Slime Language 2 / Young Stoner Life, Young Thug & Gunna / April 16, 2021
- Joshua Yoo
- May 10, 2021
- 2 min read
On the second installment of the Young Stoner Life label compilation, Young Thug emphasizes a family-first approach, bringing the spotlight to his lesser recognized in-house artists and producers, along with a plethora of frequent collaborators. With the stylistic influence and guidance of Young Thug and Gunna throughout the track list, the compilation project presents the YSL sound with truly standout moments, yet ultimately falls victim to the same issues that often plague compilation-style undertakings.
For the first leg of the project Young Thug takes the helm of the musical direction, and the strengths of his artistry shine through even in-tandem with his guest artists. His characteristic vocal inflections and performances seamlessly match some of the more dynamic instrumentals on the album, present on tracks such as the vicious and fiery opener “Slatty,” or the mesmerizingly woozy Uzi-assisted “Proud of You.”
However, on the back end of the project Thug steps back to give his YSL artists their time to shine, but it’s difficult to maintain that they make the most out of their opportunity. When the vocal deliveries and performances don’t overly derive from Thug’s artistic style, tracks also fail to make a lasting impact, from considerably thin and basic production choices (“Trance”), to plainly uninspired writing (“Really Be Slime”). It can’t be helped but to consider the overall cogency of this project with the removal or reworking of such tracks, given its considerably long-winded run-time.
This is not to say that ‘Slime Language 2’ does not advance the YSL label sound and affiliates in a successfully collaborative effort; it does. But greater emphasis on quality over quantity/inclusion would benefit the execution greatly.
Highlight(s): Slatty, Pots N Pans, Diamonds Dancing, That Go!, Proud of You, Real
Lowlight(s): Como Te Llama, Superstar, I Like, Take It to Trial, Really Be Slime, Solid
SCORE: 5/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccAJ0-_cGO0
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