Listen to Young Thug, “Paradise”

Slime Season, Young Thug's full-length collaboration with "Lifestyle" producer London On Da Track, was supposed to come out over the weekend--on July 4, to be exact. For those keeping tracking at home, that's the same day Lil Wayne liberated his Free Weezy Album. While the New Orleans legend tries to negotiate a release from Cash Money Records, a date for Tha Carter V or both, Thug (remember Barter 6?) continues to prod and provoke, possibly at the Birdman's behest. But consider this an intermission: With Slime Season delayed, Thug chooses to tide fans over with the Allen Ritter-produced "Paradise." "I'm the same n---a boolin' on the block, like there's never been a cop," he raps, snapping back and forth from his sharp staccato to the warbled singing on the hook. It's everything the mountainous batch of leaked material promised--bright, joyous, colorful, technical, human. Though he's lauded primarily for his work as a stylist, "Paradise" hinges on Thug's agility as a writer.