Colors (mixtape)

Colorsis the sixteenth solo mixtape by American rapperYoungBoy Never Broke Again. It was released throughNever Broke AgainandAtlantic Recordson January 21, 2022. The mixtape features a sole guest appearance fromQuando Rondo. The deluxe edition was released on the same day, containing an additional guest appearance fromInternet Money.Producer Cheese mixed, mastered, and engineered every track on the standard edition of the mixtape, with Lawrence Rivers also engineering "Gangsta", which features Quando Rondo. For the deluxe edition, "Flossin", his Internet Money collaboration, was mixed by Jeremie Inhaber and Francisco Salcido, mastered by Inhaber, and engineered by Mark Dorflinger.Colorswas preceded by its lead single "Bring the Hook".
Commercially,Colorsdebuted at number two on the USBillboard200chart, earning 80,000album-equivalent unitsin its first week, becoming YoungBoy's eighth top-ten album on the chart.
On January 5, 2022, YoungBoy released the promotional single, "Fish Scale", alongside the official music video, in anticipation of the then-upcoming mixtape.Exactly one week later, on January 12, 2022, he officially announcedColorsand its release date.Alongside the announcement, he released the lead single, "Bring the Hook", alongside the official music video.The single "Flossin", a collaboration with American record label and record producer collectiveInternet Money, was released on January 21, 2022, the same day as the mixtape, and is included on its deluxe edition.
Before the release ofColors, YoungBoy released a few songs from the mixtape with music videos to hisYouTubechannel, which were not officially released. The first visual was for "Emo Rockstar", which was released on December 22, 2021.He then released the music video for "Emo Love" on January 7, 2022. The visual for "Foolish Figure" was released two days later, on January 9, 2022. The final unofficial song with a music video was "Know Like I Know", which was released on January 18, 2022.
Colorsreceived generally positive reviews from critics. Writing forAllMusic, Paul Simpson felt that "the release allows YoungBoy to show off his range, from aggressive trap to more pop-leaning melodic tracks." Concluding his review, he notes "While staying true to YoungBoy's style, this is one of his more accessible releases."Paul A. Thompson fromPitchforkbegan his review by stating that "YoungBoy continues to push himself to vocal extremes—in addition to that familiar growl and effusive harmonizing." He notes thatColorsis stitched together by "YoungBoy's willingness to lay bare the most tortured parts of his psyche." Concluding his review, he states "meaningfully synthesize (or even thoughtfully arrange) its disparate parts, a generous listener might find the volatility of YoungBoy's emotions from one song to the next an interesting thread on its own."Anthony Malone fromHipHopDXnotes thatColors"sees YoungBoy more conflicted than ever, saying one thing but acting the opposite." He continues to write that "Cuts such as “2Hoo,” “DC Marvel” and “Expensive Taste” are filled with shallow romanticism and descriptions of a sex life that's better suited on the down-low," and "On “Dis & That,” YoungBoy sounds like he's on autopilot and falling back on production that's stale and repetitive." He concludes his review by writing: "Colorssuffer from an overabundance of songs that inflates the project, ruining what could be a more digestible project if the fat was trimmed."
Colorsdebuted at number two on the USBillboard200chart, earning 80,000album-equivalent units(including under 2,000 in pure sales) in its first week, according toMRC Data. This became YoungBoy's eighth top-10 album on the chart.YoungBoy also became the fastest rapper in history to chart 20 albums on theBillboard200, accomplishing this feat under four and a half years after first appearing on the chart.Colorshas sold 500,000album-equivalent unitsso far.
Credits adapted fromTidal.