The Ones: Young Thug’s “The London” [ft. J. Cole and Travis Scott]
With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear curated by the Levels team. We sort through all the new songs—across all the platforms and subgenres—so you don’t have to. Thank us later.
Young Thug - “The London” [ft. J. Cole and Travis Scott]
In the last year the number of rappers who have found success through repackaging different eras of Young Thug is staggering. Artists have focused in on a single Thug delivery or quirk and used that as the foundation of their own styles, with some even taking certain elements further than Thug ever has (see: Lil Keed’s pitched up vocals!). But there’s still nothing like the real thing, as few can wield all of these flows like Thug can. Still, that skillset has sometimes been a difficulty for the Atlanta rapper to balance, like on Slime Language where he tried too hard to display that versatility. On “The London,” Thug is a bit more grounded alongside the steady hands of J. Cole and Travis Scott. He’s still switching flows with ease, but there’s a natural feeling to it all. Thug’s crooning is unmatched and he’s still able to bring the best out of his guests—a motivated Cole. After years of having to live up to a reputation as a never ending fountain of creativity, “The London” is refreshing, in that we finally get to hear Young Thug just be the famous rap person he is instead of forcing his way down a new path.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from Young Thug and more on our Spotify playlist, Apple Music playlist, and SoundCloud playlist.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
