Young Thug Announces New Album Dropping Tonight

Awaiting trial, facing years behind bars, Young Thug still believes that Business Is Business.

On Thursday (June 22), the Atlanta rap icon announced that he will release his new studio album tonight at midnight ET (June 23). The LP will serve as his third studio album and his first since his 2021 project Punk.

While the track list and collaborators for Business Is Business have yet to be revealed, many hip-hop stars have re-posted Thug’s announcement and have alluded to their involvement with the album. Just to name a few, Drake, producer Metro Boomin, Chance The Rapper, Don Toliver, Lil Durk, and 21 Savage have all hyped up the impending release on their respective social media pages.

Thug first hinted at Business Is Business last Friday (June 16), when he posted a QR code to Instagram that led to a website with a countdown clock, which is adjusted to hit 00:00 tonight.

Currently, Thug is in the jury selection stage in the widely-publicized racketeering case brought against him and his record label Young Stoner Life. This likely means he has not been able to record music since his May 2022 arrest. So, what music can fans expect to hear on the new tape?

Well, in April of last year, just weeks before he was detained, Thug posted the cover art for his impending mixtape Slime Season 4. Since he was expected to put out this project at some point in 2022 and was not able to, there is a good chance some of these songs could be repurposed for Business Is Business.

Thug’s brand new LP will arrive just one week after his label-mate Gunna put out a Gift & a Curse, his first full-length release since being freed from jail in connection to the YSL case in December. While it is unknown what the nature of Thug and Gunna’s friendship is at the moment, considering Gunna earned his freedom with a plea deal last year, many others in the hip-hop community have shunned Gunna for his decision.

However, along with Gunna offering his love and support for Thug multiple times on a Gift & a Curse, he also reposted Thug’s QR code earlier this week and included the phrase “Free Jeffery” (referring to Thug’s legal name Jeffery Williams) in his recent “alright” music video.

Regardless, while things may not be peachy keen for the YSL imprint these days, it is surely thrilling for the rap community to see the return of two of the most exciting acts in the genre in back-to-back weeks.

Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW