Young Thug is preparing another major musical pivot, and this time he isn’t talking about simply adding a few melodic records to a rap album.

He’s going full R&B.

During a new interview recorded backstage at ComplexCon in Los Angeles, Thug revealed that his next solo project will be an R&B album and said he intends to release it before the end of 2026. The Atlanta rapper described the direction as “real R&B,” pointed to Mary J. Blige as an inspiration and revealed that most of the material will focus more on sex, romance and enjoying his relationship than heartbreak. (Complex)

And that wasn’t the only major reveal.

Thug also confirmed that he and Drake have multiple unreleased songs together and suggested that fans won’t have to wait forever to hear them. The comments immediately revived interest in a potential larger collaboration between the two rappers, including the long-discussed idea of a joint project.

“We got a few songs,” Thug said when the conversation turned to Drake. “We finna drop. We finna do what we gotta do.” (iHeart)

For Thug, the announcements point toward an unusually active next phase of his career: a dedicated R&B album, more music with Drake and potentially collaborations with some of the biggest names in the genre.

Thug Says the Album Is Coming This Year

The revelation came during an appearance on The Crew Has It, hosted by Power actors Gianni Paolo and Kris D. Lofton. The interview was filmed backstage during ComplexCon and released Tuesday, Oct. 6.

When the conversation shifted toward Thug’s next solo album, he didn’t leave much ambiguity about what he plans to do.

“I’m going R&B,” Thug said, confirming that he expects the project to arrive this year. “I’m going real R&B.” (Complex)

That means Thug is currently targeting the remaining months of 2026 for the release.

No official title or release date has been announced, so that timetable should still be treated as Thug’s current plan rather than a locked release schedule.

But stylistically, he sounds considerably more certain.

This isn’t being described as a rap album with several R&B songs.

Thug is specifically calling it an R&B project.

“I’m Going Mary J.”

Thug went even further when explaining what he means by R&B.

He invoked Mary J. Blige.

“It’s real, it’s Mary J.,” Thug said. “I’m going real R&B.” (iHeart)

That comparison immediately gives fans a clearer idea of what he appears to be chasing.

Mary J. Blige’s catalog has long occupied the intersection between hip-hop culture and traditional R&B, with records built around relationships, vulnerability, heartbreak, love and adult emotional experiences.

Thug has already spent much of his career erasing the conventional boundaries between rapping and singing. But invoking Blige suggests he wants to approach the next album as an actual R&B body of work rather than simply another experimental Young Thug project that happens to contain melodies.

When Paolo offered to connect Thug with Blige, Thug was receptive to the idea. Complex reports that the two have met before, but there is currently no confirmation that Blige has recorded anything for the project. (Complex)

If that collaboration happens, it could become one of the album’s most important features.

Don’t Expect a Whole Album of Heartbreak

The Mary J. Blige inspiration might lead listeners to expect an album filled with relationship pain.

Thug says that’s not exactly where his life is right now.

“Most of the songs are sexual, though,” he explained. “It’s probably like two or three heartbreak songs. Most of them is just like fun times.” (Complex)

The reason is personal.

Thug said his music reflects what he is actually experiencing, and at the moment, he described himself as “super in love” with Mariah the Scientist.

That makes it difficult for him to manufacture an album filled with heartbreak simply because heartbreak is traditionally associated with R&B.

“I ain’t making that many heartbreak songs in an R&B album ’cause we just having fun right now,” he explained. “I feel like if it was bad I probably would make more heartbreak songs. But I just try to be real, like realistic.” (iHeart)

That could give the project a noticeably different emotional tone from the darker relationship records associated with both Thug and contemporary R&B.

Rather than an album centered around breakups and betrayal, Thug appears to be building one around intimacy and enjoying a relationship while it’s going well.

Mariah the Scientist Is Clearly Influencing This Era

Mariah’s influence over Thug’s current headspace is difficult to miss.

The two have been romantically linked since 2021 and remained together through the extraordinary legal ordeal that kept Thug incarcerated for more than two years during the YSL RICO case.

Their relationship survived that period, and Thug later proposed to Mariah during his “Hometown Hero” concert at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in December 2025. (iHeart)

Now that relationship appears to be feeding directly into his music.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Mariah will appear on the album — no confirmed track list or feature list has been announced — but having one of contemporary R&B’s most recognizable singers as his fiancée gives Thug an interesting creative connection to the genre as he prepares his first dedicated R&B project.

And unlike an artist suddenly attempting an unfamiliar genre, Thug has been moving toward this territory for years.

Young Thug Has Basically Been Halfway to R&B His Entire Career

Calling the next album an R&B project sounds like a dramatic genre switch.

Musically, it isn’t as radical as it might appear.

Young Thug has spent more than a decade using his voice in ways that often blur the distinction between rapper and singer.

His vocal approach has included falsetto, harmonizing, stretched vowels, melodic runs, unusual pitch changes and emotional singing alongside conventional rapping. That flexibility became one of the defining characteristics of his influence on the generation of melodic rappers who followed him.

Records such as “Worth It,” “RiRi,” “You Said,” “Feel It,” “Relationship” and “Killed Before” have already demonstrated how comfortable Thug can be in melodic territory.

Beautiful Thugger Girls, released in 2017, may be the clearest predecessor to what he’s describing now.

That project pushed him heavily into singing and genre experimentation, mixing rap with pop, R&B, acoustic guitar and country-influenced sounds.

But Thug still didn’t simply market it as a conventional R&B album.

This time, he is.

That Could Make This One of His Biggest Stylistic Experiments Yet

There is a difference between an artist naturally incorporating R&B into his established sound and deliberately building an entire project around the genre.

The latter creates different expectations.

Production becomes more important.

Song structures may change.

Hooks and vocal performances move closer to the center.

And features could come from an entirely different pool of artists.

Thug’s Mary J. Blige reference suggests he isn’t merely planning to take trap beats and sing over them.

At least based on his description, he’s interested in making something recognizable to him as “real R&B.”

Exactly what that means sonically remains unknown.

No lead single has been formally identified.

No track list has been released.

No cover has been unveiled.

And Thug hasn’t announced a title.

But he has apparently been recording enough material to know exactly where the project is heading. (Complex)

Then the Conversation Turned to Drake

The interview became even more interesting when the hosts began discussing potential collaborations.

Lofton floated the idea of Thug doing an entire project with Drake.

That immediately brought a familiar concept back into the conversation: What a Time to Be a Slime.

The title would be an obvious combination of Future and Drake’s 2015 collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive and Thug’s long-running “Slime” identity.

Thug didn’t announce that project.

But he did reveal something concrete.

He and Drake have unreleased records.

“We got a few songs,” Thug said. “We finna drop. We finna do what we gotta do.” (iHeart)

That is substantially more meaningful than Thug merely saying he’d like to work with Drake someday.

The songs apparently already exist.

The question is when — and in what form — they will arrive.

Don’t Call the Drake Joint Album Confirmed Yet

The possibility of a full Drake and Young Thug project is naturally going to attract attention.

But there is an important distinction between what Thug confirmed and what was suggested during the interview.

Thug confirmed that he and Drake have “a few songs.”

He indicated they intend to release music.

He did not formally announce a completed collaborative album with a release date.

Complex noted the possibility of a project tentatively framed as What a Time to Be a Slime, but fans should not treat that title as a confirmed upcoming album until Thug or Drake actually announces one. (Complex)

For now, the confirmed development is simpler and still significant:

More Young Thug and Drake music exists.

And Thug says they plan to release it.

Drake and Thug Have a Long History

The collaboration wouldn’t come out of nowhere.

Drake and Young Thug have worked together repeatedly over the years, and their musical relationship became particularly visible during the 2020s.

Thug appeared alongside Future on Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy,” which became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021.

Drake returned the favor on Thug’s Punk album that same year, appearing on “Bubbly” alongside Travis Scott.

Drake and Thug have also crossed paths through their extensive mutual connection to Future and Atlanta’s larger rap ecosystem.

That history makes the possibility of multiple new collaborations believable without requiring a full joint album.

Their Next Records Could Sound Very Different

One of the biggest unanswered questions is whether the unreleased Drake collaborations are intended for Thug’s R&B album.

Thug didn’t clearly establish that during the interview.

That distinction matters.

Drake would obviously fit an R&B-heavy Young Thug project. Some of Drake’s biggest records have come from the melodic side of his catalog, and his ability to move between rap and R&B would make him a natural collaborator for the direction Thug is describing.

But the songs could also belong to another Thug project, a Drake release or an entirely separate collaborative effort.

Until either artist reveals where the tracks are going, their destination remains unknown.

Thug Is Moving Fast After UY SCUTI

The R&B album would follow Thug’s UY SCUTI, which arrived in September 2025 and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The YSL compilation Slime Language 3 followed in August 2026. (Complex)

That makes the planned R&B album another significant step in Thug’s post-incarceration output.

His return to music carried unusual expectations because of how dramatically his career had been interrupted by the YSL prosecution.

Thug was arrested in May 2022 and remained incarcerated as the sprawling Georgia RICO case moved through years of pretrial proceedings and what became the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.

He ultimately entered a non-negotiated guilty plea in October 2024 and was released under a lengthy probation sentence.

Since returning home, Thug has gradually rebuilt his public career through music, performances and business moves.

Now he’s talking about moving beyond the sound most listeners associate with his comeback.

His Post-Jail Career Is Becoming Increasingly Unpredictable

Thug could easily spend the next several years attempting to recreate the music that made him famous.

Instead, his recent moves suggest he wants to broaden what the Young Thug brand actually represents.

He has released new music.

He has returned to major stages.

He has expanded his business interests.

And now he’s talking about making an R&B album inspired by Mary J. Blige.

For an artist whose entire career has been built around refusing to stay inside conventional rap categories, the decision is surprisingly consistent.

Young Thug’s greatest influence may ultimately be less about a specific sound than his willingness to treat his voice as an instrument that can operate in almost any genre.

A full R&B record gives him an opportunity to push that idea further.

The Mary J. Blige Collaboration Could Be Huge

One detail from the interview could become especially interesting if it develops.

Thug wants Mary J. Blige on the project.

Paolo offered to help make the connection through his relationship with Blige from the Power universe, and Thug appeared enthusiastic about the possibility. (Complex)

Blige wouldn’t simply be another celebrity feature.

She would give the album a direct connection to the tradition Thug says he wants to embrace.

For decades, Blige has been one of the defining voices of hip-hop soul, combining R&B singing with production and cultural influences closely connected to rap.

That makes her an almost perfect reference point for an artist like Thug.

Whether the collaboration actually happens remains to be seen.

But the fact that Thug immediately named her says a lot about the album he has in mind.

Thug Says He’s Making Music From His Real Life

The most revealing part of the interview may not have been the genre announcement or even the Drake tease.

It was Thug explaining why there aren’t many heartbreak records.

He could easily manufacture sadness.

That is one of R&B’s oldest formulas.

Instead, Thug says he wants the music to reflect what his life actually feels like.

Right now, he says he’s in love and having fun.

So that’s what he’s writing about. (iHeart)

It gives the album a clearer emotional foundation than simply saying, “I’m making R&B.”

The genre is changing because his life has changed.

There’s Still a Lot We Don’t Know

For all the information Thug revealed, the project remains largely mysterious.

There is no confirmed title.

There is no exact release date.

There is no track list.

There is no confirmed Mary J. Blige feature.

There is no confirmation that Mariah the Scientist appears on it.

And there is no confirmation that the unreleased Drake songs belong to the album.

What Thug has confirmed is enough to make the project significant.

He intends to release another solo album in 2026.

He says it’s R&B.

He wants “real R&B.”

Mary J. Blige is an inspiration.

Most of the songs are sexual or centered around “fun times.”

Only a handful deal with heartbreak.

And he and Drake have multiple songs waiting to be released. (Complex)

Young Thug Is Entering His R&B Era

For years, fans have debated whether Young Thug should even be described simply as a rapper.

His music has always made that label feel restrictive.

Now he appears ready to test the argument directly.

Rather than letting listeners decide whether his melodic records qualify as R&B, Thug is deliberately making an R&B album and saying so before it arrives.

And if his current timeline holds, fans won’t have to wait until 2027 to hear it.

“This year,” Thug said.

Then came the declaration that makes the direction unmistakable:

“I’m going R&B.”

Add several unreleased Drake records to the equation, the possibility of Mary J. Blige entering the picture and Thug’s relationship with Mariah the Scientist shaping the emotional tone, and his next era could sound considerably different from the one fans just heard.

Young Thug has spent his career bending rap until it barely resembles the rules he inherited.

Now he appears ready to step outside those rules altogether.