Barter 6
Barter 6 | ||||
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File:Young Thug Barter 6.jpg | ||||
Mixtape by Young Thug | ||||
Released | April 17, 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2014–15 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 51:39 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Young Thug chronology | ||||
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Singles from Barter 6 | ||||
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Barter 6 is a mixtape by American rapper Young Thug. It was released on April 16, 2015, by 300 Entertainment and Atlantic Records and made available for retail purchase. Barter 6 features guest appearances from Birdman, T.I., Boosie Badazz, Young Dolph, Yak Gotti, Duke and Jacquees, while the production was handled by in-house producers London on da Track, Wheezy, Ricky Racks and KIP Hilson, among others.
Title controversy
The album was initially titled Carter 6, in continuation of the naming sequence of Lil Wayne's successful Tha Carter album series.[1] This created controversy, as Wayne's scheduled album Tha Carter V was repeatedly delayed amid a dispute between himself and Cash Money Records, who had reportedly refused to release the album.[2] Wayne subsequently became involved in legal proceedings against Cash Money and publicly criticized the label's owner (and Thug's mentor) Birdman, as well as responding negatively to Thug's decision to name the album after him.[3] Despite this, Thug claimed that he was not trying to be disrespectful, and that Wayne was his "idol".[1]
Following a threat of legal action, Thug announced days prior to the release that the project was to be re-titled Barter 6, in line with the typical Blood gang practice of replacing the letter "C" with "B".[4] He furthered the ill feeling by announcing his first show to promote the project in Hollygrove, New Orleans, one of the neighborhoods in which Wayne was raised.[5]
Release and reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Billboard | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Complex | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Consequence of Sound | C+[9] |
HipHopDX | 4/5[10] |
Now | 4/5[11] |
Pitchfork Media | 8.4/10[12] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 6/10[14] |
XXL | 4/5[15] |
Barter 6 was released by 300 Entertainment and Atlantic Records on April 16, 2015. In its first week, it charted on the Billboard 200 at number 22 and recorded 19,000 album equivalent units, including 17,000 copies sold. It was the thirteenth highest sales debut in the United States for 2015.[16]
Barter 6 received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has received an average score of 72, based on 13 reviews.[17] Complex said "Thugger's visceral illustrations are one-of-a-kind, and he communicates joy, frustration, and dread with unique clarity."[8] HipHopDX called Barter 6 "the definitive mainstream strip club album of the modern era."[10] Meaghan Garvey from Pitchfork Media believed that "what may not be legible at first glance reveals itself patiently over time ... More than anything, Barter 6 feels like a 50-minute performance of what rap, as a form, can do: rap that need not transcend itself, towards High Art on one hand or commercial art on the other, in order to succeed in 2015."[12] The online magazine later named Barter 6 as the 14th best album of 2015 while ranking its opening track "Constantly Hating" as the year's sixth best song.[18][19]
In a less enthusiastic review, Spin magazine's Dan Weiss felt Young Thug sounded lazy on the album, "sitting around waiting to ascend to the next level of his sound, for inspiration to strike, though with such a laid-back, inscrutable flow, he might have to activate that change himself."[14] Rolling Stone critic Joe Levy said most of the songs sound "boastful and sad in the same moment", abandoning the frenzied tunefulness of Young Thug's past work in favor of indistinctly "syrupy tracks".[13] Robert Christgau gave Barter 6 a two-star honorable mention in his column for Noisey,[20] indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy".[21] He named "Can't Tell" and "Halftime" as the record's highlights and said Young Thug was "running one of his inscrutable jokes on the major label".[20]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s)[22] | Length |
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1. | "Constantly Hating" (featuring Birdman) |
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Wheezy | 4:27 |
2. | "With That" (featuring Duke) |
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London on da Track | 3:22 |
3. | "Can't Tell" (featuring T.I. and Boosie Badazz) |
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London on da Track | 6:08 |
4. | "Check" |
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London on da Track | 3:50 |
5. | "Never Had It" (featuring Young Dolph) |
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Wheezy | 4:14 |
6. | "Dream" (featuring Yak Gotti) |
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Wheezy | 3:01 |
7. | "Dome" (featuring Duke) |
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Wheezy | 3:51 |
8. | "Halftime" |
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3:46 |
9. | "Amazing" (featuring Jacquees) |
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Wheezy | 3:38 |
10. | "Knocked Off" (featuring Birdman) |
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3:16 |
11. | "OD" |
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Wheezy | 4:45 |
12. | "Numbers" |
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London on da Track | 3:27 |
13. | "Just Might Be" |
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Wheezy | 3:53 |
Total length:
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51:52 |
- Sample credits
- "Amazing" contains samples of "September" performed by Earth, Wind & Fire, written by Maurice White, Albert McKay, Alta Willis.
Charts
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
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UK R&B Albums (OCC)[23] | 24 |
US Billboard 200[24] | 22 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[25] | 29 |
References
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- ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Young Thug – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Young Thug. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ↑ "Young Thug – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Young Thug. Retrieved May 2, 2015.