''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' is the fifth commercial

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

by American rapper

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

. It was released on June 16, 2017, by

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. The mixtape features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from Millie Go Lightly, Gunna,

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the now-defunct hip hop group Migos. Formed with his nep ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

, and

Jacquees Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax (born April 15, 1994), known mononymously as Jacquees ( ), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 2014, and first gained recognition with his 2016 single, " B.E ...

. Production on the mixtape was handled by Billboard Hitmakers, Charlie Handsome,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Rex Kudo, and

Wheezy Wesley Tyler Glass (born October 26, 1992), known professionally as Wheezy, is an American record producer and songwriter. Recognized by his producer tag "Wheezy Outta Here!" (uttered by frequent collaborator Future), he has been credited on com ...

, among others. ''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' received acclaim from critics, debuted at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and at number four on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

Background

On April 26, 2017, Young Thug originally announced that the project would be titled ''E.B.B.T.G.'', an

abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

for ''Easy Breezy Beautiful Thugger Girls'', which was a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

on "easy, breezy, beautiful CoverGirl" as the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

for

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...

. After several delays, the release date was hinted a week before release and officially confirmed two days before release. ''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' was described by Young Thug as a "singing album", which includes crossovers to musical genres such as R&B,

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. Although it has been referred to as an album by Young Thug, 300 Entertainment have reported it as a commercial mixtape.

Critical reception

''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 84, based on eight reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.8 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Paul Thompson of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' labelled ''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' Young Thug's "most compelling experiment in pop", saying it "strips away all the clutter, leaving his best-developed melodies and most evocative songwriting to date" while comparing it to

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's ''

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

''. Scott Glaysher of '' XXL'' said, "Thug sounds the best he's ever sounded, despite some of the songs begin icfairly far removed from his proverbial comfort zone". Daniel Bromfield of ''Pretty Much Amazing'' argued "Young Thug cycles through a lot of styles here: lovebird R&B, sensitive acoustic folk, even country. But he doesn't terraform them to his whims so much as try them on for size". Judnick Maynard of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'' commented that ''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' "becomes more than a country album: the music isn't his master, instead he bends it to his will", and is a "testament to Young Thug's constantly evolving creative reach". ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

''s Corrigan B stated: "''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' is remarkable because of its Thugger-ness" but noted that "''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' marks the point at which his pure lyricism, absent an unimpeachable sense of melody and flow, has begun to detract from the project as a whole." ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

''s Renatio Pagnani stated: "Few artists manage to balance wide-eyed eroticism with genuine warmth, and fewer manage the feat while packing multiple albums' worth of hooks into each song. For Thug, it's just his default mode." Winston Cook-Wilson of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' said, "The album feels unprecedented within his catalog because it strikes a balance Thug has never quite pulled off on a single project: mixing a unified, album-wide sound with moments of aggressive experimentation and nagging hooks". ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' critic Anya Zoledziowski thought that "''Beautiful Thugger Girls''—which lists Drake as executive producer—pushes the boundaries of Atlanta hip-hop while adding yet another groundbreaking project to the trapper's discography".

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

was less impressed in his column for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

''. While highlighting "Take Care" and "Family Don't Matter", he summarized the mixtape as "singsong porn from a

purple people eater Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is m ...

who's seldom as funny as he used to be and sometimes funnier than he wants to be".

Year-end lists

Commercial performance

''Beautiful Thugger Girls'' debuted at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number four on the US

with 37,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...

s of which 7,000 were pure album sales in its first week of release. On December 6, 2019, the album was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States.

Track listing

Notes * The vinyl version of "Me or Us" features a guest appearance by

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

. Samples * "Me or Us" contains a sample from " First Day of My Life", written by

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes (band), Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos (band), Desaparecidos, the Faint (previou ...

, and performed by Bright Eyes. * "Take Care" contains a sample from "

I Got You (I Feel Good) "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by the American singer James Brown. First recorded for the 1964 album '' Out of Sight'' and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965 and included on the compilation album of the same name, it w ...

", written and performed by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Performers *

– vocals * Millie Go Lightly – vocals (tracks 1, 3) *

– vocals (track 6) *

– vocals (track 7) *

– vocals (track 9) *

– vocals (track 13) Technical * Kesha Lee – record engineering (tracks 1, 6) * Zeke Mishanec – record engineering (track 2) * Dread – record engineering (tracks 3, 9, 14) * Sean Riggins – record engineering (tracks 4, 5, 13) * Bricks – record engineering (track 7) * Drop – record engineering (track 8) *

Alex Tumay Alexander Tumay (born July 19, 1986) is an American audio engineer and DJ from Atlanta, Georgia. He has recorded and mixed songs for major artists across the American hip hop industry, including Young Thug, Travis Scott, Future, Kanye West, Drake ...

– mix engineering (all tracks), recording engineer (tracks 10, 11) * Joe LaPorta – master engineering (all tracks) Production *

– production (tracks 1, 7, 8, 10, 12) * Rex Kudo – production (tracks 1–3, 11) * Ben Billions – production (track 2) * Charlie Handsome – production (tracks 3, 8, 11) *

– production (tracks 4, 5) *

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. Storch began his career as part of Philadelphia-based hip hop band the Roots, which he joined as a keyboardist prior to the release of their 1993 debut a ...

– production (track 4) * Billboard Hitmakers – production (tracks 6, 13) * BLSSD – production (track 6) *

Young Chop Tyree Lamar Pittman (born November 14, 1993), better known by his stage name Young Chop, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He is best known for producing drill hip hop music, and for producing many of Chief Keef's early hit ...

– production (track 9) *

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

– production (track 11) * Judge – production (track 14) Additional personnel * Brian Ranney – project production * Virgilio Tzaj – art direction and design * Garfield Larmond – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control Young Thug mixtape albums Atlantic Records mixtape albums Albums produced by London on da Track Albums produced by Scott Storch Albums produced by Young Chop 2017 mixtape albums 300 Entertainment mixtape albums