So Much Fun - Young Thug: Review
is an Atlanta hip hop artist who arrived in a wave of trap music in the mid 2000's coming with connections to artists like Gucci Mane, Migos and Travis Scott, eventually dropping a critically acclaimed and commercially successful debut Barter 6. In 2016 Thugger released what many believe to be his magnum opus record with Jeffery which was cited by numerous publications as one of the best albums of the year and spawned many fan favorite and cult-classic tunes. Since then he has released one studio album focused on a specific experiment, as well as a number of collaborative albums and EPs with various artists, but So Much Fun seems to be a more focused and important entry into his ever growing discography.
Review by Lavender:
Young Thug has long been one of the best personalities in hip hop, both with hilarious and zany lyrics and performances, as well as a killer personality and thirst for experimentation in the genre. He got off to a fantastic start to his career dropping a number of solid mixtapes as well as two records that ended up in my top 50 albums of the year in back to back years. Barter 6 was a sleek and stylish trap record that traded Thuggers exuberance for sheer catchiness and spawned numerous songs I still have in rotation to this day. But the very next year he truly let his personality and individualism shine on the fantastic Jeffery which featured songs named after people he admired or influenced his sound and is one of the true trap highlights of this entire decade. Since Jeffery Thugger has dropped some projects that I love like his Young Martha collaborative EP with Carnage, or his melodic and gorgeous On The Rvn EP. As well as a few I wasn't so fond of like his Hear No Evil EP and the Young Stoner Life compilation record he appeared frequently on for his label. His two biggest projects released in that time period tend to be a little hit or miss, Beautiful Thugger Girls was an album I enjoyed more than most that saw Thugger attempting to interpolate acoustic guitar and the realms of country music into his songwriting, before Lil Nas X made it commonplace. His collaboration with Future on the other hand Super Slimey was one that I could have done without and liked far less songs on it than most fans. As Thugger has always been one of the most unique and exciting voices in modern hip hop I was looking forward to this record, and while it is certainly good the album is held back by bad features and an inability to put everything together in its tunes.
We will start off with what isn't worthwhile on the album, just a few tracks with little redeemability. Lil Baby is one of the most drab and uneventful songs here and it is fittingly named after an artist who produces so many tracks like it. I Bought Her may be the weakest track here with a super generic beat, some auto-tuned singing from Thugger that is nothing but uninspired and an awful Lil Duke verse to cap it off. Finally Boy Back is a rough track with a DJ Mustard beat that needs much more attention and a focus on Nav who delivers both the hook and the first verse of his song and while I could tolerate him on Astroworld there is just way too much of him here and his performance is very disappointing.
Next up lets look at a number of songs here who are lacking in some aspects, but are able to make up for it with good qualities. Light It Up has one of the weakest beats on the record provided by Pi'errs Bourne but Thugger is charming and hilarious over top of the instrumental in a way that is difficult to ignore and kept me coming back to the track. Surf is another Pi'erre Bourne beat but this time it is the highlight of the song with some cute tropical island vibes, the issue here is that the song has one of the weakest hooks on the album and a flat out awful verse from Gunna that nearly sinks the track altogether. Big Tipper features an honestly uninspired beat worked on by 808 Mafia and Southside, as well as one of the worst guest spots here where Lil Keed does an absolutely agonizing impression of Young Thug and if Thugger hadn't been so good in his verses there may not be any reason to turn this song on at all. Pussy is another song with a very long and pretty difficult to sit through hook that just revolves around the phrase "Big Pussies". But thankfully the instrumental is a short and hypnotic loop and Thugger does a great job showing his eccentric side over it to totally save the song.
The biggest section of the review will be this one, where I take a look at the tracks here that are mostly complete but come up short in a way that makes me wish there was just a little bit more quality control. Sup Mate is a constantly evolving song that bounces rapid fire from one refrain to another and features some obvious chemistry from Young Thug and Future. The only issue I have here is that there just isn't really any semblance of structure and the two seem to be improvising their way through the tune, Hot is a pretty typical trap tune with a Gunna verse that bored me, but didn't actively turn me away, its a song that's good while its on but may not be the most standout song here, the same could be said for Jumped Out The Window a pretty by the numbers trap banger, but a good one.
What's The Move features a great hook from Thugger and while Lil Uzi Vert drops some of the worst lyrics on the entire record during his feature on the song it is still tolerable which is a step up for Uzi feature wise and makes the song a worthwhile venture. Bad Bad Bad starts off with a killer flow from Thugger that I love and the hook has some absolute BARS, the only issue here is that Lil Baby is trying so hard to be Future that it's a little distracting and I wish the track didn't end off with it.
What makes So Much Fun an album worth diving into is just how many excellent tracks are here, and at over an hour long if there had been some cutting the record could have seriously been amazing. The intro cut Just How It Is is a mellow intro with a stuttering half-beat I like a lot and animated delivery that glides me into the record perfectly. Ecstacy is a song I could see being a big hit with a killer beat that isn't afraid to include some shrill synths that help drive the song and make it one of the most hard hitting here. Thugger dives lyrically into the drug induced world of success and makes for one of the best and sharpest songs here. I'm scared is a great collaboration with a spacey, haunted house style beat from Pi'erre Bourne as well as some sharp guests. Thugger is catchy and smooth as ever and even Doe Boy finds himself sounding pretty solid over the beat, but 21 Savage absolutely steals the show with one of the best features I've ever heard from him in a verse that is rapid fire hilarity from start to finish in his typically cold delivery.
Cartier Gucci Scarf grew on me a ton since I first heard it as a snippet and the chorus sounds so much better here. Thugger pulls out the Harambe voice for the verse on this song and the track is just so strange in the best way that I can't help but be captivated by it. Even Lil Duke sounds good on this tune and drops what I think is the best of his features on So Much Fun. Circle Of Bosses is a winning combination from the start with a great Wheezy beat and the amazing chemistry of Young Thug and Quavo. They just have so much fun together on this song and it clearly stands out as one of the best here. Mannequin Challenge sees J. Cole in the credits as a writer and is all the better for it because Juice WRLD and Young Thug make the most of the bright and blippy beat. They have a ton of fun and drop one catchy refrain after another, and Juice WRLD matching Thuggers singing ability is so refreshing at this point on the album. Finally the closer is The London a great single that was released last month and sees Thugger team up with Travis Scott and J. Cole for a lowkey trap tune with plenty of quotables and plenty of fast catchy verses to go around.
So Much Fun has plenty of Young Thug at his absolute best with numerous songs that are among his best to date, The records downfall starts and ends with a lack of quality control, numerous songs on this record include pointless tacked on features from far less capable rappers that extend the records runtime with nonsense filler, and while it is less of a problem there are a few songs here that I would cut out entirely where Thugger sounds like a feature on his own record. There is a brilliant album hidden in So Much Fun but judging it as a whole requires some maneuvering around moments that make the record feel like every second of its hour plus runtime. 7/10
