In general rappers aren’t known for their shrinking violet personalities, but there are always some who takes things to extremes. This decade has seen more than its fair share of controversial names in the rap world, but it might just be that Young Thug tops them all. This rapper can’t seem to keep his name out of the headlines, both for good and bad reasons. With striking style, a ‘thug’ attitude, and most importantly a wizard-like command of music, could it be that Young Thug truly is this generation’s most controversial rap artist? We’re going to dive into some of his most hotly debated moments here.
Young Thug’s style is something that truly is a divider of the people. He commented himself that ‘In my world, you can be a gangsta with a dress or you can be a gangsta with baggy pants’, which sums his style up better than many could. Followers on his social media will notice a whole host of pictures showing his unique style. Painted fingernails, frilly dresses, and outlandish leggings are all prominent parts of his wardrobe. So deep runs his love for leggings that he even promoted leggings for men back in 2015 This stereotypically female way of dressing has certainly lost him some fans over the years. In an area of the music industry that caters far more to the masculine, Young Thug’s wardrobe is too controversial for some to get behind. However, in an era where the acceptance of our differences is becoming more and more mainstream, it seems that maybe this artist was just a little ahead of the times.
Young Thug has an incredibly open dialogue with his fans, particularly through his use of Twitter. Many musicians will go to great lengths to avoid controversy, or to cover up embarrassing moments in their lives, but it seems Young Thug almost revels in it. After a disastrous weekend of gaming in Vegas, he shared with his fans how he had managed to lose $800,000. This news received mixed reviews from his fans, with some stating that he could clearly afford to lose it and others shocked that he hadn’t quit sooner. It appears from some of his candid tweets about exactly how much he gets paid per show that Young Thug can indeed stand to lose that much money in one go, but it doesn’t set a good example boasting about it online. Whilst the best online casinos have a responsibility to prevent enormous losses by implementing features for responsible gambling, such as deposit limits, time restrictions, and security questions when dealing with large sums of money, bricks-and-mortar casinos do not always follow these protocols in the same way. Most gamers are able to manage their money carefully and know when to quit, but boasting about losses does not set a good example to impressionable fans.
It can’t be denied that Young Thug has a unique rapping style. XXL Magazine called him a ‘rap weirdo’ a badge that he wears with pride. Whislt many rappers pride themselves on having a distinct and largely unchanging voice, Young Thug prides himself on the opposite. His vocal range is extraordinary, not just in terms of pitch, but in terms of breadth too. Screams, grunts, growls, whines; the way he uses his voice is extremely unusual. This range is a large part of what makes his music so appealing and so memorable, but though this should be celebrated, it seems that he occasionally gets ideas above his station. There have been several incidences where he has called out both individual artists and whole music scenes as being basically, quite a lot worse than him.
One of the most famous of these incidents was when he called out absolute rap icon Jay-Z as not having even nearly 30 stadium songs, whilst Young Thug, obviously, had at least 40. When he was brought up on this comment and asked to explain himself, he claimed that his words were taken out of context and said that he had nothing but respect for Jay-Z. He made similar remarks about the entire rap scene in the UK, only to back pedal yet again once called out on his words. It’s almost a shame that someone with such clear talent feels the need to diss others in this way to gain respect. Perhaps if he kept to producing great tracks and being a style icon then he might not be caught up in so much controversy, but then again, the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.