Has punk really gone pop? Young Thug’s new album says “yes”

“Punk goes pop” has been a musical theme for decades, but Young Thug looks ready to give the formula an update. The rapper announced that the title of his second studio album would be Punk all the way back in 2019. The album was scheduled for a 2020 release date, but like most things in 2020, that had to be pushed back. Since then there’s hardly been a word spoken about the album.

Well, today Young Thug broke his silence and offered the first update on Punk since its announcement. The album has a brand new release date, and it’s not that far off. Fans will get to hear Young Thug bring his rap and pop instincts to life on Punk on October 15th. That’s just over two months away, and there’s no doubt that Young Thug will be promoting the album and building hype all along the way.

We know that you’re dying for some new music from Young Thug. Slime Language 2 gave you a taste of the artist, but the compilation album just couldn’t fully encompass the magic of hearing the rapper bring out new work from the studio. We’ve got all the latest updates for you on Young Thug, Punk, and where you can hear some tracks from the album.

Young Thug

Despite having only released one studio album in his career, Young Thug has skyrocketed to popularity and has been featured on a number of chart-topping tracks. He burst onto the scene with a number of independently released mixtapes in 2011, and shortly after he signed to Gucci Mane’s label, 1017 Records. There Young Thug released his official debut mixtape, titled 1017 Thug.

Young Thug first broke onto the Billboard Hot 100 with his feature on the Camila Cabello song “Havana” in 2017. Just two years later, Young Thug won Grammy recognition for his songwriting work on the Childish Gambino smash hit “This Is America”.

Over the years, the rapper has released more than a handful of mixtapes and compilation albums with other artists. His first solo studio album dropped in 2019. So Much Fun debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, and the tracks “The London” and “Hot” both made it to the top twenty.

Pop or Punk?

Not long after Young Thug released So Much Fun, he announced that he was working on a second studio album. From the beginning the record was titled Punk, and Young Thug hoped to release it sometime in 2020. Fans expected a quick turnaround on the album, as Young Thug is known for his fast songwriting abilities and emphasis on improvising lyrics in the studio.

Then, 2020 happened. Young Thug’s Punk missed its scheduled deadline, and little was said about it. That’s not to say the rapper wasn’t hard at work. Earlier this year, he released a new compilation album, Slime Language 2, which he’d been working on throughout last year. He also hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second time with a feature on the Travis Scott single “Franchise”.

Now Young Thug has announced that the new release date for Punk is October 15th. He recently performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert with Travis Barker. Young Thug made sure to play the hits, but he also performed a few songs from Punk. Fans who simply can’t wait for the album’s arrival this October should be sure to check out the performance online. Until then, we’ll just have to wait for a single.

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Will Young Thug bring punk music back into the pop culture mainstream with his new album? Are you stoked to hear some new tracks from the rapper? Tell us what you think in the comments.