Welcome to the World, Young Thug: The Legend of Barter 6
by: Jennifer Bancamper
It’s hard to imagine the old days when Young Thug was lurking on the edge of success, waiting for his moment to shine alongside his idols. His confidence mirrors that of a legend who’s been in the game for decades, and yet, his celebrity status is the product of less than a decade’s work. He got here in five years of work, to be exact.
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Barter 6, Thugger’s alleged debut album turned retail mixtape. Though he was rolling off the clout of a few mainstream singles and loose tapes, Barter 6 was his formal introduction to the world; his single opportunity to make a gleaming, exceptional first impression in the rap community.
What we learned immediately is that Thugger doesn’t give a fuck about first impressions. He doesn’t give a fuck about anything, really. And the first signs of that came with the controversy surrounding the mixtape’s release. First, a contentious cover –– a naked, heavily-tatted Thug pissing on the floor. Second, a misread of its original title Carter 6, which Thug had named in sequence with his idol Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter series. Alas, the intent read as disrespectful and Carter 6 was replaced with a big B—both to rep Thugger’s alleged gang affiliation and to misdirect a lawsuit. Disrespectful? Many thought so. And with all that controversy came waves of resistance towards the Atlanta rapper, who was written off as a temporary commodity before his project even dropped.
Needless to say, no one saw what was coming next. Who would’ve thought that, in the span of just five years, Young Thug would go on to influence an entire generation of rappers? Who could’ve predicted such a swift surge to stardom? Well, if we look back at Barter 6, shed from its aura of controversy, the signs were all there.
On its own, Barter 6 was generally well-received. It was recognized for its quirks and strange characteristics, those which were unique to Young Thug and spoke to his originality. We were quick to notice how it beamed with personality––one that aligned with the ambitious nature of young Atlanta rappers. What we didn’t know back then was that we were being introduced to a style that would break tradition and make way for eccentricity.
Thugger never takes himself too seriously, a quality that’s rare for young rappers with something to prove. Barter 6 lets us know that his individuality would be the key to his come up, and the need to obey a standard is one that doesn’t apply to him. Still, in his carelessness, there’s attention to detail that’s telling of Thugger’s faith to his craft. On “Halftime” alone he switches the flow four or five times on a consistent 4-minute beat. And he holds a “skrrrt” for 11 fucking seconds! It’s a performance meant to showcase his technical ability more than his lyrical talent, which he’s proven to be deserving of praise.
Barter 6 goes heavy on the mumble rap, a style of sound that has long been criticized as an abandonment of Hip Hop tradition. Rap has long since been a game of profound and intricate wordplay, which Thugger—like fellow Atlanta natives Gucci Mane and Future—ignores entirely. Even when his bars are at their most unintelligible, his very clear cadences and flows are just as expressive as words. The same technique has been adopted by some of Hip Hop’s newest superstars including, Gunna, Lil Baby, and Trippie Redd. There’s no truth to the claim that mumble rap has pushed out the traditional focus on lyricism, but there’s no question that it’s taken over the mainstream and continues to be a source of inspiration for up-incoming rappers.
Thugger’s most unique and charismatic quality is the fluctuation of his voice. His voice control is like none other. Ranging from the lowest of lows to the highest of high pitches, his voice is an additional element of sound production that makes listening an exciting experience. He never lets us miss his voice; never lets us sit in silence waiting for the next bar to hit. He fills the smallest pockets of air with gibberish––a habit that never stops stimulating a sense of joy and liveliness. He takes advantage of gaps on varying scales, taking a second to slip in a “slatt” the same way he slips a project in every single year.
Thugger’s playful energy is a documentation of the fun he has in the studio. With every ad-lib and humourous lyric, we’re encouraged to have fun and live a life of careless wonder. No one can listen to a line like “If cops pull up, I put that crack in my crack / Or I put that brack in my brack” and not at least smile to themselves. He has fun, so we have fun. Barter 6, first with its nutty cover and title, perfectly prepared us for the light and infectious energy that would make Young Thug a favorite for so many of us.
