Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This past week, the highly anticipated album from YSL/Heavyweight Records and artists Young Thug and DJ Carnage has finally dropped and is creating chaos.

A plethora of teasers from DJ Carnage were released on Twitter wth the release of the “Homie” music video two weeks ago. With a second song titled “Liger” dropping a day before the EP’s planned release date, the pair has created a lot of excitement around their collaboration, and it is well deserved.

Young Thug, who has been quite distant from the rap scene since his last album release, “Beautiful Thugger Girls,” in 2016, has experimented a bit with his voice and style in collaboration with DJ Carnage. Carnage, whose most recent work being his “Step Brothers” EP this year, has delivered a diverse sound for this EP, both of their work shining through in the short but sweet “Young Martha.”

Commencing with “Homie,” the EP’s first song has been released the longest of the four and has since stirred debate within the fan base. With the vague organ chords, it plays out to be a tasteful music video. The chorus is gruff and nearly startles Young Thug as the song builds suspense and near horror. With beats that jerk listeners back and forth, verses from both Thug and Meek Mill roll off the tongue until all sound is removed to end with a monologue.

“Liger,” a rhythmical and light beat, focuses more on character both lyrically and instrumentally. [“I bought a Rollie’, but I coulda bought a Viper, ayy / Everybody got tigers, so I wanna go get a liger, ayy.”] Centered around the individuality of an artist, Young Thug and Carnage create a delightful sound that listeners will not be able to shake.

The EP’s third track, “10,000 Slimes,” begins with an intro and continues with a repetitive yet catchy chorus. Though it seems to pale in comparison with the rest of the “Young Martha” titles, “10,000 Slimes” equally contributes to the EP as a whole. With seemingly odd lyrics such as [“Inside the tire is where the birds is / Inside the tires, uh, Jeffery”], Young Thug refers to the titles of past works such as mixtape “JEFFERY” from 2016 and “YSL,” one of the record labels both he and Carnage worked through on the collaboration’s production.

The final song of “Young Martha,” titled “Don’t Call Me,” is a personal favorite as it brings a much different sound with featured artist Shakka. A subtle and more relaxed sound enables easy listening while still bookending the song with both an intro and final chorus with Young Thug. The final chorus of the song features the lyrics [“I swear to God, *****, you dig? / With a golden shovel, iced out AP, not the Rollie bezel, oh.”] These lyrics are not only found previously in “Homie,” but can also be found on the track “RiRi” off of Thug’s critically acclaimed mixtape “JEFFERY.”

“Young Martha,” although an acquired taste for some, is a beautifully executed mixtape. Young Thug and Carnage have both put forward diverse and delightful sounds that have not been seen in past works, especially when paired with featured artists Meek Mills and Shakka.

Overall, the EP is a well-knit and excellent EP that could fit almost any preferred sound and mood. Without a doubt, it will be heard from every dorm window soon.

  Photo provided by Young Thug via YouTube.com