Young Thug has drawn a lot of controversy in recent months, but the latest example of this has nothing to do with his YSL RICO trial scandal. Rather, it concerns some wild lyrics on the opening track of his new album UY SCUTI and their odd pairing with its divisive cover art.
On the opening cut "Ninja," on which Thugger samples a state prosecutor condemning him during trial, he eventually makes it clear why he titled the song that way. He drops the N-word with hard Rs all over its closing moments. This made many fans raise their eyebrows due to the LP's cover art, which is a "whiteface" version of the Atlanta artist.
While some listeners gave this grace as a potential subversion that speaks to wider racial conversations, most people just found it ridiculous or straight-up offensive. A lot of this backlash isn't directed at Young Thug himself, though. Rather, it's to the non-Black fans who found this edgy or funny online, which caused its own divisive debate.
Thug's Instagram caption earlier this week also drew criticism from fans. "IF YOU WANNA BE THE BIGGEST….GO WHITE!!" he wrote. Maybe we and other folks just missed the deeper meaning here, or the intention behind this is to cause the very same controversy we're engaging with.
Young Thug – "Ninja"
Nevertheless, this still became an immediate point of debate around UY SCUTI, and reactions to it range from amused to disgusted, no matter what race you identify as. Elsewhere, though, others just focused on the tough beat and fiery performance on "Ninja."
On the other hand, other debated lines on Young Thug's UY SCUTI caused discussion for different reasons. On "Walk Down" with 21 Savage, for example, fans wondered whether or not 21 meant to diss A$AP Rocky by referencing his assault trial. It's too vague to tell, so we think this might be a tinfoil hat situation.
Fan Reactions
Meanwhile, as Young Thug draws mixed reactions to UY SCUTI, we will see how folks really feel once they have more than a few hours to mull it over. Maybe it ends up being a classic...
