Young thug

So close but not quite there yet, Young Thug is perhaps still in the adolescence of his music career. The Atlanta rapper has had three mixtapes this year alone, and a long-awaited album forever on the horizon.

Born Jeffery Lamar Williams, he thrives on being the kind of musician who dips his toe in the water, tempting his fans with the possibility of more, but never quite diving in. This fits the idea that he might be the most enigmatic rapper anywhere near the mainstream. Speculation about his sexuality, often stemming from lines like the one in “Lifestyle” in which he quips, “I won’t do nothin’ with the b—-/ she can’t even get me hard,” only serves to fan the flames. He also calls his male friends “lovers,” and his wardrobe features a curious amount of women’s clothing. But who cares — what’s more impressive is the way he basks in his enigma and makes it almost exclusively the theme of his work.

Since his 2013 hit “Stoner” made it onto the airwaves, his evolution has been fascinating. The incomprehensible yet incredibly earworm-y hooks of “Hookah” and “Danny Glover” have been pushed aside for a smoother, more polished version of Thug, more subdued in both lyrics and delivery. While the mumbling that pushed him into relative stardom still makes an appearance, the new Young Thug wants to be heard.

One of 11 children, Young Thug, or Thugger, as he calls himself, grew up in the Atlanta’s Jonesboro South housing project. He often stole and gambled away whatever he’d taken. He played varsity quarterback in ninth grade, but quit the next year once his gambling problem grew. While it’s hard to know when he became a member of the Bloods street gang, it’s clear that it’s had a major influence on both his life and music. “All I know is red, we’ve been like that since the ’90s” he proclaims in “Signs” off his Black Portland mixtape. He often changes C’s in his lyrics to B’s. “If cops pull up I put that crack in my crack/ Or I put that brack in my brack” he corrects himself in “Check,” off Barter 6.

While the speed with which Thug rose to fame isn’t uncommon in rap careers, he propelled himself to recognition in a matter of a few years. As a 19-year-old, he predicted he’d one day work with Cash Money Records, meanwhile ripping his sound off Lil Wayne in his first mixtape, I Came From Nothing. Thug idolized Wayne and finally got the chance to work with him last year on “Take Kare.”

But the friendship soon turned toxic when Young Thug decided to name April’s mixtape Tha Carter VI, both a continuation of and a knock at Lil Wayne’s Carter series. Thug said the name was a tribute to the rapper, of whom he’d been a longtime fan. Wayne wouldn’t have it, and Thug slyly changed the name to Barter 6.

Now 24 and engaged, Thug is finally finding his place. Both personally and musically, he continues to impress. His latest mixtapes, Slime Season and Slime Season 2, portray a more raw and honest Thugger, one who’s finally maturing into a hastily built career. But regardless of a change in tone, he just can’t hide his zaniness. Covered in tattoos and piercings, Thug is undeniably weird inside and out. He’s not afraid to screech and squeal and then craft lyrics to turn everything on its head. He hasn’t reached the fame of his idols, but he doesn’t seem too pressed to get there; unlike his eccentric style, the progress is coming naturally.