“Just How It Is” by Young Thug

“Just How It Is” is the first song on the playlist of Young Thug’s first solo album recorded under mainstream standards (as in not being a mixtape). So you can say its purpose is to reintroduce the rapper to the masses. And the track accomplishes this goal by featuring Thugger in all his glory.

The storyline progresses sort of like a memoir of Young Thug’s come up. Before making it in music he was, succinctly put, a criminal. We kid you not! And in fact by and large he is still considered one. He goes about proving this point by insinuating that he is engaged in activities as diverse as wildlife smuggling and possibly even drug dealing. But the chorus of the song especially seems as if it was influenced by the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, whom Young Thug namedrops and who also had a habit of releasing tracks with a similar theme. That is the rapper presenting himself as a thug who has turned his life around to become a professional musician but still more or less adheres to his illicit origins.

Meat of “Just How It Is”

But what is most-notable about this song lyrically is that Young Thug brings up a certain issue that has been one of the talking points of his career. This subject dates back to 2016, when the rapper infamously posed in a dress on the cover of his mixtape “Jeffery”. But now he is finally clearing the air concerning that controversy, saying that he did so to conceal “a stick”, as in the gun (more specifically assault rifle) he was carrying. Indeed gun violence is arguably the most-outstanding topic of this track, with the artist basically insinuating that he is currently involved in a number of shootings.

Song’s Title

However, the intended theme of this track is to highlight Thug’s overall success and personal eminence.  The title alludes to the idea that his being rich, influential and a thug is “just how it is”, as if fate itself has endorsed the ascension of Thugger. So what all of the allusions to crime, gun violence, drugs and money ultimately point to is Thug living up to the ideology of what defines a successful man in his particular (i.e. hip-hop) subculture. And the title and chorus suggest that he is more or less blessed to be able to live this kind of life. In fact he takes this idea as far as insinuating that others who want to achieve a similar level of success can learn to do so by studying him.

Release of “Just How It Is”

Atlantic Records along with 300 Entertainment and Warner Music Group are the labels behind the release of “Just How It Is”. It was released as part of Young Thug’s maiden studio album titled So Much Fun on 16 August 2019. The song “Hot” (ft. Gunna) also appears on So Much Fun.

Writers of “Just How It Is”

Young Thug wrote this song with help from the following:

• Nick Mira
• Wheezy

Both Wheezy and Mira are the track’s two producers.