Long time fans of Young Thug need no introduction to Wheezy. Since 2015’s Barter 6 Wheezy has become a staple of the Young Thug cannon, crafting lush compositions that freely blend influences from a handful of seemingly divergent genres. Thug has also historically taken pride in shirking convention - when the mainstream goes left, he goes right, when they go up, he goes down - and no matter where he lands, Wheezy is there with a batch of new inspirations for our favorite abstractionist. From their early tracks, such as “Amazing,” “Would Wood,” “She Notice,” to Jeffery, which he executive produced with TM88 - Wheezy’s canvases have always drawn a purposeful performance from Thug.
After his appearances on last year’s Beautiful Thugger Girls, Super Slimey, Wins and Losses, and Gunna’s viral EP, Drip or Drown, Wheezy set himself up for a helluva breakout year in 2018. This past year has been Wheezy’s most deliberate chapter to date: He laced Lil Baby & Gunna’s Drip Harder, did a lot of heavy-lifting on Future & Juice WRLD’s WRLD On Drugs, assisted Metro Boomin on his album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, and set up for his own forthcoming debut album, Tsunami Drive. He also landed multiple songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including his first #1 with Lil Baby’s “Yes Indeed (ft. Drake)”, and the newest Meek Mill and Drake collab, “Going Bad” (which recently debuted at #6). Drake, in particular, seems to be drawn to Wheezy’s atypical beats, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them continue to work together in the future.
Now, beat-making is often a collaborative effort, and some of Wheezy’s most recognizable placements in 2018 have been alongside his contemporaries. Frequent collaborators such as Metro Boomin, TM88 and CuBeatz lend their talents to many of these compositions, and we’ll make sure to point out which instrumentals were team efforts.
Without further delay, here are our top 10 Wheezy Beats of 2018.
10. Dave East - "Us (ft. Gunna)"
Dave East spent a lot of 2018 proving his versatility, and one of his most surprising moves was stepping into Gunna & Wheezy’s world with “Us”. The beat is a standard mix of subtle melody and thudding 808s, with Wheezy not doing much to cater to East’s more traditional tastes. However, it succeeds in pushing East to debut a brand new style, successfully adding another trick to his arsenal.
9. Rich the Kid - "Lost It (ft. Quavo & Offset)"
Some of Wheezy’s best beats are sparse, utilizing a minimalist approach in order to highlight a given MC’s vocal performance. With Doughboy Beatz and Metro Boomin’s assistance, the “Lost It” instrumental is the best of both world; a hard-hitting drum pattern weaves in and out of Wheezy’s ambient negative space, allowing all three rappers ample room to flex their distinct styles.
8. Gunna - "Toast Up"
Since last year’s Drip or Drown EP, Wheezy has become one of Gunna’s most effective producers. Much like his early work with Thug, Wheezy’s beats consistently push Gunna to deliver his most impassioned verses. They have multiple highlights together this year - “Pedestrian” and “World is Yours” to name two - but “Toast Up” sits at the top as one of their best ballads to date. Solely produced by Wheezy, Gunna compliments the subtle twinkle of the melody with equally seductive verses dedicated to the fruits of his labor.
7. Kevin Gates - "Wrong Love"
Kevin Gates’ voice commands attention like none other and Wheezy compliments his authority by delivering one of his most malleable beats of the year. Due to the content of this track, it would have been easy to play up the theatrics of the beat but, as always, Wheezy proves that less is more. He forgoes the exuberance and chooses instead to play with the drums in small yet meaningful ways. His choices create a backdrop that’s engaging without detracting from the gravity of Gates’ heartfelt lyrics.
6. MadeinTYO - "Addicted To Power"
Throughout the year, Wheezy has been calculated in his placements. But with that purposeful approach comes some constraints to creativity. With higher profile acts, there’s a specific sound they might be looking for - you don’t always get to let loose and have fun. Thankfully, there were some specific collaborations this year where you can tell Wheezy was allowed to experiment a bit: MadeinTYO’s “Addicted To Power,” Future’s “Money Train” and Larry June’s “Doing Good” to name a few. “Addicted to Power,” co-produced by TM88 and K. Swisha, and “Money Train,” co-produced by CuBeatz, are whimsical bundles of joy. The latter, with FKi1st, is skittish and paranoia-inducing. The selling point for all three is their gleeful cross-collaboration, one that results in non-traditional drum patterns and an intentionally oddball assortment of sounds.
5. Quavo - "FLIP THE SWITCH (ft. Drake)"
While Quavo’s album arrived to mixed reception, one of the undeniable highlights was the collab with Drake. Another Wheezy & CuBeatz concoction, it’s an uptempo beat that subverts its potential aggressiveness with a playful backing melody, one that feels like it’s lifted right out of a traveling carnival. The nostalgic bounce inspires Quavo to pay homage to his childhood by interpolating Juvenile’s “Ha” flow, while the complimentary hi-hats bring out Drake’s grimy mob boss persona.
4. Meek Mill - "Pay You Back (ft. 21 Savage)"
Another testament to Wheezy’s crazy year is the fact that he scored two placements on Championships. And although “Going Bad” is the clear hit, there’s a certain menace to “Pay You Back” that overshadows the allure of the Drake collab. With an assist for CuBeatz, Wheezy crafts a dramatic, high-octane instrumental that serves as a perfect backdrop for Meek & 21 Savage’s flurry of threats.
3. Millie Go Lightly - "Ride With U"
Millie Go Lightly made her dazzling debut on Young Thug’s 2017 album Beautiful Thugger Girls. “Medicine”, her demo of “Family Don’t Matter” over Wheezy’s spacey instrumental, is the inspiration behind Thug’s BTG intro. Since that fateful creative spark, she’s quickly developed a chemistry with the YSL camp, teasing future collaborations while carefully developing her talent behind the scenes. Her two songs with Wheezy - her second official single, “Ride With U”, and the leaked “Candy” featuring Gunna - are both promising experiments that showcase Wheezy’s versatility as much as they do Millie’s vocal capabilities. The former is 808-heavy and catches a unique rhythm, but is purposefully sparse in melody, allowing Millie the chance to create the textures with her performance. And the latter sees Wheezy and Millie (and Gunna for that matter) in top-form, joining forces to create an undeniably catchy tune ready-made for the pop charts. Should it ever get an official release, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Rihanna enthusiastically co-signing it on her Instagram.
2. Lil Baby - "Yes Indeed (ft. Drake)"
There are probably a few different factors that played into the virality of “Yes Indeed.” There’s Drake’s yearly co-sign of an up & coming ATL star. There’s Baby wah-wah-wah-ing. And then there’s Wheezy’s beat. It’s not the kind of genre-defying instrumental Wheezy usually aims for when producing for Thug, nor is it the spacey type of beat Gunna often prefers. Yes, it’s characteristically stripped down, but it’s also surprisingly hypnotic. It’s crude and haphazard, an anti-single single that took off due to the sheer audaciousness of it all. If you prefer something a bit more fleshed out, Wheezy also produced Baby’s recent collab with Thug, “Section 8”, but as far as “Yes Indeed” goes, we wouldn’t want to change a single note.
1. Young Thug - "MLK (ft. Shad da God & Trouble)"
There are a myriad of Young Thug x Wheezy collaborations to pick from; since the inception of their relationship, Wheezy’s most developed compositions have always gone to Thugger. Even though 2018 was a relatively light year for the YSL founder, there’s still the infectiousness of Slime Language’s “It’s A Slime (ft. Lil Uzi Vert)” and the enchanting “Icey” off On The Rvn. (The former is a solo work while the latter had assistance from Outtatown and Keyyz). Then there’s the R&B fusion of another Slime Language highlight, “January 1st (ft. Jacquees & Trapboy Freddy)”, which Wheezy produced alongside Bobby Raps, DY Krazy and Cicero. There’s also Wheezy and TM88’s “Backbone” from Birdman’s Before Anythang soundtrack, a triumphant backdrop for Thug’s celebratory rhymes.
As many of the songs on this list have shown, some of Wheezy’s most eclectic instrumentals are the result of collaborative efforts. However, our choice for the first spot on this list is purely a result of Wheezy’s solo genius: “MLK,” Thug’s street single from the first quarter of the year, featuring Shad da God and Trouble. It’s a funky beat that’s as lively as it is measured. It’s the best of all of Wheezy’s attributes; it’s simple but layered, evocative but not overwhelming. Wheezy’s flourishes are subtle and, more importantly, intentional. There’s a reason it inspired one of Thug’s best performances of the year.