In 2018, J. Cole surprised fans by bringing Young Thug on tour with him. Around that time, the two began having conversations about the possibility of working on music together.
Now, it’s confirmed: J. Cole will executive produce Young Thug’s new album, sources close to Thug tell Complex. The two have started initial recording sessions in New York.
Cole has previously praised Young Thug’s artistry. “If you want to talk about Young Thug as an artist, he’s an innovator,” he told Angie Martinez in May 2018. “If you know skills, you call him a mumble rapper all you want, but if you know skills and you know the art of rapping, that dude is a genius.”
Discussing his own ambitions for the future, Thug recently told Interview, “I dream of winning 20 Grammys. I dream of being acknowledged as the best rapper alive and the richest rapper alive.”
At this point, it’s unclear if the album will be presented as Barter 7, Hy!£UN35, or any of the other unreleased projects Thug has teased. His most recent full-length solo album arrived in 2017 in the form of Beautiful Thugger Girls.