Just as Brutus brandished a knife, Young Thug is forced against his hero. “Barter 6” was born from turned homage; the rapper originally intended to name it Carter 6 as a monument to Lil Wayne’s unreleased opus. Lil Wayne, who performed with Young Thug a little while back and whose music has more than a passing influence on the Atlanta rapper, came down on the name and took it to the public arena. Thus, amidst Instagram potshots and callouts, we have Young Thug’s mixtape, “Barter 6.”
“Barter 6” has none of the venom of a feud, though Young Thug isn’t shy about drawing a line in the sand. There’s a few shots at Lil Wayne buried in opener “Constantly Hating feat. Birdman," but Young Thug is mostly speaking to all of his challengers as he grandstands between his slurred cackles and warbled cheers. Thug brags about his women and weed and wards off the usurpers, all while dripping rhymes over a remarkably cohesive atmosphere of sticky and swampy dystopias.
There’s no bold statements or jabs stirred into the mixture of “Barter 6." In fact, there’s not even really a standout song on the mixtape as most of it blending into Young Thug’s steady distillery. A feature stirs it up here and there, like T.I. on “Can’t Tell feat. T.I. And Boo,” but there’s not much really jumping out of Young Thug’s steadied but enjoyable swagger.
While “Barter 6” might dole over Thug’s kush-fueled daydreams, there’s a hint of posturing behind it. Publically, Young Thug’s already thrown himself against his former idol. Musically, those shots may have already been fired; Young Thug’s propped up mixtape opener with none other than Cash Money executive Birdman (for the uninitiated, Birdman and Lil Wayne have publically been dueling over release rights to Tha Carter V, the same album Young Thug wanted to follow).
“Barter 6” may seem like an unimposing trip; Young Thug certainly ruminates on his good living through most of its ins and outs. And on its own, “Barter 6” might just be a simple, single-minded trip. As a musical stepping stone, it even points the young rapper toward a realized debut. But, in the greater world, it could be a declaration. Young Thug wanted to emulate his idol Lil Wayne, now another step down a path to dethrone his hero.
Grade: B-
