Few know that Young Thug was a major influence on modern trap. Initially denounced and ridiculed as a "mumble rapper", the Thugger shaped a whole generation of young musicians. Almost all current greats in rap, such as Travis Scott, Migos or Lil Baby name the rapper from Atlanta as the greatest inspiration for their music. For the latter, Young Thug wasn't just an inspiration. He pulled it off the streets himself, giving Lil Baby his meteoric rise.
Thugger puts pressure on Lil Baby
Lil Baby's new album "It's only me" is scheduled for release next Friday (October 14th, 2022). It includes 23 titles and well-known feature guests such as Future, Pooh Shiesty, EST Gee, Nardo Wick, Jeremih, Rylo Rodriguez and Fridayy. With "Never Hating", Lil Baby also presents a feature with the YSL leader himself. However, the Thugger seems to fear a delay in the release and now addressed Lil Baby directly with a somewhat dramatic tweet:
In the post Young Thug writes: "Wham if you don't drop in 3 days we are not brothers". He threatens the end of their friendship with Lil Baby if he doesn't drop the album as planned. Why Thugger is currently building up this pressure is currently unclear. Perhaps the prison conditions are giving him problems – he has been in custody since May and the prospects are anything but rosy. Of course, the interest could also be to draw maximum attention to his friend for the release of the album.
Thugger and Lil Baby's are very close
Few people know that Young Thug and Lil Baby's share a common history. Growing up together in Atlanta, Georgia, Thugger spotted Lil Baby's talent early on and took him off the streets and into the studio. Lil Baby was involved in a variety of criminal activities as a gang member at the time and, like many, was at risk of dying as a result. To stop this, the Thugger grabbed the young banger, talked him into his conscience and even paid him money to stay off the streets, Lil Baby revealed in an interview with The Breakfast Club. "He asked me how much money I would make on the street today and I said somewhere between 7K and 10K. Then he just said he would give it to me. I should just go to the studio.” Thugger also attended in the same format, stating, "I didn't want him to go back to prison. He was just starting to get attention for his music and a lot of likes and comments on Instagram. After his detention, he just wanted to go back to the same house that the police had already broken into and where he had been arrested.” Young Thug therefore seems something of a mentor if not big brother to Lil Baby. Accordingly, the current situation in which the YSL collective around Young Thug finds itself will also cause problems for him on various levels. On the one hand because he, like many, is probably very concerned about the future of the Thugger, which is certainly blocking him creatively. On the other hand, because of his proximity to YSL, he has to fear that he might get caught up in the investigators' threads himself. We'll see if the album will be released next Friday anyway. Young Thug's message may have made that more likely, as Lil Baby certainly doesn't want to let his mentor and big brother down. Whatever the situation surrounding Thugger and Lil Baby's album, we'll stay tuned for you!
Source: KBE, hiphopdx.com, instagram.com/youngthug.brasil