Last year, YSL label boss Young Thug was imprisoned for conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation Act (RICO). YSL (Young Stoner Life) was alleged to be at the centre of the conspiracy, with prosecutors claiming it operates as a gang. However, the Atlanta legend has not lost respect in the culture and continues to be an icon of Southern rap.
In an interview with the New York radio station HOT 97.0, the emcee opened up about his sophomore studio album, Punk, including its inspiration and his favourite track from the project. Speaking with the hosts TT Torrez and Bobby Trends, Williams commenced talking about hip-hop today, who he has written for, his legacy, and his growth as an artist.
Punk was delayed several times. Speaking about why it was delayed and what the focus of the project is, Thug stated, “Punk is just real life stories. The whole album is purified. It’s just real!”
He continued, “The whole album is just focused on one point. The hard part about this shit is making 12, 14, 16 songs about one thing, without crossing up and saying the same thing, that is why this shit takes time. This shit has been going on for two years now.”
Metro Boomin executively produced the project, and it contained a lot of hits. However, when he was asked which of the Punk tracks made him the proudest, he swiftly responded, “My favourite song is probably ‘Stupid/Asking’ or ‘Drive Slow’ (featuring Stick).”
However, although he had one favourite song, he admitted that there are other tracks he loves. Concerning club records, Williams highlighted ‘Scoliosis’ featuring Lil Double 0 and ‘Bubbly’ featuring Drake and Travis Scott.
The ‘Best Friend’ rapper also elaborated on the importance of collaborating with other artists outside Atlanta and the South in general to spread the sound and even hinted that inspired J Cole to adapt a triplet flow for their track, ‘Stressed’ you can watch the interview in the video below.
