I'm Up [Mixtape]

I'm Up represents Thug's most accessible and immediate work to date.

They’re all super accessible and as a whole consistently solid. No track stands out as being considerably worse than another. Alternatively, there aren’t a lot of highs, but that can easily be overlooked due to the strength of the holistic work.

I’m Up is not a major work in Thug’s catalog. It’s brief and feels disconnected at the beginning and end, and for the most part doesn’t exercise his considerable chorus-crafting muscles. But it’s a fascinating creative time capsule, and feels like a welcome detour during a hugely prolific four-year period.

Seasoned fans will be hard-pressed to dismiss I’m Up as a release chock-full of throwaways, but it’s truly a testament to Young Thug’s radical talents as a rapper for keeping an audience thoroughly engaged, even when the studio experiments aren’t always entirely convincing.

Although it is still to be determined if Thugger can step it up a couple of notches for an album that will be touted as an official release, I’m Up doesn’t offer up any reason to doubt him.