A few weeks back, Young Thug made his way to France to talk about his upbringing, how he’s making the transition from mixtapes to albums, his forthcoming Hy!£UN35, and much more. While there, Thugga Thugga also touched on using Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole as inspiration for his most recent singles. Check out some of the interview below.
But this first album, Hy! £ UN35, you speak for months, how he will be different from your mixtapes?
First, I hope it will come out this year. It’s a pretty crazy thing in which I tried to make songs, real songs, not the quick stuff like on a tape. A dose of Kendrick Lamar, a dose of J. Cole, this stuff because it’s got to be an album and also a trick that goes into club. As your next question will be on the producers, I’ll tell you: I am always with London On Da Track, Wheezy, 808 Mafia Mike Will Made It, Ricky Racks …
What about from your collaboration with Kanye West?
When my song Danny Glover leaked, I was a little bummed, but it finally allowed to listen Kanye West. One of my biggest surprises was his reaction: he liked and he said he wanted to make a record together. It’s from him, finally, it was he who spoke, and then we met and recorded some songs. After, you know what it is: we all bump like crazy. I do my stuff, my “mixtapes”, as you say. We just need time to get themselves to capture. After that, I do not know what he thinks about himself, but for me, it is time to get things together.
What do you like about Kanye West?
His confidence in him, but also his aggressiveness, ambition and charisma. I feel close to him. We’re friends, this is not just a working relationship. It is clearly friends.
He said he was surprised by the speed with which you work. You yourself say that you write songs in five minutes. What is your working process?
Already, I never write. Never! I do not even remember if I can write … This is a true freestyle in general. I put a beat, I said some stuff, I retain ideas, I do it again, with a particular intonation, I test, and especially I record live. I do not always listen again but if something strikes me, I exploits. I repeat it until it works. It is important to record, otherwise you lose ideas. That’s why I never stay away from the studio, I have always something to ask. I’m always in range of a microphone. I even have a studio at home.