Young Thug

Lore & Background

Young Thug first previewed "Pick Up the Phone" in a snippet posted on his Instagram account in March 2016. The song was originally a collaboration between Young Thug and Starrah, with Starrah singing the hook instead of Travis. Travis was in the studio when Thug recorded the song, and he wrote the bridge Young Thug sings. About a month later, Travis started playing the song in clubs, but instead of Starrah on the hook, Travis replaced her, and he had his own verse too. He also called the song his own single for his own album without notifying Young Thug of his involvement. Travis kept teasing the song for months before he finally leaked it on his own SoundCloud because the labels would not release it. After Travis called his manager Lyor Cohen, who also owns 300 Entertainment, Thug's record label, an agreement was made that the song would be released on iTunes later that day as a joint single between Thug and Travis. The song debuted at number 90 on Billboard Hot 100 for the chart dated for the week of September 3, 2016. The song eventually peaked at number 43, becoming one of Young Thug's highest charting song at the time. The song was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 2017, for selling over two million digital copies in the United States. The music video premiered on August 12, 2016 with the music video for "90210" at the ".wav party" in Los Angeles, California, with both of them later released on Travis Scott's Vevo account on YouTube.

In Their Own Story

In March 2016, Young Thug posted a snippet of a new song on his Instagram. The track was originally a collaboration between him and Starrah, with Starrah singing the hook. Travis Scott was in the studio when Thug recorded it, and he wrote the bridge Young Thug sings. About a month later, Travis started playing the song in clubs, but he had replaced Starrah on the hook with his own voice and added his own verse. He also called the song his own single for his own album without notifying Young Thug. Travis teased the song for months before leaking it on his own SoundCloud because the labels would not release it. After Travis called his manager Lyor Cohen, who also owns 300 Entertainment—Thug's label—an agreement was made. The song was released on iTunes later that day as a joint single between Thug and Travis. It debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of September 3, 2016, and eventually peaked at number 43. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA in May 2017 for selling over two million digital copies in the United States.

Reader's Guide

Young Thug's role in the Travis Scott universe is defined by their collaboration on "Pick Up the Phone." The song was released on June 3, 2016, by Grand Hustle Records, Epic Records, Atlantic Records and 300 Entertainment. It is the lead single from Thug's mixtape Jeffery (2016) and the second single from Scott's second studio album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016). The song was written by the artists alongside Starrah, who provides additional vocals, and producers Vinylz, Allen Ritter, Frank Dukes, and Mike Dean. The song debuted at number 90 on Billboard Hot 100 for the chart dated for the week of September 3, 2016, and eventually peaked at number 43, becoming one of Young Thug's highest charting song at the time. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA in May 2017 for selling over two million digital copies in the United States. The music video premiered on August 12, 2016 alongside the video for "90210" at the ".wav party" in Los Angeles, California, and both were later released on Travis Scott's Vevo account on YouTube.

Did You Know?

• "Pick Up the Phone" was originally a collaboration between Young Thug and Starrah, with Starrah singing the hook instead of Travis Scott.
• Travis Scott wrote the bridge that Young Thug sings on the song.
• Travis Scott leaked the song on his own SoundCloud because the labels would not release it.
• The song was certified double platinum by the RIAA in May 2017 for selling over two million digital copies in the United States.
• The music video for "Pick Up the Phone" premiered on August 12, 2016 alongside the video for "90210" at the ".wav party" in Los Angeles, California.