ultimately, Thug manages to keep his head above water while commemorating the life of an innocent child who was unjustly murdered.
30. "OD"
A birthday gift from Thug to his mother, Mama Duck, and one of his sisters, “OD” is a moody track dedicated to family, but one that also doubles as an indictment of the police officers involved in Mike Brown’s death. The hook itself is densely layered, painting Thug as a drug-addled yet acutely aware presence in every room he’s in. He knows exactly where his loyalties lie and he makes that fact abundantly clear throughout this ballad.
29. "That's All"
Somehow, between the first and 13th bars of the first verse, Thug goes from “I just cannot love it” to “therefore I love her,” and it’s absolutely magical. This entire song is a prime example of just how bipolar Thug’s take on love is. “She make a n**** shine without using butter,” he continues, realizing the error of his ways, “my partner in crime, she won't tell like her mother, we don't want no one other, we got one another, she know I got her, we got each other.” That's a pretty far cry from "I just cannot love it," Thug, you lovesick sap.
28. "She Notice"
Remember that first time you noticed your 7th grade crush stealing a glance your way mid-class? This is the song you play after successfully asking her to the school dance. “She Notice” is empowering in its self-validation and joyous in its celebration of reciprocated affection. But, mainly, it just so damn flirtatious and fun. And the way Thug hits that first note, that first “Iiiiiii,” is going to be studied for decades to come, we're sure of it.
27. "Gangster Shit"
A street single from 2016, “Gangster Shit” is as straightforward as a modern day Thug song can get. However, this by the numbers approach, at least for the hook, doesn’t take away from impressiveness of the overall song. In fact, it allows for his lyricism, especially on the first verse, to really shine through. Quite possibly one of his best verses ever, Thug doesn’t waste a single bar in the vicious first passage. He even manages to slip in a pseudo-origin story for his sense of fashion:
“I was bangin', servin' rocks inside my classes
Big pimpin', you can send or just fax it
I was fresh, every day like it was my last”
Unfortunately, this song never found a home on an official project.
26. "Safe"
One of Thug’s best songs to drop this year, “Safe” is a spontaneous street single that was seemingly made as a makeshift apology to Jerrika. “I told you I love you forever, I’m never gon’ change up, now stop it, boo,” he teases her, clearly still infatuated with her presence, despite any of their publicized disputes. Throughout the song, he breaks down his various insecurities and highlights a certain existential dread that he can’t seem to shake, no matter how many different private jets he boards or how many different countries he tours. However, the very process of making this song seems to help him get his priorities in order, as he eventually realizes just how deeply he feels about his girl (“Together forever means any problems you got, bitch I got ‘em too”). “Safe” is more thematically sound than a majority of Thug’s discog, and seems to preview the next facet of his consistently evolving songwriting.
25. "King TROUP"
I’m Up’s central track, “King Troup,” is a stirring tribute to Southside Atlanta OG Keith Troup, who was murdered at a gas station while Thug was on tour in South Africa, a few weeks shy of Christmas 2015. “I thought I seen a ghost because your son looked like you, fool” is as naked and vulnerable as we’ve ever seen Thug, and the passing of his close friend has the rapper scrambling to count his blessing (“I just beat a case”), cherish his family (“I take care of my kids with a passion, I pray to God that they stay happy”) and speak out against gun violence (“Stop it, stop the killings/We, we get millions/We together, get the cheddar”). Troup’s passing, juxtaposed with Thug’s own blessings, also has him finally addressing the incarceration of another close friend, Peewee Roscoe, who had been charged with allegedly shooting at Lil Wayne’s tour bus earlier that very year:
“Lil Roscoe, he sleep where it's nasty
They could've freed him cause he grew up with no daddy
But instead they took advantage and did him badly (fuck)
Ain't give no fucks cause we were seven
Got a camera from the club and that's all they had (Free the Goat)
They also knew that lil' n**** didn't have a wagon (Free the Goat)”
Troup may also be who Thug is alluding to on his moving verse for Meek Mill’s “We Ball,” when he states: “When they killed my n**** I seen the footage on the tape, and I must have threw up everything I ever ate.”
24. "Just Might Be"
Because Thug's vocals are so elusive and because he cares so little to explain his own work, there has and will always remain a disconnect between Thug’s art and many of his biggest fans. The Rap Genius description for this song actually reads: “Thuggy creates yet another beautiful track about his bitches, money, and drugs; this time over some nice production by Wheezy.” However, when we listen to this track, we hear Thug rap about moving Mama Duck to “85 North, not 85 South,” defending his baby mama from “piranhas,” and spending “50 bands on Tums for grandmama” (seriously, how fucking awesome is that line?). But that’s part of the fun - where others may see a superficial, by the numbers rap song with a great beat, we see a deadly triple-time flow, endearing imagery and an innate sense of songwriting (“That’s how you let that bitch breathe, fool”). It’s our eyes, it's a perfect outro to one of the best rap albums of this decade.
23. "Myself"
One of the most underappreciated 2015 leaks, “Myself” is an introspective jam unlike anything else he's ever made. The lyrics are brimming with classic Thug-isms (the entire “baptist” bridge in particular) and the initially restrained performance slowly uncoils until he's flying off the handle yet again. At one point in the song, we're pretty sure he even admits to trying (and failing) to seduce Dej Loaf.
22. "Hey, I"
One of his most tender ballads, “Hey, I” sees Thug come right out of the gate with a promise to impregnate his significant other. “I think she ready for a kiddy,” he teases, but it’s not clear yet if he’s serious. However, by the time that incredible second verse rolls around, it becomes exceedingly obvious how head-over-heels in love he is. And when you come across a passage as pure as this one, it’s hard not to consider Jeffery as one of the most poetic writers in the game:
“I, done completed my little mission
I, put something in your stomach next to your kidney
I, want nothing to do with none of these lil bitches
I, want something to do with everything and I'm willing
To go to church and ask God there for forgiveness
For everything and tell that preacher that I'm gon' remember
Him bringing You in my life and that's on my children”
21. "Check"
Effortlessly catchy in a way most artists can only dream of achieving, “Check” is a rags to riches tale delivered in nursery rhyme format. It’s built on one of his most notable ad libs (“SHEESH”) and features a barrage of quotables (from, “I put that brack in my brack” to, “Bitch I’m a Migos, I play with kilos”). It’s the kind of hit that Thug could make in his sleep, but has since chosen not to chase, opting instead to develop into the elusive innovator we see now.
20. "Feel It"
It’s probably safe to say that this was the most anticipated Young Thug snippet of all time at one point. Despite the dozens of teasers from Thug and Rika, we were repeatedly told that this was The One and that it wouldn’t come out until the time was right; “Feel It” was supposed to be the song that turned Thug from a cult hero to a full-blown pop star. And after waiting for over two years, the song was, of course, unceremoniously leaked. It eventually found a home a few months later on Beautiful Thugger Girls, but since then seems to have been forgotten. Such is the depressing and often frustrating life cycle of a Young Thug song. It’s hard to accurately describe how surreal and otherworldly this ballad truly is and all we can do now is promise to pass this relic of Blonde Haired Thugger down to our kids.
19. "Free Gucci"
We’re convinced that this is what plays as you approach the Gates of Heaven. Over an operatic Metro beat, Thug celebrates his mentor’s birthday by personifying joy at its purest. Everything is Gucci, at least for this one moment.
18. "Numbers"
Although the overtly cinematic backdrop certainly elevates the track, the cautionary tale painted on “Numbers” succeeds because of the way Thug subtly layers the London On Da Track beat with his distinct idiosyncrasies. You get the sense that Thug hates dwelling on the underbelly of the city, that he hates talking about teens running around with banana clips, ready to rip fathers from their sons should it become necessary. At one point, Thug literally pukes mid-bar before exhaling a singular, dejected “yah yah.” For an album that’s as celebratory as Barter 6, tracks like “Numbers” (as well as “OD” and “Just Might Be”) add a much needed third dimension to Thug’s emotional arc.
17. "Wanna Be Me"
Thug’s entire career has been predicated on displacing concepts and ideas from their typical context, much to the disdain of small-minded folk everywhere. “Wanna Be Me” might be the prime example of his experimental nature, as he celebrates his love of jewelry and wild, unadulterated sex by turning the most familiar of words into absolutely alien entities. He takes this stylistic format to its illogical conclusion, beyond anything we could've ever imagined ourselves. Not only is he “stupid flooded with them carats,” his girl is chasing him down like a rabbit, which, in turn, makes him a “carrot,” does it not? He then goes on to somehow rhyme “carat” with “carriage” and “Ferris” (as in, his wheels are bigger than a Ferris). And, as if that weren’t enough, he drops this doozy on us in the second verse:
“I'mma fuck her friend that says she fucked me in her dream
I'mma make her nut and yes I want that nut on me
I'mma fuck them both and yes, they want that nut on we”
Throughout the entire, unpredictable spectacle of a song, the only thing that's clear is Thug's self-confidence. Sure, everybody wants to be him, but he knows that they don't possess even 1/10th of his instinctual absurdity. And that thought alone seems to bring him more joy than any of his more materialistic obsessions.
16. "Keep It Going"
“Keep It Going” is a clinic in high-octane rapping. The precision with which he tackles this London beat is astounding and the hard-hitting lyrics are outdone only by his eccentric vocal technique. He toys with multisyllabic rhyme schemes and layered punchlines while slowly pushing the song towards a powerful crescendo. The payoff is endlessly rewarding (find us screaming, “I get respect whenever I land in New York, like Bobby Shmurda,” whenever we’re even remotely near the tri-state area). The fact that Thug breaks the third wall at one point to say, “It's a shame how I yell at these n*****, gon’ lose my voice,” is just icing on top of a one-of-one cake.
15. "Strange Things"
Intoxicating is an understatement for this love song turned anti-lean PSA. Despite his documented love for the drug, "Strange Things" sees Thug cautioning his girl against getting to familiar with its mystifying effects. Rather, it seems as if he'd prefer to be the sole focal point of her attention. Over a cloudy, atmospheric beat, Thug gives himself up to the same drugs he cautions against and delivers a riveting performance that lays bare his unique, lean-tinted worldview. "I'm really tired of hearing about prison, I really hope I make it," he wails, truly making his pain known.
14. "See You"
Although he’s certainly developed as a songwriter over the past few years, Rich Gang era Thugger was probably the best rapper alive, by a huge margin. Rap is largely about phrasing and during this run, Thug was rap game’s Yoda. “I am the black kid, worried are my folks” is the kind of succinct, yet piercing lyricism that Thug never gets credit for.
13. "Texas Love"
The most recent release to find its way this far up our list, “Texas Love” is a subversive yet downright infectious song. Thug breaks down the structure for the ideal pop song to its core elements before flipping the entire template on its head. One minute he’s at the “court counter with a mink coat on,” the next he’s chastising his peers for the way they raise their kids. The video is dedicated to the victims of the 2016 Houston floods, but the song is more ostensibly an ode to the city’s notorious export - promethazine - as well as a tribute to the late ATL legend, Bankroll Fresh. Without fail, Thug continues to juxtapose his keen pop sensibility (the hook alone should’ve made this song a smash hit) with his most left-field tendencies (see: the scatter-brained music video as well as the freestyled suggestiveness of the outro). Whatever you may think of his content, songs like this not only prove that Thug can rap, they place his underrated songwriting front and center.
12. "Freaky"
“Freaky” is yet another example of Thug’s dizzying technical skill. Over a brooding beat produced by Eestbound & WondaGurl, Thug lets loose a sharp, staccato flow that's jam-packed with witty one liners (“Quan said, 'Please have a phone,' - call it a day”) and humorous asides (“I apologize if I got more money than you and your clan”). It's Thug in top form, both lyrically and melodically.
11. "No Way"
Only Thug could make a line as straightforward as “show me the places like a noun” sound so goddamn romantic. “No Way” is a showcase of Thug’s most underrated tendencies; from the layered harmonies to the elusive way he accents particular words, this song presents a comprehensive account of all the little flourishes and tics that make him such an intriguing rapper. With this one, Thug truly proves that he is “the future and the present.”
10. "Calling Your Name"
Another early foray into the pop-world, “Calling Your Name” makes a great argument for Goose being the most essential of Thug’s formative go-to producers. Over a chopped sample of Ellie Goulding’s “Hanging On,” Thug vows to sweep his dream girl off her feet. “She’s calling me Jeffery” he admits, seemingly realizing the depth of his relationship in real-time. He reflects on the player he’s been and the life partner he may become, ostensibly shunning monogamy while subtly implying that he definitely sees more for the future:
“Too crazy, too crazy
Like you could be my baby, lady
Three crazy, three crazy
I just might come for you like the Navy”
9. "Flaws"
“Baby I love you,
In a house full of grown folks, baby I love you
Swear to God, you my bread & butter
You can still get my all if the Feds destroy us”
Poignant and touching, “Flaws” is a song about self-love and self-worth and is amongst one of the most euphoric songs Thug has released. “I feel free like the motherfuckin’ nature, baby," sums up the entire track perfectly. It’s a mission statement (“They know I’m Prince of the city”) and it’s one of the few top-tier leaks that actually got a formal release - even if it was subsequently overlooked due to the sheer volume of Thug’s 2015 run.
8. "Proud of Me"
An unflinchingly poppy dedication to the then-imprisoned Gucci Mane, “Proud of Me” successfully repurposes Route 94’s “My Love” into a song only Young Thug could make. Thug’s unique ear for melody helps concoct an almost unbearably catchy hook, one that should be too over the top and too saccharine to work, but does so in spite of the conventional norms it subverts. It was once rumored that Rihanna was sent the song, but unfortunately, nothing ever seemed to materialize out of the session.
7. "Givenchy"
Following the unexpected success of “Lifestyle,” Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1 turned out to be the pairing of minds that we never knew we needed. Together with Rich Homie Quan, Thug tapped into something rare - genuine chemistry with an equally talented songwriter. Although Quan isn’t on this track, it’s hard to believe that their exceedingly apparent competitive spirit on other album cuts didn’t spill over to this stunning intro. Thug methodically feels out the beat, carves out a tentative hook, then flits freely from one flow to the next. As unpredictable as his execution may be, the thread that holds the entire exhibition together is his unwavering fixation on his fiancee (“I put my heart inside your pocket, you can’t break it”). Heartfelt and triumphant, “Givenchy” is a ballad for the history books.
6. "Pelican Fly"
The “Pelican Fly” leak predates the larger instance of 2015 leaks by a few months, but it’s reception was heavily affected by the subsequent influx of brand new Thugger songs. However, its addition to the list isn’t just an attempt to correct for how underrated we believe the song to be. “Pelican Fly” is genuinely one of Thug’s best written songs. It’s provocative and promiscuous, swinging seamlessly from mischievous to introspective and back again. Also, it's fun to believe that this entire song exists solely because Wayne once rapped: “And I’m pelican fly, Mac-11 inside.”
5. "Halftime"
“Halftime” is so technically sound that it’s hard to believe people still think Young Thug can’t rap. “I like fish and water I’m a bear” is one of the most mind-bending turns of phrase in recent rap history, second only to “there is only one of me and these bitches 3 deep like a trident.” Thugger punches, schemes and employees wordplay in abundance on this one, but at one point, he also lets out a twelve (yes, 12) second long “skrr” ad lib which, once you finally notice it, completely overshadows anything else going on here. He also hits a certain, delirious vibe with his auto-tuned bridge (“Hey, let’s have a good time”) that we just know would have had mid-00s T-Pain, Kanye West and Lil Wayne completely awe-struck. When this song first dropped, none of us realized just how prophetic “every time I dress myself, it go motherfuckin’ viral” was, or just how difficult that “$10,000 bed” part would be to recite. As always, Thug was about 27 steps ahead of the rest of us.
4. "The Blanguage"
We’re not mad at anyone who has this absolutely flawless remix as their #1 pick. Hell, we’ll probably want to bump it up a few more spots ourselves by the end of this little blurb. “The Blanguage” came out just as Thug’s stock was starting to rise, following the success of tracks such as “Stoner” and “Danny Glover,” and sees Metro, a fellow superstar in the making, rework the beat to Drake’s “Language” into something immeasurably more spooky. “I fucked her then washed up my dick with the curtains inside of the Phantom,” are Thug's iconic first lines, before he proceeds to completely embarrass every living rapper with his surreal whirlwind of a performance.
3. "The Promise"
“The Promise” is yet another leak that has been lost in the abyss of Young Thug's work ethic. With no real hook, the song’s stream of conscious structure allows for a fluid four minutes of top-tier rapping. He touches on issues with his significant other (“Why would you do this to me, it hurts if it don’t seem”), name drops his six kids and even goes on multiple self-aware tangents about his rapping style, rise to fame and public perception of his sexuality. At his most revealing, Thug stumbles over his words before declaring:
“I know it's kinda hard to get these...
Words I'm saying, I'm steady praying, amen
Please forgive me for my sins, please twin
I don't wanna be departed from you, you me and...
You know I'm you”
2. "Makaveli (Beast)"
Similar to “The Promise," “Makaveli” (originally leaked as “Beast”) is an orphaned leak that sees Thug delivering one of his best rap performance ever. Somehow, he manages to marry together rapid-fire punchlines, silly one-liners, evocative storytelling and soulful R&B without ever falling out of pocket. At one point, Thug actually declares, “I went from rapping to reggae.” Keep in mind, this is a leak from early 2015, well over a year before Jeffery or Beautiful Thugger Girls would even be able to place this statement in proper context for the uninitiated masses. If you ever needed proof that Thug was a time-traveling alien from Earth 2, look no further.
1. "Love Me Forever (OG)"
Our pick for the best solo Young Thug song thus far is ironically also one of the only missteps Thug has made over the past few years. Of course, what we are referring to is the fact that when he finally had a chance to salvage “Love Me Forever,” arguably the best song of his to get leaked in 2015, he instead chose to have it chopped & screwed and placed as the outro of Slime Season 2. The original track, a sweeping ode to his fiancee, is the most earnest we’ve ever seen Thug (“Baby you know that I care about your destiny,” he croons reassuringly, as his backing vocals scream out for reciprocation of his unabashed love), and the entire impact of the song is dulled on the version he chose to release. Luckily, the internet - and lists like this one- exist, and history will hopefully vindicate the OG version of the song. We can’t wait for some unsuspecting kid to stumble upon this cut in 2060, only to have his entire worldview tinted by Thug’s intoxicating romanticism thereafter.