Young Thug

Young Thug And Gunna Smashed A Rolls Royce With Baseball Bats To Promote ‘Punk’

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Young Thug’s new album Punk drops in just a few hours after months of hyping the project’s fitting, against-the-grain nature. With Thug teasing the new music pretty much everywhere he’s gone, from Paris Fashion Week to Lyft rides from the studio, it’s been clear that he’s taking a non-traditional approach to promoting the project, just like a real punk should. At the album release party in Hollywood earlier this week, the Atlanta trap mad scientist doubled down by doing something completely unexpected: Smashing up a brand-new car with baseball bats. After all, what could be more punk than that?

Video of the celebration hit the internet a day later, catching Young Thug, Gunna, and Metro Boomin swinging baseball bats at the Rolls-Royce’s windows, which were spray-painted with the word “Punk.” Smashing up the luxury car seemed to be their way of embracing punk’s anti-capitalistic philosophy, but some fans didn’t see it that way, with a few pointing out that there would be better uses for the money that went into purchasing the car for the sole purpose of destruction.

However, the video seems to have done its job: Getting people talking about Young Thug and his upcoming album, so… mission accomplished. Wasteful or not, the video’s release ensures that fans know his album’s dropping — which means for Thug, it was well worth the expense.

Punk is out tonight at midnight ET via Atlantic and YSL.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Thug Surprises Lyft Drivers To Play Them His New Album, ‘Punk’

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In the new promo spot for Lyft, Atlanta rapper Young Thug surprises a number of Lyft drivers, playing them songs from his upcoming album, Punk. In the opening of the clip, Thug shows off his sense of humor, reproducing the Twitter favorite meme of Thug in the studio with Lil Durk before heading outside to catch his ride. The various drivers are all shocked and amazed to find that their rider is the world-famous rapper, with one saying, “Some people call you the greatest. I’m starting to see why.”

In the press release for the promo, Thug explains, “In a car, you get to hear sounds you wouldn’t hear if you were in a studio, or in a club, or on stage. When you record a slap, you’re like, we got to go hear this in the car.” Naturally, in addition to promoting both Lyft and Punk, the brand partnership benefits fans, too: Riders will get 10% off Young Thug merch and music from the rapper’s online shop using the promo code “PUNKLYFT.” Also, while using the app, entering the promo code “YOUNGTHUG” in the rewards tab will unlock “SP5DER Mode,” offering Young Thug-themed icons.

Thug’s rollout for Punk, which drops this Friday, October 15 via YSL and Atlantic, has also included the purchase of 100 acres of land for a Slime City theme park, a Tiny Desk Concert with Travis Barker, and the slippery single, “Tick Tock.” He also played a trio of new songs at the Givenchy Paris Fashion Week show.

Young Thug Told Kanye West They Would Not Be On Speaking Terms If He Didn’t Appear On ‘Donda’

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This Friday marks a bit moment for the music world: the release of a new Young Thug album. The Atlanta rapper is gearing up to share P*NK, which fans have spent the better part of two months waiting for after he announced it during an NPR Tiny Desk performance over the summer. Thug sat down with Complex for an interview, where he spoke about Kanye West and how he ended up on his tenth album, Donda.

“I just hit Kanye like, ‘Bro, if I ain’t on the album, we are not speaking,’” he said to Complex’s Erik Skelton. He explained his take on the legendary superstar. “What n****s don’t know about Kanye West is he’s a real n***a,” Thug said. “He’s a billionaire, and all that sh*t is cool, but in real life, he could survive in the trenches. If he go to the trenches, the jungle, he could survive. He a real n***a.”

So far, Thug has only shared one single from the album, namely “Tick Tock.”

You can read the full interview with Complex here.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

P*NK is out 10/15 via 300 Entertainment/Atlantic Records.

Rolling Loud Unveils An Epic Recap Video For The Miami Edition Of Their Festival

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This past summer, Rolling Loud became one of the first major music festivals to hold a showcase after the pandemic all but the industry down. The Miami edition of the festival took place in late July 23-25 at Hard Rock Stadium, boasting headlining performances from ASAP Rocky, Travis Scott, and Post Malone. Elsewhere Lil Baby, 21 Savage, DaBaby (as controversial as his set was), Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Roddy Ricch, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay.

For those who were unable to attend the festival, Rolling Loud has an alternative: Organizers recently released an “aftermovie” that captured all the wild and fiery moments of the Miami show. The 10-minute video features many of the aforementioned names, as well as others like The Kid Laroi, City Girls, Lil Yachty, Rod Wave, Morray, and more.

The video arrives less than three weeks before festival organizers bring the showcase to New York for a festival headlined by J. Cole, Travis Scott, and 50 Cent. Other performers for the New York show include Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Jack Harlow, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, Polo G, Moneybagg Yo, Joey Badass, Playboi Carti, Wale, Young Dolph, and Griselda Records.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Elton John Says Young Thug Freestyles Better Than Eminem

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Young Thug

English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer Elton John recently declared Young Thug “a better freestyle rapper than Eminem” — a controversial statement that has re-ignited conversation about Elton John’s past “beef” with Eminem over homophobic lyrics on The Marshall Mathers LP. Elton John A Big Fan Of Young Thug Elton John spoke of his “amazement” […]

Elton John Compares Young Thug’s Freestyles Favorably To Eminem’s

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Elton John’s been pop icon for literal decades, yet he shows few signs of slowing down, even as age is starting to catch up with him. In fact, he’s experienced something of a career resurgence, expanding into the world of hip-hop via collaborations with Lil Nas X and Young Thug. In a new interview with Billboard, Elton praised the latter, revealing the career advice he gave to Thug (despite having “no understanding of how rap records are put together”), and explaining why he was so blown away by Thugger’s recording process, even going as far as comparing it favorably to Eminem’s, another rapper with whom Elton maintains a friendship.

Recalling meeting Thug after the Atlanta rapper sampled his hit “Rocket Man” on the 2018 single “High,” Elton said, “He wanted to meet me…and we shot the breeze for 40 minutes. He said, “What do you think? What advice would you give me?’ I said, ‘Did you sing in the choir?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, of course I sang in the choir. Gospel choir.’ I said, ‘Sing more. Don’t just rap, sing more, because the mixture of rap and musicianship and melody is what really makes rap take off.’ And he’s doing that now.”

Of watching Thug record his song “Always Love You” by essentially freestyling it, Elton remembers being “just blown away. I mean, I’ve seen Marshall [Mathers] do it in Detroit, but I’ve never seen someone like Thug come in and do that. In the end, I had to leave because I think he felt a bit intimidated that I was there and I just wanted him to relax. But it’s just an amazing moment in my musical life… I have no understanding of how rap records are put together and it’s fascinating to watch.”

Read Elton John’s full interview here. Elton’s duet album Lockdown Sessions, which will feature Thug, as well as 6lack, Lil Nas X, and Nicki Minaj, among others, is due 10/22 via EMI and Mercury.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.