''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' is a

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 the American rapper

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), known professionally as Lil B and Lil B The BasedGod, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of the Berkeley, California-based hip hop group the Pack in 2005, who signed wi ...

self-released Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

on December 30, 2015. Compared to Lil B's previous releases, it features darker production and subject matter. The mixtape's lyrics, which were inspired by hardships Lil B faced throughout 2015, mainly center around themes of poverty and crime. ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' consists of 63 tracks, and has a runtime of nearly 4 hours. It is a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

mixtape. Leading up to the mixtape's release, Lil B's musical output diminished significantly. In interviews, he attributed his inactivity to his focus on his personal life. He also said that he was adopting a more deliberate songwriting process compared to the freestyles which dominated his earlier work. Lil B released five singles for ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'', all of which received accompanying music videos. One of the singles released was "4 Tha Record", a

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

directed at Canadian singer

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

Background

After releasing 41

s between 2010 and 2013,

's musical output began to diminish significantly. In 2015, he released only 1 mixtape— ''Free (Based Freestyles Mixtape'')'','' a 6-song collaboration with

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...

—as he took the year to focus more on his personal life. Speaking on his inactivity, Lil B told the ''

East Bay Express The ''East Bay Express'' is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is distributed throughout Alameda County and parts of Contra Costa County every Wednesday. Th ...

'' that he was adopting a slower, more deliberate songwriting process, as part of an effort to make his music "more accessible". This marked a departure from his earlier work, which had been dominated by freestyles. While writing ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'', Lil B was inspired by the hardships he experienced throughout 2015. In January, his apartment building caught fire, damaging some of his music. He also faced the death of fellow

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

rapper

The Jacka Shaheed Akbar (August 12, 1977 – February 2, 2015; former name Dominick Newton), better known by his stage name The Jacka, was an American rapper from Pittsburg, California. He began his career as part of the rap group Mob Figaz. He was kil ...

as well as one of his friends. Leading up to the mixtape's release, Lil B said that it touched on a wide range of topics, and hoped it would speak to people from marginalized communities.

Composition

mixtape, ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' consists of 63 tracks and has a runtime of nearly four hours. Compared to Lil B's previous work, it features more cynical themes and darker production. The mixtape's lyrics mainly center around poverty and crime, although Lil B avoids moralizing. ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' begins with "Come to the Waterfront Intro", which features a sample of

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

's ''Scarface'' theme. Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Winston Cook-Wilson commented that the song "sets the mood for the tape pretty well". The eighth track "With Me" features triumphant singing, which Cook-Wilson compared to the musician Tiny Tim. The song "BasedGod" is a remix of " Jumpman" by rappers

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

and

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 ...

. The thirteenth song, "I Was Born Poor", sees Lil B murmuring about his ancestry over a beat that features

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

s and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

samples. "4 Tha Record", the sixteenth song on the mixtape, is a

directed at Canadian singer

. On "Finess Em", the twenty-third song, Lil B raps about his come-up over a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

sample. The

Southern rap Southern hip-hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip-hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip-hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, ...

beat of the following track, "Soul Food", is also built around a sample of a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

y guitar line. On the song, Lil B raps about his aspirations and struggles. On the final track, "I Can't Breath", Lil B speaks out against racism, rape, censorship, and gun violence. The song's title is a reference to the

last words Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances. Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately), which then became a historical an ...

Eric Garner On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, an African American man, was killed in the New York City borough of Staten Island by Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, after the latter put him in a prohibited chokehold while a ...

, a man killed by police in 2014.

Release and promotion

Lil B announced ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' on October 30, 2014. He released the single "Child Support Me" alongside a music video, although it was not included on the final track listing. On May 31, 2015, Lil B released "Soul Food" as ''Thugged Out Pissed Off''s first single. An accompanying music video also premiered, in which he rides a mountain bike and puts dollar bills in a washing machine. "4 Tha Record" was released alongside a music video as the mixtape's second single on November 1, 2015. A few months later, on March 1, 2016, Lil B apologized to The Weeknd for releasing the song. In an interview with ''ILY'' magazine, he said that he regretted the diss after The Weeknd unfollowed him on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. On November 5, 2015, Lil B released "Flexin Maury Povich" as the mixtape's third single with an accompanying music video. He released the fourth single, "BasedGod ('Jumpman Remix')", on December 28. This single was also released alongside a music video, in which the song's producer,

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer and music executive. Widely acclaimed for his dark and cinematic production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential p ...

, appears. ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' was

to the mixtape-sharing platform

DatPiff DatPiff was an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Me ...

on December 30, 2015. It was uploaded to streaming services in April2018.

Critical reception

Cook-Wilson wrote that ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' "feels like B is just hitting a deadline and releasing what he has lying around". He also felt that the mixtape's middle two hours were boring, and considered it more forgettable than Lil B's previous releases. Brooklyn Russell of ''

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, ...

'' described ''Thugged Out Pissed Off'' as "another spotty mixtape from a rapper who ultimately drops many spotty projects". Russell disliked it for being needlessly offensive, and was particularly critical of "Domestic Violence Case", a song about

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

. Russell wrote that the thirty-eighth song, "Listen Pay Attention", demonstrated Lil B's "underrated skills as a 'traditional' emcee". Russell also described the track "Handle Your Goals" as "particularly moving", and felt it proved there was "actual substance behind il B'swords of encouragement".

Track list

References

{{Lil B Lil B mixtape albums 2015 mixtape albums Self-released mixtape albums Albums free for download by copyright owner