Album of the Week: Young Thug returns with first post-prison project ‘UY Scuti’
Young Thug has spent the last few years battling legal issues relating to his arrest on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act charges. The Atlanta rapper eventually accepted a plea deal in October 2024, resulting in him being sentenced to time served and 15 years of probation. Now, he’s back with his first project post-prison.
Thugger released his new album UY Scuti on September 26th. The project is made up of 20 tracks from the YSL boss, with guest appearances coming from Cardi B, Future, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Ken Carson, T.I., Sexyy Red, YFN Lucci, Lil Gotit, Mariah the Scientist, and 1300Saint. It comes with a striking album cover, featuring a photo of Thug with white skin.
UY Scuti is the name of a supergiant star over 5,000 light-years away. By naming his album after the star, Thug is referring to himself as one of the biggest musicians. Speaking to GQ about the title, he said, “I just feel big, you know. The name of my album UY Scuti. I feel like I’m one of the biggest stars. I did a lot. Foundating this culture. The new rap game that’s happening right now. I’m out of this world. Not like God, though.”
The album kicks off with ‘Ninja’, which includes audio of a prosecutor describing Thug as the leader in YSL’s alleged crimes. The man says, “This is the one that you see the shadow in the back of the room/ He’s the one directing traffic/ He is the one that we’re all afraid of/ He’s the one that’s King Slime, he’s pulling the shots/ He is the most dangerous of the twenty-eight, judge/ And I, I implore you not to grant him a bond, he is dangerous.”
Song titles on the album include ‘Fucking Told U’, ‘Blaming Jesus’, ‘Sad Slime’, and ‘Pipe Down’. But one of the standout moments is the outro, ‘Miss My Dogs‘, which finds Thug apologising to Drake, Future, 21 Savage, Lil Baby, Mariah The Scientist, and Gucci Mane over his comments about them in leaked jail call recordings.
Production comes from frequent collaborators, including Wheezy, Southside, Metro Boomin, TM88, ATL Jacob, and London on da Track. It serves as the follow-up to Business Is Business, which arrived while he was incarcerated in June 2023. The project debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with the Drake-assisted ‘Oh U Went’ reaching the top 20 on the Hot 100.
Thug’s life looks a little different these days. As part of his probation, he’s not allowed to enter his hometown of Atlanta. Instead, things have been more lowkey. When asked what he’s been doing since his prison release, he said, “Working on my album. Did a little partying. But mainly just working on my album, chilling with the kids, chilling with my girl, chilling in the studio, linking up with other rappers. Just doing the normal.”
While many of the tracks on Business Is Business were recorded before he was detained, UY Scuti is a look at Thug’s state of mind after all the legal issues dominated the headlines. It’s a chance to tell his side of the story and get back to where the conversation should be: the music, born out of Atlanta, that took the hip-hop world by storm.