Young Thug the icon. I’ve heard an incredible amount of criticism over the past few years regarding Thugger and his image. Thug has become one of my favourite artists, especially since the release of his Jeffery project, but he still faces criticism for aspects unrelated to music. Some criticism can be justified based on personal musical preference - I have heard people hate on Thugger based on his voice, lyrics, music catalogue and audibility. But one of the criticisms about Thugger that comes up the most is the notion that he is weird. When pressed on what is so weird about Thugger, the response is that Young Thug is weird because of the terms he speaks with and his sense of fashion. To many, Young Thug can't be taken seriously as a rapper because he calls his friends “hubbies” and his closet is filled with effeminate fashion choices, such as dresses and skirts. Even though Jeffery is one of the better rap albums released this summer, Young Thug’s perception of being weird distracts audiences away from the fact that Young Thug actually has bangers and is telling his story through his unique imagination. I never was appalled at Thugger's choice in fashion; in fact, it is what attracted me to Thug. His IDGAF attitude and uniqueness is what made me first want to listen to his music. The melodic genius that is Young Thug has a unique ability to hit several notes with a single word; he stretches words and uses them to hit different pitches. It is what makes me find his music so addictive. Many people ignore his uniqueness because of the perception they have of Thug. What you can’t ignore about Thugger, he is one of the most interesting characters in rap today. If rap and its audience can accept Thugger’s image and can strive away from the traditional ideal of what it is to be a male in hip hop, what we see is a remarkable artist in Thug. Hate him or love him, Thugger is doing something remarkable; he is battling the ideal of the hypermasculine male in hip-hop. The lyrics in his songs paint the picture of a typical rapper: drugs, sex, guns, and money. But he is much more important than just a typical rapper. He challenges hip hop gender norms through his attire and vocabulary. Hip hop seems to be behind times when regarding sexuality, but Young Thug is forcing Hip hop to reevaluate and redefine what constitutes masculinity. He is important to hip hop because of what he is introducing to the culture, he is illustrating that there is more than one way to be a “man” in rap.
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