Young Thug’s redemption tour has begun. Although it’s unlikely that the Atlanta trap rap vet has had a chance to hit the studio as yet after leaving jail, he’s clearly looking to reestablish his connections, beginning with one of the men who first put him on in rap: T.I. The “About The Money” collaborators reunited in a video that T.I. posted to his Instagram account in which they can be seen grinning while T.I.’s son Domani hovers in the background. “Hey man, what you got to tell these people,” T.I. asks. Thug replies, simply, “Back. Back, Jack.”
It’s fitting that T.I. was the first rapper Thug reconnected with fresh out of jail, as it was Thug’s appearance on Tip’s 2014 single “About The Money” that helped raise his profile and ensured his record deal with 300 Entertainment. Not for nothing, he’s also one of the few trap rap figures Thugger legally can spend any time around due to the conditions of his probation agreement, which bars him from contact with his former racketeering co-defendants in YSL (except for Gunna and his brother Unfoonk). He’s also no longer on the greatest terms with Cash Money’s Birdman, with whom he formed Rich Gang alongside Rich Homie Quan (RIP), and it’s unclear where he stands with Gucci Mane, the first person to give him a shot with a deal with 1017.
T.I. and Thug have certainly collaborated as much as anyone else in Thugger’s circle; in 2016, they dropped “Bobby Womack,” in 2018, they teamed up for “The Weekend,” and in 2020 on “Ring.” If this means they’ll have another new collaboration to look forward to, Thug’s comeback is already off to a great start.
