SHEESH
[Video][Website]
[5.67]
Alfred Soto: Barter 6 presents the Thug in his best appointed settings — I giggle at the aptness of London on da Track helming a production that is the aural equivalent of the capital of a once mighty civilization, and YT’s rap is, to quote an older arriviste, deluxe and delightful. “Mink coats with the rolls like a Shar Pei/And all my bitches sexy call them Bar-BAY” is a metaphorical triumph, precise, and generous: rather them calling the women out for wanting his dough, he wants to share his wealth.
[8]
Josh Love: Young Thug is not one to waste the slightest pause or breath between bars when it can be populated by a goofy blurt of kinetic energy. Hence even this somewhat disappointingly low-key slice of Thugga brims over with yelps, exclamations, and blown raspberries, not to mention unexpected shifts into his irrepressible croon. A voracious appetite for cunnilingus doesn’t hurt either.
[6]
Ramzi Awn: Young Thug’s flow isn’t the problem, but a hit of personality wouldn’t hurt.
[4]
Mo Kim: A melancholy chord progression and hi-hats that have the empty clanking of unwanted change do most of the speaking: it’s not surprising that Young Thug’s bragging on the choruses has the harshness of copper-scented skin and the disjointed quality of a static feed.
[4]
David Sheffieck: Young Thug had a pretty long run before he started to be boring, but this is musical normcore compared to the avant looks he was trying on a couple years back. Maybe he just needs to do a better job picking his singles, but maybe we’ve reached the point where he’s better served by letting his followers (who are legion) pick up where he left off.
[4]
Micha Cavaseno: First off: I love Young Thug, but he really needs to get his dreads retwisted. This shit looks like the ruins of a great civilization. But that makes perfect sense, because so much of Barter 6 and its lead single radiate a sort of decayed grandeur. Thug drips down on London On The Track’s somber bomb scare sounds like the languishing of moon rays, his voice somehow sounding joyous and devastating at the same time. And his raps have gotten so effortless now, navigating unusual double-time without the clustered complexity that plagues so many “Obviously Good Rappers,” and dropping off key phrases like “if she can’t secrete that dick.” It’s funny, when I first heard in the younger Jeff the sounds of jubilation, I’d never imagined he’d move on to be able to sell such gravitas.
[8]