Young Thug (with YSL Records) - 'Slime Language II'

'Slime Language II' opens somewhat decently with 'Slatty.' Southside's production is bombastic, Young Thug delivers an average hook, yet Yak Gotti's verse shines through his satisfyingly grunty delivery. 'Ski' begins promisingly. The instrumental is sweetly punchy and flashy, supplementing the charming chemistry between Gunna and Young Thug. However, Young Thug's hook is weak. There had to be something better than saying 'Yeah' multiple times with a sprinkle of ad-libs.

Producer Turbo stomps the accelerator as he unleashes one of Slime Language II's more revving trap beats in the Travis Scott featured 'Diamonds Dancing.' The track is a glistening hailstorm as Young Thug delivers a better, catchy chorus where he likens himself to 'Martin Luther King' and boasts the 'black diamonds on his wrist.' Scott's feature is the cream of the crop in 'Diamonds Dancing' as his sweetly autotuned verse feels like him kicking down the door after consuming the Limitless drug. Wheezy and OZ provide a euphoric vortex of an instrumental in 'Solid.' Sadly, Drake's feature in 'Solid' is somewhat underwhelming. His chorus is satisfactory, almost a Kid Cudi-Esque delivery, yet his verse was pretty forgettable. Gunna and Young Thug are just too laid back in the meanwhile with their verses. The album probably reaches its best sonically in 'Came and Saw'. The spiralling horn patterns are stunning vertigo as Rowdy Rebel fire-breaths his hook. Young Thug, in the meanwhile, charismatically rides the wave of the production in his verse. Following the passable 'Paid the Fine,' Lil Uzi Vert makes a pleasant  appearance in 'Proud of You.' His hook is affectionately catchy, likewise for his rap verse. Unfortunately,  the transition from Uzi Vert's hook to Yung Kayo's verse is offputtingly abrupt.

Reaching the second half of 'SLime Language II', Big Sean's feature verse was not enough to save the obnoxious 'Warrior', as Lil Keed's chorus is rather headache-inducing. I can be pretty lenient with lyricism being ridiculous. Yet Skepta saying he 'jumped off the jet, he left semen on the seat' is somewhat cringy in 'Wokstar.' Additionally, Strick, despite being okay on the chorus, does distractingly sound like 21 Savage. 'Slime Language II' really begins to churn my stomach at the Future-featured 'Superstar.' Future is awful as it seemed he was gasping for air within the chorus. It was just the beginning of Slime Language II's most unbearable chapter. Over a rather one-dimensional trap instrumental, YNW Melly's chorus in 'Really Be Slime" would have been listenable if he had not showered it with annoying ad-libs of 'Blatt & slatt.' 'GFU' is a sickening track to listen through. The chorus is annoyingly generic as Sheck Wes' rap verse was vomit-inducing.

'Moon Man' is a somewhat refreshingly point in the album, especially after a torturing segment. Kid Cudi's humming in the background is always a pleasant listen. However, 'Moon Man' is overall a cheap thrill of a track. The instrumental is soullessly wavy as Strick and Thug's presence was painfully mediocre.  In 'Como Te Llama', HiDoraah is sonically choking me to death as her chorus is displeasingly repetitive.

Close to the album's conclusion, 'Slime Language II' rediscovers some energy in 'That Go!.' The flutes and flashy futuristic synths complete an exciting instrumental that energises T-Shyne's fine chorus and Meek Mill's satisfying opening verse. The 'My City Remix' is a bearable conclusion. The piano pattern is a nice change of pace sonically. Additionally, Young Thug is rather emotional in his verse, especially when he tries 'to see his kids every day because it's healthy.'

"Slime Language II" is not a good showcase of the YSL collective. Outside of Young Thug and Gunna, the rest of the collective, like Strick, Lil Keed, and Yung Kayo, to name a few, were at best uninteresting or, at worst, unbearable. At least, the album delivered few fiery bangers, mainly driven by the stellar production from the likes of Wheezy and Turbo. 

Best Track(s): Diamonds Dancing, Came and Saw

3/10.