The seven artists Young Thug listened to growing up
Young Thug, as one of the pioneers of mumble rap, is considered to be a hugely influential person within hip-hop. But, like everyone else, he had his own idols to look up to while he was developing his style.
Thug first started to gain attention from music fans after releasing a series of mixtapes from 2011 onwards. He signed with Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records in 2013, which helped to keep generating a buzz around him, and over the years that followed he became a major success.
Number one singles and albums, critically acclaimed and much-loved mixtapes, feature verses on the songs of superstars, several Grammy nominations and even a win, for his part in Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’—Young Thug has achieved a lot throughout his career. He’s become a defining artist of his millennial generation.
But, amid all the highs, there have been lows, too, particularly when it comes to his run-ins with the law. Young Thug’s life has been marred by repeated legal issues, and he has spent several stints behind bars. In fact, right before he was due to be sent to jail for a parole violation in 2018, he spoke with Interview magazine alongside the fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who later died in 2021.
During the conversation, Thug was asked if he had ever received advice as a young person that helped to form the man he eventually became. “Yes,” he replied, “from a few of my big homies. I’ve always been around older people.”
He also spoke about the more parasocial relationships that he found helpful growing up. “And I loved the artists that I listened to who spoke to me,” he said. “I loved listening to that realness, and seeing the way they did it.”
Abloh asked him to specifically elaborate on the artists that he listened to while he was growing up, and, in response, he listed seven. “Hot Boys, DMX, Dru Hill, Mariah Carey, Monica, Yeezy, Gucci [Mane],” he said.
Abloh pushed him to mention some newer artists that he liked from that period, in 2018, and, while Thug didn’t mention anyone by name, he did claim that he was inspired by the newer crop of artists that were emerging at that time. “There’s a lot of little guys,” he said. “They’re so inspiring to me, because they’re so young and having fun with it. It makes me want to have fun.”
In addition to mentioning the artists that most inspired him as a kid, Thug also spoke about how he always felt he’d been a bit unusual compared to his peers. “I’ve always felt different,” he said, “from the beginning. I used to think that I saw things that other people didn’t see, that I could put things together in a way that the average person couldn’t.”