Barter 6
| Barter 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 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 primarily by in-house producers London on da Track and Wheezy, among others. It received generally positive reviews and peaked at 22 on the US charts.
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 | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| Billboard | [7] |
| Complex | [8] |
| Consequence of Sound | C+[9] |
| HipHopDX | 4/5[10] |
| Now | 4/5[11] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10[12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Spin | 6/10[14] |
| XXL | 4/5[15] |
Barter 6 was released by 300 Entertainment on April 16, 2015,[16] and charted at number 22 on the Billboard 200, selling 17,000 copies in its first week.[17] It was met with generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received an average score of 72, based on 13 reviews.[16]
Complex said "on Barter 6, a rapper frequently dismissed as a druggie dance trapper inverts himself, yielding a passionate and personal record," adding that his "visceral illustrations are one-of-a-kind, and he communicates joy, frustration, and dread with unique clarity."[8] Meaghan Garvey of Pitchfork stated that "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] Pitchfork later named Barter 6 the 14th best record of 2015 while ranking the mixtape's opening track "Constantly Hating" as the year's sixth best song.[18][19] HipHopDX called Barter 6 "the definitive mainstream strip club album of the modern era."[10] Tiny Mix Tapes called the record "an obvious, tight application of Thug’s lawless style brought into the space of a linear album," adding that "Thug’s syrupy freedom of expression and bat-shit flexibility, his coo-ing and “skirrrrr-ing,” is at times straight up avant-garde."[20]
In a less enthusiastic review, Spin magazine's Dan Weiss felt Young Thug sounded lazy on Barter 6, "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] Billboard stated that the album "offers cohesion and unity, though maybe at the expense of the exciting, what-will-happen next feel of past mixtapes."[7] Consequence of Sound stated that "Barter 6 feels like a step in the right direction rather than a destination, proof that Thugger can put together a complete package even if it’s less than adventurous."[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s)[21] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Constantly Hating" (featuring Birdman) |
| Wheezy | 4:27 |
| 2. | "With That" (featuring Duke) |
| London on da Track | 3:22 |
| 3. | "Can't Tell" (featuring T.I. and Boosie Badazz) |
| London on da Track | 6:08 |
| 4. | "Check" |
| London on da Track | 3:50 |
| 5. | "Never Had It" (featuring Young Dolph) |
| Wheezy | 4:14 |
| 6. | "Dream" (featuring Yak Gotti) |
| Wheezy | 3:01 |
| 7. | "Dome" (featuring Duke) |
| Wheezy | 3:51 |
| 8. | "Halftime" |
| Hilson | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Amazing" (featuring Jacquees) |
| Wheezy | 3:38 |
| 10. | "Knocked Off" (featuring Birdman) |
|
|
3:16 |
| 11. | "OD" |
| Wheezy | 4:45 |
| 12. | "Numbers" |
| London on da Track | 3:27 |
| 13. | "Just Might Be" |
| Wheezy | 3:53 |
Total length: |
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 |
|---|---|
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[22] | 24 |
| US Billboard 200[23] | 22 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] | 5 |
References
- 1 2 "Young Thug Vs. Lil Wayne: A Timeline Of The Rapper's 'Carter 6' Beef : Entertainment : Design & Trend". Designntrend.com. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Grow, Kory (2014-12-04). "Lil Wayne Blasts Cash Money: 'I Want Off This Label'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Muhammad, Latifah. "Lil Wayne Disses Young Thug | News". BET. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ mtv (2015-04-13). "Here's Why Young Thug Just Changed The Title Of 'Carter 6'". MTV. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ mtv (2015-04-14). "Young Thug Threatens Lil Wayne Over Carter 6 Album". MTV. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ David Jeffries. "Barter 6 - Young Thug | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- 1 2 "Album Review: Young Thug Exists In His Own Weird World On 'Barter 6'". Billboard. 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- 1 2 Charity, Justin (2015-04-16). "Review: Young Thug Is Not A Star On 'Barter 6' | Complex CA". Ca.complex.com. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- 1 2 Kivel, Adam (April 20, 2015). "Young Thug – Barter 6". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- 1 2 Garrett, Ural (2015-04-18). "Young Thug - Barter 6 | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Review". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Ritchie, Kevin (April 29, 2015). "Young Thug". Now. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- 1 2 Garvey, Meaghan (2015-04-24). "Young Thug: Barter 6". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- 1 2 Levy, Joe (May 4, 2015). "Young Thug Barter 6 Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- 1 2 Weiss, Dan. "Review: Young Thug, 'Barter 6'". Spin. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- ↑ Rys, Dan (2015-04-27). "Young Thug Rises Above the Drama on 'Barter 6' - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
- 1 2 "Barter 6 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ↑ Schaeffer, Amy (September 27, 2015). "Young Thug '90 Percent Of My Closet Is Women's Clothing'". Inquisitr. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015 - Page 4". Pitchfork. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "The 100 Best Tracks of 2015 - Page 10". Pitchfork. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ SCVSCV. "Barter 6 - Review". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ↑ "Barter 6 on Tidal". Tidal.com. 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
- ↑ "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.