Young Thug is going R&B. On the new episode of The Crew Has It podcast, published Tuesday, the Atlanta rapper said he plans to drop a Mary J. Blige-inspired R&B album this year — a genre pivot he first floated in a June Instagram Story. The project has no announced title yet, but the timeline is firm: before the year ends.
"It's Mary J.... Real R&B"
Thug kept it simple on the sound: "I'm going R&B... It's Mary J.... Real R&B." Most of the record, he said, will be built for "fun times" — sensual, celebratory — with two or three heartbreak records in the mix. It's not his first run at melody: Beautiful Thugger Girls (2017) leaned acoustic-soul, and his 2020 Slime & B mixtape with Chris Brown fused trap and R&B. He also told the hosts he'd love to work with Mary J. Blige herself.
The Drake Connection
Thug confirmed he and Drake have "a few" unreleased songs together and want them out soon. The two last linked on Thug's 2023 project Business Is Business — Drake appeared on "Parade on Cleveland" and "Oh U Went." No word yet on whether any of the collabs land on the R&B album or arrive as standalone singles.
Filed under The Wire, MixShow Prime's music industry news desk.
