Slime Language 2

by Young Thug, Gunna, & YSL

Released April 16, 2021 via Young Stoner Life Records / 300 Entertainment

Reviewed April 27, 2021

Top tracks (based on community voting)

Diamonds Dancing (49%), Ski (40%), Came and Saw (40%)

The original Slime Language didn’t do much to inspire fans to dig deeper into the supporting YSL cast, lacking in both the quantity of featured artists and the quality of those features. The follow-up compilation piece, Slime Language 2, finds itself aligning much closer to what the brainchild of Young Thug would sound like. While Thug has been consistently evolving and polishing his craft as a curator of talent rather than just a rapper, the output on this most recent endeavor feels like the culmination of a lot of hard work and healthy professional relationships. Like that of Birdman and Thug in his management deal with Rich Gang, Thug seems to be mentoring and elevating the likes of Strick, T-Shyne, Karlae, and others in the same fashion he did with his biggest success stories in Gunna and Lil Keed. The most notable evidence in YSL’s collective ability is how natural and on par the label affiliates sound alongside some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Yung Kayo caps off the track with Thug featuring Lil Uzi Vert and doesn’t kill any momentum, T-Shyne holds his own alongside Lil Keed and Big Sean, and Strick sounds natural amongst the crooning of Kid Cudi. These small glimpses show current legitimacy and future promise for the label’s lesser-known artists, something the first Slime Language was sorely lacking. – Pax (7.7/10)

Slime Language 2 is disappointing for a Young Thug release, but it manages to be pretty good for a 70-minute-long compilation. It is a fun album with enough quality tracks to make it worth the listen. The MVP is Gunna, as he shows off an improved flow and a lot more energy in his voice. While it was unlikely that Thug would go all out on a side project, his larger-than-life, eccentric style alone means he’s going to be hard to keep up with, but Gunna matches it and even outshines him on a few tracks. Whenever they work as a duo, they bring the best out of each other, but unfortunately, most of their appearances on here are stuffed into the first half. It may have been a wise business move, but this (paired with going through most of the superstar features by track 10) sets such a high standard that the second half can only disappoint. The latter half mainly presents phoned-in Thug appearances and a plethora of songs by raw and inexperienced artists who struggle at keeping things interesting. Regardless, this shouldn’t be used as an indicator of how good Young Thug is now or what we should expect from Punk, because it seems Slime Language 2’s main intention is to give a bigger platform to lesser-known YSL artists. – Alan (7.5/10)

Young Thug continues to elevate his status as a record-selling machine due to his improvements as a rapper, vocalist, and songwriter. While some may miss the enigmatic, uncut era of Thug, a la Barter 6, there is no denying his continuous development with each new release. This year, fans are met with Slime Language 2, a follow-up to the solid but somewhat unfulfilling debut of the series that was released three years ago. With So Much Fun dropping the year after, Slime Language’s sequelappears to benefit greatly behind the creative breakthroughs Young Thug experienced in the creation of that record. What feels different this time around is a bigger and better crop of guest features very carefully spliced in between the presence of lesser-known YSL artists, giving their individual reputations a sizable boost. All in all, Slime Language 2 is a bigger and bolder artistic undertaking compared to its predecessor and showcases everyone under the YSL family tree in a very positive light. – DeVán (7.5/10)