In a year of rap disappointment filled with projects that are here on Friday morning and stale by Saturday evening, Young Thug took his bonnet off to deliver an album that finally gets the recognition his innovative talent deserves.
At 128k first-week units sold, So Much Fun, Young Thug's sixth studio-released solo album, more than tripled the first-week sales of his next most commercially successful project—Slime Season 3(38k first-week units). The success is a combination of smart business moves and, of course, a high quality project.
For the past five years, the impact of Young Thug and the numbers have never matched; through 2014 to 2018, diehard Thug fans were going toe-to-toe with the millions of student loan debt drenched J. Cole fans, yet the first-week numbers of each Thug project would always come back looking like a zero was accidentally left off.
Barter 6 has become a certified cult classic, but failed to even crack 20k first-week sales in 2015. The cover art of Jeffrey turned 2016 Twitter into a think piece that 2019 Twitter would be proud of, only for the project to sale a fraction of the outcry it generated. The most alarming, and somewhat disrespectful, first-week numbers came in 2017 with the results of Beautiful Thugger Girls—a project that many, myself included, consider a classic and has gone on to pave the way for literally the biggest records years after its release.
It seemed as though the commercial success of Young Thug's projects were destined to never live up to his talent or the projects' quality. Then Thug decided to play the game of the music industry. From opening for J.Cole on his KOD tour to featuring on pop hits like Camila Cabello's "Havana" and Post Malone's "Goodbye", Young Thug's unique ability to make a song standout placed him next to the biggest names in music, making his next project the one with by far the most fans attached. With more ears than ever ready to hear what the Atlanta rapper had to say, Thug did what he's been doing for over half a decade now—gave the world a show.
From start to finish, the album lives up to its name, as each song creates a new lighthearted enjoyable experience. Even though intro, "Just How It Is", references Thug's past crimes, almost killing someone in Lenox Mall, and brags about his expertise, the song still has a playful bounce thanks to the repeated "Ooh-woo" matched with Wheezy production.
That energy is matched throughout the project, as each song combines braggadocios lyrics with creative hooks and energy that only an artist as unrestricted as Young Thug can bring. Tracks like "Sup Mate", "Hot", and "Cartier Gucci Scarf" show off how unafraid Thug is in trying out deliveries that most artists wouldn't even consider. His voice literally cracks back to normal mid-verse on "Cartier Gucci Scarf" while he alters his voice to one completely different from the one he uses to execute the hook. Aside from prime Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar on features, no rapper is coming close to keeping listeners on their toes as much as Young Thug.
Overall, So Much Fun, is just that. It's engaging, memorable and adventurous from beginning to end.