G Herbo is not letting the Lil Herb era go quietly. The Chicago rapper just unveiled the official visual for his Bone Thugs-inspired single “Thug,” keeping the momentum rolling straight into his forthcoming project, Lil Herb: Lil Heroin Edition, which arrives everywhere on June 12th.

Produced by Chase Davis, “Thug” catches Herbo in his rawest, most reflective mode. A decade removed from the mixtapes that first put him on the map, he’s still writing from the same corner of Chicago, just with a longer rearview mirror. “They don’t know Lil Herb and Big Swerv still the same n****,” he warns on the hook, and the LVTRKevin-directed video drives the point home. The visual surrounds him with foreign whips, flawless diamonds, and designer fits, but his presence stays gritty and grounded. The luxury is real, but so is the block that made him.

Watch the official “Thug” video here: https://youtu.be/

The single is the lead offering from Lil Herb: Lil Heroin Edition, the next chapter of a project that has already had a massive year. The original Lil Herb debuted at #2 on Apple Music’s all-genre chart and #15 on the Billboard 200, powered by the explosive lead single “Went Legit,” which COMPLEX named the #3 Song of the Year. That record earned RIAA Platinum certification and became Herbo’s first-ever Top 10 on a Billboard radio chart, peaking at #1 on Urban Radio.

Early singles “Reason,” produced by Don Cannon, and “Whatever U Want” featuring Jeremih set the tone for the project, balancing intensity with reflection. That same push-and-pull runs through the entire tracklist, anchored by trusted collaborators like Southside, Chase Davis, OzOnTheTrack, and C-Sick. Guest features from Anderson .Paak on “Thank Me” and Wyclef Jean on “Emergency” add generational weight, bridging eras of Black music with Herbo’s Chicago street narrative in the middle.

An extended version followed shortly after release, adding “This N That,” “Hold My Hand God,” and “No Bap” to deepen the album’s autobiographical arc. Now Lil Herb: Lil Heroin Edition takes it even further.

Stream “Thug” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5QddjIrfPGKF0eL8ftMPeK

For Herbo, the whole Lil Herb project is less a reboot and more a homecoming. Named after the moniker he broke through with 15 years ago, the album is part time machine, part victory lap. After helping invent and globalize Chicago drill, launching his Swervin Through Stress nonprofit, and scoring the biggest hit of his career with “Went Legit” (14 million direct-to-fan streams off 2024’s Greatest Rapper Alive), he recorded 100 songs over the past year, revisited old favorites, and returned to Chicago studios with his day-ones to make it happen.

“It’s like finding your roots, getting in touch with your old self and that hunger you had when you first started, the energy that made the world fall in love with Lil Herb,” Herbo says of the project. “I’m at the finish line… I’m in full control of my destiny now. I’ve finished the marathon I started when I was 16, when I was Lil Herb.”

Lil Herb: Lil Heroin Edition drops June 12th. Pre-save the project, revisit the original Lil Herb, and keep “Thug” in heavy rotation until then.