Side Note

Young Thug is promoting his new album ‘Slime Language’ with live snakes

In a year filled with wacky album rollouts, Young Thug may have the most unexpected. In an attempt to remind music journalists that his new album Slime Language is coming out soon, the rapper’s PR team sent snakes in tanks emblazoned with the album’s name to various media outlets and music platforms. Recipients include the offices of Shazam, XXL Magazine, and Billboard among others. The snake came along with a promotional booklet presenting the Slime Language tracklist. (Slime and snake aficionados will not that snakes are, in fact, scaly. Not slimy. But still.)

But what happens if the snakes are unwanted? At least one new snake owner, NPR Music, will be sending the snake back, according to a tweet from writer Lars Gotrich citing the company’s policy on gifts. (He also noted in a later tweet that the snake came with care instructions.) This raised some good questions: Many publications, though not all, have similarly strict guidelines on gifts. Would the undesired snakes simply sit at Young Thug’s label’s office, destined to be taken care of by an intern? Would they, gasp, be released into the wild?

If you’re concerned about the promotional reptiles, fear not. According to a representative for Young Thug, the snakes were delivered by a trusted snake care and adoption company, where they will return if recipients refuse them, before being placed in loving homes. The rest will just… hang out in their new homes within the media industry, before hopefully being donated as thoughtfully. One should never let a good promo idea get in the way of proper animal care.