Images via Drake and Young Thug
On April 16, Young Thug and the Young Stoner Life Records gang dropped their long-awaited compilation album Slime Language 2. In addition to positive reviews and the news that the project is likely headed for a No. 1 debut on the Billboard charts, it also sparked a viral challenge. Thanks to Thug, who first ignited the dance on TikTok two weeks prior to the album’s release, the #skichallenge is taking over the internet.
This particular challenge is another easy dance that everyone can do. All participants have to do is play YSL’s latest single “Ski” and dance along to it, doing ski-like motions. It’s so easy that it took off in a matter of days. Everyone from Drake to Future to Diddy have hopped on the wave.
Here’s a rundown on what you need to know about Young Thug’s Ski Challenge.
What is the Ski Challenge?
The Ski Challenge is a simple dance routine that went viral in April 2021. To participate in the challenge, you just play the beginning of YSL’s new single “Ski.” As the song plays, dance along by doing ski-like moves. Most participants act as though they are holding ski poles and dip their legs from side to side.
The Ski Challenge was started by Young Thug himself. On March 28, he uploaded a video of himself in the studio on social media. In the video, Thug is seen listening to a song on the speakers. After Wheezy’s producer tag sounds off, Thug begins dancing. At first, it just looks like Thugger is swaying back and forth instead of skiing. He even looks a little stiff, but as he gets more into it, he begins to loosen up. Thug’s moves aren’t quite what you’d expect on an actual ski slope, but you get the point. In the caption, Thug wrote, “Gunna yo turn,” inviting more people to join. The video is less than one minute long, but it was enough to kickstart an entire movement.
What is the song used in the challenge?
The song being used for this challenge is appropriately called “Ski.” The track features Young Thug and Gunna, and Wheezy is on the production. The official music video for “Ski” premiered on the same day of its release, in which Thug can be seen doing a variation of the dance, while Gunna wears actual ski gear.
Who has participated in the challenge?
The Ski Challenge is wildly popular on TikTok and social media right now, especially among Young Thug’s celebrity friends. Diddy was one of the first artists to try the challenge. In his video, Diddy is seen taking the dance even further than Thug, as he leans forward and sideways as though he’s on a steep ski slope. “Soundtrack for the week — Skiii. It hit different with take two! Slime Language 2 out now!!!” Diddy wrote on Instagram. Since then, dozens of other celebrities have hopped on board. Drake, Future, Quavo, Swae Lee, YK Osiris, and Kevin Hart have all uploaded videos of them participating in the challenge.
Why are all these rappers participating?
Unlike other viral challenges we’ve seen in the past, the Ski Challenge got popular amongst rappers before fans jumped on the trend. So how did Thug convince artists like Drake and Future to do the challenge and help it to go viral? The answer is the same as to how he got so many A-list collaborators on Slime Language 2 in the first place. Speaking with Zane Lowe on the day of the album’s release, Thug explained that he values personal relationships over everything else, and he’s focused on the family dynamic of YSL. In other words, he’s been extremely loyal to his artist peers, and now they’re more than happy to return the love and help him out with things like dance challenges. Not many A-list rappers could pull off something like this and it shows how loyal Thug’s peers have become.
Is it working?
The Ski Challenge does appear to be helping the single’s success. On April 17, “Ski” debuted at number 10 on the US Spotify chart with 983,000 streams just one day after its release. And as of April 19, the single is ranked number eight on US Spotify’s “Top Stream Gainers.” The challenge also likely aided in Slime Language 2’s overall success. According to sales projections, the album is expected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, moving between 125,000 to 140,000 units in its first week.