Young Thug has gone pink and punk. In an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that was released earlier today, the rapper premiered a handful of new songs — including an electrifying rock-rendition, aided by Travis Barker, of “Ski,” off of his latest posse album, Slime Language 2 — from his new album Punk! The record, as announced on the back of his T-shirt at the end of the performance, arrives October 15.
The new songs, a collection of rock and pop punk-inspired hip-hop that somehow blends effortlessly via the pure elasticity of Thug’s talent, seems to promise an exciting new left turn for rap’s best shapeshifter. This latest sonic adventure is just another in a long list throughout the years from Thug, from the country croons on Beautiful Thugger Girls in 2017 to the persistently chameleonic shades on JEFFERY the year before. This time, though, the shift has arrived with a full-tilt album rollout and an aesthetic of a pink palette and frequent florals, a nice little subversion (or, depending on your definition of the ideals of punk, alignment) with the punk theme.
