As producer London On Da Track blasts unreleased Young Thug music off his iPhone, Thug makes his entrance with an even bigger wave of guests, as if he’s brought his whole neighborhood along to the shoot. He lunges through the crowd of people in long, quick strides, in constant motion from the second he walks in. Thug heads straight for the dressing room, where he lights up a blunt and checks out the clothes.



People continue to arrive until the studio becomes the Atlanta rap hot spot for the afternoon—Young Scooter comes through, as does Rich Homie Quan. While Birdman and Young Thug pose for photos, everyone raps along to music, drinks, smokes, eats, tells stories, and hangs out. Ask anyone in the room how they know Thug and the answer is the same: “From the streets.” Now their friend is Birdman’s new chosen one, and they’re walking around the studio with stacks of hundred dollar bills hanging out of their back pockets. They rap along to his songs proudly, and when asked about Thug as a person, they all bring up the word loyal.

By this point the studio is so full of smoke that its owner opens a back door to air it out. As if to counter the fresh air, Birdman motions to a guy sitting in the corner, who promptly brings over two carrot-size joints. Each spliff contains an ounce of Birdman’s signature strain of weed. He hands one to Thug and they both light up, filling the studio with weed fog.

With a simple nod of the head, Thug agrees to an interview, but first, his sister Dora, who also acts as his personal assistant, wants to see the questions. Petite and dressed casually in a sweatshirt and jeans, Dora is one of only a few females in the room, and she looks out for her brother like nobody else does. While others roll his blunts and fill his cup, she brings him food and hovers over him as if to make sure he gets something other than lean and weed in his system. When she gives the go-ahead, Thug ducks into the dressing room and leans up against the counter for the quickest interview in history.

“When did you first hear Wayne?”

“I don’t remember.”

“What is it about him you like so much?”

“The ambition.”

“What’s your relationship with Gucci like now?”

“He’s my brother.”

“Are you trying to sign with Cash Money Records?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you really going to call your album Tha Carter VI?”

“Yeah.”

“What have you learned from Wayne?”

“A lot.”

Can you share anything specific?

“Um… no.”

And so it goes. Thug’s eyes don’t fixate on anything for more than a few seconds, and he’s constantly fidgeting as if at any moment he might burst into motion again. Despite all the drank and smoke, he speaks and thinks quickly, but he doesn’t use many words.

Birdman, however, is more forthcoming. He says he first heard Young Thug’s music from Pee Wee, one of Thug’s friends from ATL. “He was like, ‘Stunna, you need to check into this.’ I heard it, and I was like, ‘I need to meet him. Bring him to me.’ So he flew to L.A. And we connected ever since.”

It was an immediate fit. “He acted like he already knew me,” Birdman says. “I could tell he followed the legacy and he says Wayne’s his favorite rapper.”

Standing outside the studio smoking his giant joint, he’s surrounded by the people who have known Young Thug since he was little. “I come from the street life—born, bred, raised. It’s hard in them streets. Thug reminds me of myself and how we used to be in the streets,” Birdman says. “And nobody helped me. I want to help.”

Whether as manager or big brother, Birdman has definitely taken Young Thug under his wing. And so it would seem that big things are guaranteed. Thug is already making music with Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga, and Lil Wayne. The whole YMCMB team is riding with him.

Birdman says he’s not Thug’s official manager and that he wants him to join Cash Money “in time.” For now, he says it’s about more than business: “Really, he’s like my little brother. I just want to make sure his business is straight, and that he takes care of himself. I just want to make sure he gets the right treatment wherever he goes. His talent is going to speak for itself. By nature he’s Rich Gang YMCMB. He’s part of us, before he even met us.”

While Atlantic works to make “Stoner” its big single and divert attention from dozens of other Thug songs—to say nothing of the contractual nightmares that await—Birdman seems unconcerned with label drama. “I always dealt with things differently than the labels,” he says. “I’m part of the life and I’m a part of hip-hop culture. The major labels, they don’t come out here on these streets. They’re sitting in a building and they don’t really know what the fuck is going on. I don’t ever want to be like none of them.”

“It’s business and it’s life,” Birdman continues. “I see the opportunity to help a young man come out the street, then he can help everyone he knows. So that’s my whole thing. Keep him out of trouble, let him do great music, help his mama and his sisters and his kids, and he’ll live a different life.”

In the streets, Young Thug and his people have figured out how to operate. There is an unspoken order governed by loyalty and love. In the music industry, it’s a different story. Birdman negotiates cover shoots while reps from Thug’s label won’t mention his name on the record. With the 300 deal in place, he’s on board with one team even as he’s firmly entrenched with another powerful clique. The whole scenario seems like a recipe for behind-the-scenes turmoil.

Later tonight, Young Thug and crew will drive five hours to North Carolina to perform and pick up more stacks of cash. It’s past 7 p.m., but he’s still hanging out, smoking as blunt ashes are swept and Styrofoam cups thrown out. Thug says he always knew he’d be famous, but the level of fame he’s flirting with now is something very few people achieve—or can deal with. Luckily, Birdman is one of those people. “Young Thug is already a star,” Birdman says, exhaling a cloud of smoke and cracking a half-smile that flashes his platinum grill. “We’re going to make him a superstar.”