The long-awaited collab project by Future and Young Thug doesn’t entirely tap into the potential of the two trap giants.
Future Thuggin, just like many Young Thug collab plans (Fetty Thuggin, Migo Thuggin) was another popular collaborative concept in the trapasphere that never came to fruition. But since Future and Young Thug squashed their differences the rumours of a collab project escalated, particularly earlier this year when the two frequently posted themselves in the studio together. Those sessions have resulted into Super Slimey (Super for Future, Slimey for Thug), and in typical Future / Young Thug fashion dropped by surprise. Even though the artwork looks like it’s straight out of 2010 for a DatPiff mixtape, it was still exciting news hearing that Atlanta’s top two trap crooners were finally working together.
However, considering the two artists involved, Super Slimey doesn’t produce the kind of fireworks that it should. Just like WATTBA, Super Slimey fails to come off as organic. It has very high moments mixed in with rushed mediocrity that’s made up of leftover beats tailored for Future and half-hearted vocal performances. The mixtape label for this project is accurate as most tracks possess the microwaved feeling of mixtape-quality songs where Future and Thug brush aside the option to take any risks. Instead, we just get ‘the usual’.
For the most part, Super Slimey feels like a Future tape featuring Young Thug, who takes a backseat for Future who steals the show on nearly all 9 collab tracks.
Super Slimey severely lacks melody from artists that are usually chock-full of them. There’s not a single song that stands out as a ‘hit’, nor are there any memorable hooks or performances. Plenty tracks lack a hook entirely, proving how the songs weren’t crafted with total dedication. That’s clear from how every song comes and goes in under 3 minutes. Beautiful Thugger Girls’ “Relationship” comes to mind of the sort of quality Future and Thug are capable of making together, yet no track on Super Slimey comes close to such song-making.
This is a shame because there’s a handful of tracks that slap. “No Cap” is a perfect opener to the tape that provides the best display of Future quotables; hard and energetic trap lines about Patek Phillipes, diamonds, chains, and, most importantly, fucking your bitch (“My little brother keep a stick on the seat / He gon’ brrrt, brrrt, brrrt till your heart stop beat”). The track fits Thug as much as it fits Future, something which can’t be said for most of the songs, as they go back and forth in equally-enjoyable verses.
The energy carries onto “Three”, the most explosive track of the lot thanks to Southside. Future sparks up the vibe even more when he comes in after Thug with another solid display of brag rap (“I got more rings than you got hoes bro”). “Three”, although enjoyable, totally sounds like a B-side track to Future’s FUTURE album, and is a prime example of how tailored the beats on Super Slimey are for Future.
The production is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the mixtape. Outside of the usual 808s there’s no attention-grabbing elements to the beats. Tracks like “200”, “Cruise Ship” and “Group Home” are drowned in the mediocrity of the same old forgettable, uninspired hi-hats and snares, ridden of any melody.
The best displays of production are all by Southside on “No Cap”, “Three” and “Patek Water”, with an honourable mention going to Mike Will for the infectious “Mink Flow” where the subdued bass and vocal sample add a lot of character to the track. Young Thug and Future match the beat well with their delivery and is the one display of decent chemistry. Offset steals the show on “Patek Water”, matching the sort of quotables Future provides on his own verses (“Baguettes on the edge of my neck, I never settle for less”). “Patek Water” lacks the type of listening longevity like the main highlights possess, but stands out alongside the filler.
Out of the 13 songs, the four solo tracks contribute towards the lack of memorability the most. Thug’s second solo track, “Killed Before”, comes across as a Beautiful Thugger Girls throwaway, reusing the same tricks he pulled off better on other songs. Future’s “Feed Me Dope” is enjoyable if you really want it to be but sounds like it’s straight out of 56 Nights. These solo tracks don’t suit the vibe of the tape, and I can’t help but think B-sides from FUTURE and B-sides from BTG were included for the sake of making up the tracklist.
Unlike its beginning, the tape doesn’t end on a strong note with “Group Home”. I’m unable to take Future’s delivery as an expression of his ‘pain’ here, it just sounds like he’s on his deathbed.
Just like with any collaborative project there needs to be an element of chemistry. This is notably lacking across the 40 minutes which is dominated by Future. There’s no real moment where Future and Thug mesh together seamlessly, they either just go back or forth or go their separate ways for the solo tracks. Taking that into consideration when rating this mixtape is crucial, as this is supposed to be a Future and Young Thug project. If this was just a solo Future project, we’d probably we having a different conversation.
It’s a shame to say, but Super Slimey isn’t the type of product anticipated from the mumble giants. The uninspired production, filler, dominance of Future and lack of song-crafting leads to only three or four quality offerings. There’s no tracks on here that are terrible, you could easily sit through this start to finish and have no unbearable complaints. However, the majority of tracks on Super Slimey are average offerings by artists that should have offered more considering how synchronised the musical traits of Future and Young Thug are.
Rating: 5 / 10
Best tracks: “No Cap”, “Mink Flow”, “Three”, “Patek Water”
Mic Cheque 