Barter 6

Untitled

Barter 6 is the debut commercial release by American rapper Young Thug; it was released on April 16, 2015, by 300 Entertainment and Atlantic Records. Barter 6 features guest appearances from Birdman, T.I., Boosie Badazz, Young Dolph, Yak Gotti, Duke and Jacquees, while it features production by in-house producers London on da Track, Wheezy, Ricky Racks and Kip Hilson. The project is similar to Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late as it is debatable whether the project is a mixtape or a studio album due to them both being released commercially.

Naming controversy

The mixtape was initially titled Tha Carter VI, in continuation of the naming sequence of Lil Wayne's successful Tha Carter album series. This created controversy, as Wayne's scheduled album Tha Carter V was repeatedly delayed amid a dispute between himself and Cash Money, who had reportedly refused to release the album. 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. Despite this, Thug claimed that he was not trying to be disrespectful, and that Wayne was his 'idol'. Following a threat of legal action, Thug announced days prior to the release that the mixtape was to be re-titled Barter 6, in line with the typical Blood gang practice of replacing the letter "C" with "B". He furthered the ill feeling by announcing his first show to promote the project will be held in Hollygrove, New Orleans, one of the neighborhoods, in which Wayne was raised. As of January 10th the name of the mixtape was changed to Barter 6 for legal reasons pending on the law suit Young Thug received from the Young Money Company

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
A2music
Billboard
Complex
HipHopDX
Pitchfork Media	8.4/10
Spin	6/10
XXL
Tiny Mix Tapes

Barter 6 was met with generally positive reviews upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album has received an average score of 73, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on ten reviews. Complex notes that "Thugger's visceral illustrations are one-of-a-kind, and he communicates joy, frustration, and dread with unique clarity." Further, HipHopDX notes that "Barter 6 is the definitive mainstream strip club album of the modern era."

Most notably, Pitchfork titled Barter 6 "Best New Music" with a high score of 8.4. Pitchfork emphasizes Barter 6's listenability and notes that "Barter 6 argues that all we need to do is listen a bit more carefully: what may not be legible at first glance reveals itself patiently over time." Additionally, they note that "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." On the other hand, Spin criticizes Young Thug for being lazy, and note that "he's 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."

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
NME	NME'S Albums of the Year 2015	2015	44
Tiny Mix Tapes	2015: 50 Favorite Music Releases	2015	2
Pitchfork Media	The 50 Best Albums of 2015	2015	14

Commercial performance

Barter 6 entered the US Billboard 200 at number 22 with 19,000 album equivalent units. It sold 17,000 copies in its first week. In the United States, it was the thirteenth highest in sales in its debut week.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Constantly Hating" (featuring Birdman)	Jeffrey Williams Bryan Williams Wesley "Wheezy" Glass	Wheezy	4:27
2.	"With That" (featuring Duke)	J. Williams Arnold "Duke" Martinez London Holmes	London on da Track	3:22
3.	"Can't Tell" (featuring T.I. and Boosie Badazz)	J. Williams Clifford Harris, Jr. Torrence Hatch Kip Hilson	Kip Hilson	6:08
4.	"Check"	J. Williams Holmes	London on da Track	3:50
5.	"Never Had It" (featuring Young Dolph)	J. Williams Adolph Thornton, Jr. Glass	Wheezy	4:14
6.	"Dream" (featuring Yak Gotti)	J. Williams Deamonte "Yak Gotti" Kendrick Hilson	Kip Hilson	3:01
7.	"Dome"	J. Williams Glass	Wheezy, Jrumm Major	3:51
8.	"Halftime"	J. Williams Hilson Glass	Kip Hilson Wheezy	3:46
9.	"Amazing" (featuring Jacquees)	J. Williams Rodriquez Broadnax Glass Maurice White Albert McKay Allee Willis	Wheezy	3:38
10.	"Knocked Off" (featuring Birdman)	J. Williams B. Williams Glass Hilson Ricky "Racks" Harrell, Jr.	Wheezy Kip Hilson Ricky Racks (add.)	3:16
11.	"OD"	J. Williams Glass	Wheezy	4:45
12.	"Numbers"	J. Williams Holmes	London on da Track	3:27
13.	"Just Might Be"	J. Williams Glass	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, Allee Willis.

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	24
US Billboard 200	22
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	5