Ranking All of Young Thug's Projects

Complex Original

Year: 2011

When Young Thug released his debut mixtape I Came From Nothing in 2011, he was still figuring things out. At 19 years old, he was finding his own voice as a rapper, and the Lil Wayne influences were very apparent. The 13-track tape is extremely raw, and Thug would go on to considerably refine his skills from here. Still, even at such a young age, he showed promise, already willing to stretch his vocals to somewhat unorthodox places and rap about things from an outside-the-box perspective. —Eric Skelton

Year: 2011

Shortly after dropping I Came From Nothing, a young and hungry Thug dropped the sequel in December 2011. Only six months had passed, but he already showed noticeable improvement, picking better beats, pulling off catchier melodies, and gaining the confidence to belt out increasingly outrageous one-liners. The Young Thug we know today was still developing, and I Came From Nothing 2 is still a very raw project, but it represented another promising step forward for an emerging artist with a big future. Speaking of Future, the fellow Atlanta star who would go on to make countless songs with Thug, makes an early appearance on “My Everything.” —Eric Skelton

Year: 2012

There’s a reason Thug’s first three projects are listed in reverse chronological order at the bottom of this list: He was getting better and finding himself as an artist with each passing month at the beginning of his career. By the time he dropped I Came From Nothing 3, he had grown more confident in his ability to experiment and stray from the norm, yelping eccentric, high-pitched bars all over the tape. He’s a little out of control at times, and there are some misses, but you can hear him coming into his own in real time (he was about to take a major step up on 1017 Thug the following year). —Eric Skelton

Year: 2014

The Purple Album might be better in theory than it is in reality, but at the very least, we got to witness two of Atlanta’s biggest stars connect at different points in their careers. Gucci had already been a big star for years, and Thugger was just a few months removed from his 2013 early-career masterpiece, 1017 Thug. Gucci was on autopilot through parts of the tape, and Thug was the hungry upstart. The record has some excellent moments (see: “Clap Your Hands”), but it best functions as a relic of the time in which everything in Atlanta began to change. —Will Schube

Year: 2014

As the story goes, 1017 Thug 3: The Finale, just like the preceding release 1017 Thug 2, was a compilation of songs put together without Thug’s participation, as a way to get out of a record deal, so it doesn’t rank high against some of his more intentional projects. Still, there are some thrilling moments on here, like the Gucci Mane collab “My Bitches Get Money.” This isn’t the kind of project you’ll find yourself returning to over and over, especially with all the other great music Thug has released by now, but if you’ve never heard a gem like “I Ain’t Drunk Yet,” it’s definitely worth a spin. —Eric Skelton

Year: 2014

After Young Thug caught the attention of Gucci and signed to his 1017 Brick Squad Records, it wasn’t long before the two hopped in the studio to record their first collaboration tape. Young Thugga Mane La Flare finds a burgeoning Jeffery still finding his way around the mic, tapping into different melodies and unique ad-libs, discovering what type of weird he wants to adopt next. Despite the project’s title, implying an even split of representation from both Thug and Gucci, the elder statesmen takes the reigns here and finds his rhythm faster on the 13-track project, while Thug plays a more supportive role. But to Thug’s credit, at no point during Young Thugga Mane La Flare does it sound like he’s trying to cosplay as his mentor. And supported by DJ Holiday production, this tape acts as a taste test to the flavors Thug would go on to develop. —Jordan Rose

Year: 2014

Because of extenuating circumstances, 1017 Thug 2 is a collection of songs that don’t always fit together. Rumor has it the project was assembled from an engineer who was instructed to put a record together so Thug could finish his contract with Gucci’s 1017 label. With it being Thug, though, there are still some bangers scattered about. “Strange Things” is an underrated masterpiece in Thug’s sprawling discography. —Will Schube

Year: 2014

On its face, the title of Black Portland (one of America’s whitest cities) doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But Bloody Jay spelled it out to The Fader in 2014, and it actually reveals itself to be a clever title: “We’re on fire right now in the streets of Atlanta, and we’re stoners, so you know, we’re the Blazers and Atlanta is Black Portland,” said Jay. Thug really starts diving into his alien delivery on the tape, and “2 Bitches (Danny Glover)” is worth the price of admission on its own. —Will Schube

Year: 2018

It’s difficult to judge a project that only has three songs, but honestly, Thug did what he had to do on his very short offering, Hear No Evil EP. Not only does the EP have one of his only songs with Nicki Minaj on “Anybody,” but it’s also interesting hearing her adopt Thug’s flow and slide with it. The closing song “Now” comes with an earworm of a hook and demonstrates the chemistry that Thug and 21 Savage have. Hear No Evil is ultimately just a collection of loose singles that needed a home, but in true Young Thug fashion, he still manages to make it fun. —Jordan Rose

Year: 2017

With the Young Martha EP, Thug met his match in terms of a producer prone to the same eccentricities as he has on the mic. The Guatemalan-American beatmaker plays with organ samples and massive drum sounds, creating an entirely new landscape for Thug to explore. Thugger stretches his vocals to their maximal extremes, and on a song like “Liger,” his creative flow makes up for the Napoleon Dynamite reference. —Will Schube

Year: 2021

Thug’s latest effort in his YSL takeover mission was Slime Language 2, a compilation project that shines when his presence invigorates tracks like “Ski” and “Solid,” but wanes a bit in his absence. The second half of the project shows Thug trying maybe a bit too hard to help his team shine—but it’s also a sign of how much he wants his team to win. —Andre Gee

Year: 2017

For a long time, the idea of Future and Young Thug joining forces on a collab project was fuel for Reddit chatrooms and fake album cover art. So when Super Slimey spontaneously combusted on the internet in 2017, it was an exciting moment. On paper, bringing two of the most influential trap artists together on one tape should yield an instant classic, but in reality, Super Slimey folded under the weight of expectations. It definitely has its moments, like Thug’s crooked crooning on “Killed Before” and the spring-like verse-trading on the Southside-produced “Patek Water.” However, it’s the same syrupy synths that make Thug and Future exciting that slow them down here, leading to a project that feels like both artists are compromising their own loud styles to leave room for the other to shine. The purple haze of Future’s toxic wordplay and Thug’s green goo of backward metaphors are still very present here, but instead of their two sounds blending to create a new, multi-dimensional hue, the tape just dives deeper into the colors that they’ve already explored. Ultimately, Super Slimey is just meant to be fun, and it is. Despite sacrificing experimentation and weirdness for textbook hit-making schemes, the project successfully brings two icons together to deliver a good time. —Jordan Rose

Year: 2018

After launching YSL Records, Thug tagged his labelmates, rap friends, and even blood relatives to create Slime Language, and as far as compilation tapes go, it’s a successful one. It might not be a tentpole moment in Thug’s career, but it is another example of how well he’s able to utilize an array of sounds on the same project. Slime Language offers the contagious intro “Tsunami,” fan-favorite tracks like “Chanel (Go Get It)” with Lil Baby and Gunna, and the introspective moments of “STS” featuring Strick. Overall, Slime Language feels more balanced than you might expect from a label compilation, while giving the budding YSL artists their shine and leaving room for Thug to steer the ship. —Jordan Rose

Year: 2018

It’s not every day that a rapper like Young Thug drops a 6-song EP featuring the likes of Elton John. While the story of that song (“High”) originally dates all the way back to 2015, when John professed his love for Thug in a Noisey interview, it was recorded a year later and released two years later as the clear highlight of an already stacked On The Rvn EP, along with other features from Offset, 6LACK, Jaden Smith, and T-Shyne. —Ben Felderstein

Year: 2020

Slime & B was an unexpected mixtape, dropped on Tuesday, May 5 to commemorate Chris Brown’s birthday. Initially released for free on SoundCloud, it managed to be a well-done and fun tape. The standout track “Go Crazy” was the only chart-topper, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Nevertheless, Slime & B turned out to be one of the better collaborations between a rapper and R&B singer, with Young Thug and Chris Brown being a very complementary pair, coming together for an enjoyable project that easily worked into summer playlists. —Jessica McKinney

Year: 2013

1017 Thug is the project where Young Thug really came into his own and found his voice in the early stages of his career. Before this moment, he had kicked things off with the I Came From Nothing trilogy, three tapes that captured a promising young artist figuring things out in real time and searching for his own lane. Then he dropped 1017 Thug, which might ultimately be remembered as the moment Young Thug became Young Thug in the way we think of him today. On highlights like “2 Cups Stuffed” and “Picacho,” he confidently leans into his eccentricities, stepping out of the shadows of his influences and into his own wonderfully bizarre universe. There are some misses, sure, but the highlights represent the first instance the world really perked up and took notice of his budding genius (his chanting hook on “2 Cups Stuffed” still goes hard to this day). —Eric Skelton

Year: 2016

One of my favorite things about Thug is when he references a person or topic, names the song after said thing, and then makes a song not about it at all. On I’m Up opener “F Cancer (Boosie),” he prays for Boosie to beat cancer and then proceeds to rap about how he’ll fuck your main bitch and give her cooties. The record was originally set to be the third edition in his Slime Season series, but in typical Thug fashion, he changed the title up on release day. It’s loose in feel and at only nine tracks long, short on filler. It’s the sort of project only someone like Thug could drop without fanfare and churn out good. —Will Schube

Year: 2017

Beautiful Thugger Girls gets off to a great start due to the sheer brilliance of its first song, “Family Don’t Matter.” The very loose concept of Thugger’s country record is most apparent on this first song, with the MC crooning over haunted choir snippets and a gently plucked acoustic guitar. You can practically see the cowboy hat on his head and the straw in his mouth as he warbles over the Rex Kudo and Wheezy beat. And the projects holds momentum from there, featuring standouts like the Future-assisted “Relationships” and “For Y’all” featuring Jacquees. Let’s be real. There might not be a Lil Nas X if Thug didn’t drop Beautiful Thugger Girls back in 2017. —Will Schube

Year: 2015

Young Thug loves trilogies. Dropping only one month after Slime Season, Thug stayed in the lab to continue experimenting on his sound here, probing the rap game and testing his vocal chops. Slime Season 2 finds Thug spinning stories through a compelling stream-of-consciousness, changing flows frequently on tracks like “Phoenix,” while also sticking to the script and creating classics like “Pull Up On A Kid” and “Thief In The Night.” There are some repetitive hooks and tired bars here and there, but the hypnotizing production from Wheezy, London on da Track, and others lift Slime Season 2 to the higher ranks of his discography. The tape holds up as a good halftime show in Thug’s all-important Slime Season trilogy. —Jordan Rose

Year: 2015

Slime Season holds up as one of the best representations of what makes Young Thug so appealing. The 17-track mixtape is outside the box and might take new listeners off guard, but Thug also delivers accessible hits like “Best Friend” and “Power.” The mystique of Thug has never been in the clarity of his lyrics, and the abstract nature of Slime Season is what makes it so exciting. Released in 2015, the project further established Thug’s distinct and experimental style of rap, which has completely influenced a new generation of rappers today. —Jessica McKinney

Year: 2019

Before 2019, Thug was a cult hero who had moments in the mainstream spotlight but hadn’t yet released a solo project that broke through and topped charts. That changed with So Much Fun, an aptly-titled project. The 19-tracker wasn’t a stark departure from his previous work, but rather an exemplary coalescence of his knack for melody, tongue-twisting cadences, and characteristic eccentricity. Buoyed by singles “Hot” and “The London,” as well as standouts like “Bad Bad Bad” and “What’s The Move,” the album debuted at No. 1 and went platinum in less than a year, giving Thug the commercial bonafides to match his cultural standing. —Andre Gee

Year: 2014

Tha Tour caught Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan moving in opposite directions. The Birdman-hosted tape was a star-making moment for Thug, the project that cashed in on all that promised potential. It was a top prospect putting the pieces together and becoming a star. Quan, though, never returned to the heights he found with Tha Tour. The chemistry between Thug and Quan on the project was telepathic, but the duo had a falling out afterwards, and Quan fell under the weight of legal issues and label disputes. With that hindsight, Tha Tour was a paradise, an Eden for rap devotees, with songs like “Lifestyle” representing one of the best collaborative efforts of the 21st century. Fortunately, Quan regained his form and has had a nice resurgence, and Tha Tour was a turning point for Thug. It’s impossible to quantify how monumental that moment in time became for Atlanta rap and hip-hop in general. —Will Schube

Year: 2016

“My money way longer than a NASCAR race” is the first line of “Wyclef Jean,” the first song on Thugger’s superlative 2016 project. It’s fun to imagine Thugger either counting money for the duration of a NASCAR race or lining his money up around the track, and it’s the perfect way to open the tape. The songs on the project are named after Thug’s idols, like “Kanye West” and “RiRi,” and the tape represents one of Thug’s strongest works front to back since Barter 6. Fans may remember the record for its iconic cover, with Thug draped in a beautiful blue dress, but that statement only hinted at the thrilling places Young Thug goes on Jeffery. —Will Schube

Year: 2016

When you think of Young Thug really perfecting his own individual and influential sound, most will turn to Barter 6 as the genesis of that. For me, it’s the Slime Season era (an era that started just a short five months after Barter 6 albeit) that really helped propel the rapper into who he is today. The entire trilogy came after a massive hack that saw countless Thug tracks dumped all over the internet, forcing his hand in a way. As a result, we got three tapes that all find their way into the top 7 of this list. At only eight songs long, Slime Season 3 is an incredibly consice and seamless 28-minute listen that takes you through some of the most memorable hits in Thug’s career, including “Digits,” “Memo,” and “With Them,” which debuted during Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo listening party at Madison Square Garden. Young Thug has a very unique ability to create music that is distinctly his own, due to repeating tendencies and familiar tactics, while managing to rarely recycle the same sounds, and Slime Season 3 is the perfect example of that. —Ben Felderstein

Year: 2015

The release of Barter 6 was a defining moment in Young Thug’s career arc. In 2015, he was riding high off the buzz from breakout singles like “Stoner” and “Danny Glover.” He was starting to get mainstream attention and the stakes were raising each week; his face was even on magazine covers for the first time. Then, as the world was watching, he had the audacity to call his next project Barter 6 (after originally wanting to name it Carter 6) at the exact moment his idol Lil Wayne’s next album Tha Carter V was going through delays because of a dispute with Cash Money. The pressure was on. If Barter 6 didn’t deliver on the hype, all of Thug’s buzz was at risk of disappearing as fast as it had arrived.

Well, not only did he deliver, he did it in spectacular fashion. Barter 6 managed to exceed all the hype, showing that Young Thug had even more range and potential than anyone realized. The 13-song project had the hard-hitting records (“Halftime”) and off-the-wall eccentricities that brought Thug so much hype in the first place, but it also showcased his hit-making abilities and knack for putting together unusual records that posess mainstream appeal. Barter 6 is somehow accessible and weird as hell all at once. That’s the beauty of Thug’s music, and he struck a perfect balance here.

The lasting impact of Barter 6 has already been massive, and it’s influenced artists from all genres. When I interviewed James Blake recently, he told me, “Barter 6 made me rethink production. It was so satisfying and minimal. It’s fucking amazing. ‘Constantly Hating’ changed the way I thought about production.” You could make the case for several of Thug’s projects to top this list, but Barter 6 checks off all boxes of what makes him such a special artist, and it represents the moment he really pulled together all the pieces and became the influential star we know today. —Eric Skelton