Punk

by Young Thug

Released October 15, 2021 via YSL Records / Atlantic Records / 300 Entertainment

Reviewed October 26, 2021

Top tracks (based on community voting)

Days Before (43%), Stupid/Asking (38%), Double Hockey Sticks (29%)

With a name like Punk, one would expect a more energetic and experimental work from already one of the most unique artists ever. While little of the aggressiveness and energy displayed in his NPR performance of “Tick Tock” made it onto the album, Young Thug takes risks and pulls it off. In addition to the brand-new collaborators (Nate Reuss, Mac Miller, etc.), this is the closest a Thug album can get to being considered singer/songwriter. The production is very unique and Thug takes a lane he doesn’t normally drive on, which means this album is bound to be a grower that gets more love later on, similar to a lot of his early work. With less filler, Punk would have been a contender for one of Young Thug’s best albums, especially with its ever present highlights. – Alan (7.9/10)

Punk starts hot with a Young Thug monologue sharing details about some personal family issues. He tells the story of his parents' relationship disputes, police run-ins, and how he dealt with all of that. A truly poetic start to any album, which is logically followed by the line “ I always knew I wasn’t gon’ be gay…” From a musical perspective, I think Thug has found his sweet spot. This project is weird, exciting, fun, and vibey. He found the sauce and put together a more cohesive project than So Much Fun and Slime Language 2. The features were fitting and it sounds like J. Cole and Drake took some vocal inspiration from Thug and combined it with their trademark sounds. What it boils down to is that Punk is a great project. It has a little something for everyone and I’m happy to see this side of him. He’s been such an inspiration to other young artists and has helped this industry grow in a direction nobody could have predicted. This album feels like he turned the focus back to making his kind of music. The previous projects felt more like a platform for lesser known artists and I respect Thug for that. With each listen Punk continues to grow on me and it feels right in Thugger’s bag. – Daniel (7.4/10)

Although Young Thug is undoubtedly one of the greatest influences on hip hop as it currently stands, Punk is only emblematic of that in brief moments. From the promotional material, especially with NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert featuring “Tick Tock”, the expectations for this album could never correlate to the actual outcome. At his best, Young Thug is every bit a part of the instrumental as its 808s, keys, or samples; Punk too frequently evades Thug’s most interesting qualities, instead leaning on the qualities that lead to some of his least interesting music to date. Of course, there are standouts especially in the first half of the tracklist. But the substance we’re used to getting from a talent like Young Thug falls by the wayside in this album’s latter half, relying too heavily on the star-power of its features and ignoring the star-power that Thug could display on the drop of a dime. Punk’s ideas are far more interesting than the execution of them, although the effort is still apparent. – Ben (Synth) (6/10)