Young Thug is back with his fourth studio album and his first new project since police released him from custody last year. The record, "UY SCUTI," contains plenty of the humor, energy and chaotic invention that made him a star but also offers Young Thug’s reflections on his arrest, court battles and the fragility of freedom. Released on Sept. 26 and named after the largest star in the known universe, the record stretches wide. "UY SCUTI" is sometimes brilliant, sometimes uneven, but never small.
The opener, “Ninja,” throws listeners straight into chaos, setting the record’s tone of defiance and rebirth. Thug begins the track not with a beat but with a 90-second court recording that warns listeners he is “dangerous.” The energy of the track explodes when the beat finally drops, powered by Thug’s trademark adlibs that amplify the hype. Then comes the reveal: the real meaning of the title. In the final verse, Thug drops the N-word with a hard “r” 16 times, directing the slur towards his enemies. It is shocking and defiant, but the move guarantees attention, for better or worse.
Thug builds suspense again on “Yuck (feat. Ken Carson).” The beat begins with a classical choir repeating a high-pitched “huh” until the drop, giving way to one of Thug’s sharper verses. But featured artist Ken Carson steals the show, his performance bursting with a futuristic and chaotic energy only found in today’s hip hop.
Much of “UY SCUTI” circles back to the circumstances of Thug’s arrest and trial. On “Catch Me I’m Falling,” he references his experiences in court, rapping, “Tell the judge we was cappin’ / We ain’t never put in work, n**** couldn’t even lie ‘bout trappin’ / We was televisin’ the work, d*mn, f*ck.” The melodic and airy production is reminiscent of Thug’s older work, like the “Slime Season” (2015) series and “JEFFERY” (2016), which makes the subject matter land even harder. Its raw, reflective and sharp tone makes “Catch Me I’m Falling” one of the better songs on the album.
Thug also makes space for victory laps. “F*cking Told U” takes listeners back to 2014, with his squeaky high-pitched delivery and playful adlibs. Throughout the track, he repeats the words “I told you,” reinforcing the “first day out” theme that runs through the record. Similarly, “Whoopty Doo” demonstrates Thug’s ability to flip a track on its head. For the first 90 seconds, he drones, “I buy her whatever she want,” until a phone call suddenly interrupts the beat. When the beat kicks back in, the whole mood of the song shifts. From there, the song is upbeat, funny and chaotic, with Thug repeating the song’s title and referencing his girlfriend.
However, Thug delivers more introspective and vulnerable moments throughout the project. "Blaming Jesus" displays polished, mid-tempo production that echoes the styles of Drake or Lil Baby. Here, Thug becomes melodic again, repeating “Peace and blessings on my face” throughout the chorus. “Sad Spider” offers even more vulnerability, with Thug singing and rapping about himself crying and “grindin’” all day. These moments ground the record, balancing its flashier flexes with glimpses of pain and perseverance.
Despite some hits, not every track on "UY SCUTI" lands. “RIP Big & Mack (Feat. T.I.)” feels like filler, with a throwback beat, unmemorable verses and an awkward ending where T.I. just talks about “a donkey,” instead of rapping. Similarly, “I’m So Dope” barely makes an impression, and “Mami (feat. Sexxy Red)” falls short of its club ambitions. Though the beat is strong, the lyrics are too sexual and vulgar to elevate the track, and Sexyy Red’s verse, where she adds “my daddy” to every line, makes it hard to take the track seriously and almost impossible to listen to.
Still, the collaborations bring plenty of highlights. Lil Baby opens “Pardon My Back (feat. Lil Baby)” with a relentless minute of bars, and Thug seizes the momentum with sharp verses and a hook that recalls the speed and cadence of his 2019 album “So Much Fun.” Travis Scott slides effortlessly onto “Pipe Down (feat. Travis Scott),” using heavy autotune to turn a simple beat into a trance-like soundscape. 21 Savage carries “Walk Down (feat. 21 Savage)” with menacing wordplay and flawless ad-libs. Future injects life into “Money on Money (feat. Future),” arriving two minutes in to deliver a solid verse.
Despite all the world-famous artists that feature on this album, it is Thug’s girlfriend, R&B singer and songwriter Mariah the Scientist, who emerges as the standout guest. On “Invest Into You (feat. Mariah the Scientist),” her vocals dominate, turning what could have been just another Thug song into something lovely and memorable. She returns on “Dreams Rarely Do Come True (feat. Mariah the Scientist),” one of the album’s most moving tracks. The beat feels magical while Thug shifts between tragedy and joy, rapping lines such as “My homie girl cheated with my other homie and he blew his brains” before pivoting to discuss jewelry. The contrast is jarring but gripping. The track closes with layered vocals repeating, “Dreams, they rarely do come true,” leaving listeners with an eerie sense of unfinished business.
On the seven-minute finale, “Miss My Dogs,” Thug shouts out the people who stuck with him while he was in jail. The emotional, personal track finds Thug telling stories from his past and lamenting the people he has lost. With ghostly background vocals, “Miss My Dogs” captures the reflective side of Thug that makes this record feel bigger than just a trap album.
“UY SCUTI” is not a perfect album. It is long, uneven and at times weighed down by filler. Featured artists sometimes overpower Thug’s tracks, but when he blends his signature chaos with moments of honesty, he produces powerful results. This album explores survival, finds Thug flexing in the face of doubt, and mediates on grief, love and humor — all colliding in the same breath. “UY SCUTI” is messy but alive.
