The YSL Trial is officially over, but Young Thug, who accepted a plea deal, may have some buyer’s remorse.
One of Thugger’s lawyers, Keith Adams, appeared on TheFitLawyerATL to reveal the rapper’s reaction to the trial’s conclusion.
“He was happy for [Gotti] and for Stillwell,” Adams said. “Very happy. He was happy that they’re coming home. There was a part of him I think that was thinking, We probably should have gone all the way ’cause we would have been walking out of there with a not guilty verdict as well.”
As for Thug’s current condition he stated, “He’s still doing great. He’s happy to be home. He’s out in L.A. He’s doing just fine and he’s gonna be doing just fine.”
Earlier this month, a Fulton County jury has delivered verdicts for the two remaining defendants in the YSL trial, concluding Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial.
Deamonte Kendrick, known in the music industry as rapper Yak Gotti, was found not guilty on all charges. Meanwhile, Shannon Stillwell was convicted on a single charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The case was handed to the jury last week, and deliberations concluded Tuesday, wrapping up a trial over a year since testimony began in November 2023.
Stillwell and Kendrick were accused of participating in the 2015 drive-by killing of Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nut,” who was reportedly a rival gang member.
Gotti was stabbed before the conclusion of the trial at the Fulton County Jail’s south annex in Union City, according to multiple sources. The incident did not occur at the main facility on Rice Street.
Sources reported to WSB-TV Atlanta that Kendrick sustained minor injuries in the attack. The Fulton County Sherrif’s Office released a statement:
“Deamonte Kendrick, also known as rapper Yak Gotti, and another jail resident were in a physical altercation on Sunday, December 1. Kendrick received treatment for minor injuries from a sharp object at the Fulton County Jail. The incident occurred at the South Annex in Union City where both men were being housed. Kendrick will be in court today. This is an active investigation to determine the aggressor in this incident and if charges will be pending.”
Last week, Yak Gotti caught a break in his portion of the YSL Trial as some of his charges were dismissed.
According to 11 Allive, Gotti, born Deamonte Kendrick, had three counts related to drug possession and distribution tossed out by Judge Paige Whitaker via directed verdict.
A directed verdict cites, “there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to reach a different conclusion.”
Another directed verdict for his additional charges, including a RICO charge, was denied. That filing stated, “A person who was merely present at the scene of the commission of a crime at the time is not necessarily guilty of consent in and concurrence in the commission of the crime unless the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that such person committed the alleged crime, helped in the actual perpetration of the crime, or participated in the criminal endeavor.”
Young Thug remains pretty quiet and low-key after his release from prison on 15-year probation terms, but we recently got signs here and there that concern his potential thoughts. Moreover, he recently called his attorney Keith Adams while the lawyer was on a livestream with TheFitLawyerATL, during which he thanked fans for their support during the YSL RICO trial. It was pretty heartening to see Thugger throw a peace sign to viewers, and he seemed to be in pretty elated spirits. That’s because he actually joked about his current conditions, asking both legal experts to “get [him] off the probation.”
“Hold off on the attorney-client conversations,” Young Thug’s lawyer Keith Adams responded to his distaste for his probation. Elsewhere, the Atlanta rapper asked Adams to look into some pictures of some missing jewelry from his arrest in May of 2022. The attorney affirmed that he would do that and also told Thug that he would call him later when he’s not busy. For those unaware, his probation includes thousands of dollars in fines, 100 hours of community service, a ban from the Metro Atlanta area for ten years, and other conditions.
Thugger joins the livestream at around the 1:12:56-minute mark.
“I’m totally against that, because this is where he’s from,” Young Thug’s father Jeffery Williams Sr. relayed to press outside the courtroom regarding his son’s probation conditions. Particularly, he expressed frustration to the Metro Atlanta ban. “And to have a district attorney take that away from him that isn’t a resident from here… She’s from another state, and to see her take a man away from where he’s from, to have to go live somewhere else? That’s offensive to me.” However, some more positive news also emerged, as multiple YSL RICO trial jurors praised Jeffery Williams.
“I honestly didn’t know anything about his music,” one juror shared about Young Thug in a YouTube video. “And to be honest, the way that they presented him in his trial… They wanted him to look in this negative light. But I saw somebody who kinda pulled himself up, got himself out of the position that he was in and tried to help other people around. So it actually shined a more positive light in my eyes than what the state was trying to present. I wish him continued success with everything.”
Young Thug is a free man. The rapper underwent the longest criminal trial in Georgia history and came out the other hand intact. The music world has celebrated his return since Halloween, and many artists are eager to reunite with Thugger on record. Several of them voiced their support for the rapper upon his release. That said, Young Thug had one particular group in mind when asked who helped to keep him going. He credited the fans during a FaceTime conversation with his lawyer.
Young Thug’s lawyer, Keith Adams, was discussing the case during a YouTube interview. He decided to FaceTime Thugger in the middle of the interview, and give him a chance to communicate directly with the fans. “It kept me going,” Thug said, when asked about the unwavering support from fans. He also joked with Adams about wanting to get off probation. This impromptu FaceTime is one of the first times that Young Thug has openly talked about the struggles he endured during the trial. It’s also one of the first times he addressed the fans, and the role they played in championing him.
Young Thug Joked About Wanting To End His Probation
Young Thug just facetimed his lawyer, Keith Adams, on live.
He said that the support online kept him going, joked he needa get off probation, and called his lawyer to ask about all the stuff they seized. #ysltrialpic.twitter.com/Alep9msF4D
Thugger’s graciousness is a far cry from the way his father feels about other rappers. Jeffrey Williams, Sr. went on the Nothing But the Truth podcast and blasted artists for using his son for personal gain, and not making attempts to aid his case. “If the shoe was on the other foot he’d have been fighting for you,” the rapper’s father asserted. “He would have been fighting for you, hands down. Without trying to make a prop for his name so he could get some clout… Let’s be real with this s**t.” Williams, Sr. called out T.I. in particular, despite the fact that T.I. and Thug appear to be on good terms.
The other notable instance of Young Thug speaking publicly since his release was during an appearance at Emory Law School in Atlanta. The rapper FaceTimed another one of his lawyers, Brian Steel, and made it clear that proper legal representation saved his life. “I think you guys should become lawyers,” he told students. “I think it’s very important to help people out of the situations they’re in the best you can.”
Young Thug is reportedly being sued for singing two conflicting publishing deals by one of the music publishing companies, according to AllHipHop. Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), filed the suit, claiming that in 2021, Thugger signed a second deal to sell his catalog for $16 million with Kobalt Group — something he shouldn’t have been able to do, since AEG has owned the rights to the Atlanta rapper’s music since 2017.
According to AEG, the song rights included in the sale to Kobalt were supposed to serve as collateral for a $5.25 million loan to Thug and YSL Records. Thug’s repayment would come through the royalties generated by the songs and any live performances arranged by third-party promoters (i.e., not AEG). By 2019, AEG alleges, Thug had defaulted on the loan, and claims he misrepresented his ability to afford the payments in the first place. It’s not as simple as running a credit check.
When Thug sold the catalog in 2021, he supposedly made around $16 million for the sale, and made his repayment toward AEG even more difficult. AEG says that not only did Thug breach his contract in this way, but he also continued to book shows through third-party promoters without kicking up the profits. The promotion company wants the amount of the original loan, interest, and the royalties from the sold songs. While AEG put its 2022 lawsuit on hold for the duration of Young Thug’s racketeering trial, the trial’s recent conclusion has allowed AEG to move forward with discovery proceedings.
It felt like an era tragically came to a close when Young Thug was arrested as part of a sweeping RICO case against YSL. At a time when a new crop of rappers, such as Gunna and Lil Baby, became bonafide hitmakers, Thug’s influence felt as palpable across the top 40 as it did in the streets. The arrest, however, curtailed Young Thug’s continued ascent as one of the most important musical figures in the 21st century while impeding the growth of his record label, a label that prosecutors argued was a gang. Thug, born Jeffery Williams, was arrested alongside 27 others in 2022 and tried in what is now considered the longest-running trial in the history of Georgia.
On Halloween, Young Thug was finally granted his freedom. After turning down the prosecutor’s offer that would’ve seen him spend at least 45 years tethered to the system–25 years in prison and 20 on probation–Young Thug’s team of attorneys put their fate in Judge Whitaker. In exchange for pleading guilty and no contest to numerous drug and firearm charges, Young Thug will have to serve 15 years on probation backloaded by 20-year sentence, per AP. Considering the severity of the allegations against Young Thug, the outcome was better than most expected.
As part of his probation, Young Thug will have to adhere to a set of conditions that some, including REFORM Alliance Chief Policy Officer Erin Haney, feel could be a trap that could lead him back to prison. Having been a public defender in California and eventually becoming a critical figure in the #FreeMeek movement, she has a firm understanding of the complexities of the probation system. If you recall, the #FreeMeek campaign gained steam over a probation violation–one that nearly had the Philadelphia-born rapper incarcerated for two to four years.
These technical violations have played a major role in mass incarceration across America, and remain a point of anxiety for those who’ve closely followed the YSL case and advocated for Young Thug’s freedom. Even a technical infraction could possibly lead someone like him to serve the backloaded 20-year sentence. For example, Young Thug is prohibited from promoting any gang activity, which sounds reasonable on paper until he releases a song under his label, YSL. Could that send him to prison? Following Young Thug’s plea deal, we caught up with Erin Haney who broke down Young Thug’s probation conditions and the complexities surrounding these conditions.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Via HNHH
HotNewHipHop: I want to touch on Meek’s case and how it parallels Young Thug’s situation but first, I would like to know if this trial was like anything you’ve ever seen before.
Erin Haney: The trial and the plea open, no. The specifics of the trial, absolutely not. So, the trial itself and the insanity around that, some of the things that happened with sort of everyone being incarcerated, from jurors being threatened with incarceration to attorneys to judges being kicked off the case, you know, all of that. And I think most recently, right, we saw a witness with Mr. Sledge being incarcerated after testifying and being incarcerated on a probation violation at that, right? So all of that was unprecedented, but I think the plea came down to–in terms of the conditions of supervision and how important it would be to make sure that those conditions were not simply a trap back to incarceration, but actually, gave some room for Jeffery Williams to succeed, right? That concern, that trap of probation conditions, is something that isn’t just common within Georgia or nationally.
It’s actually really the basis of how REFORM was born. For us, it’s something that is incredibly close to our work, I think, and the hearts of most people who work at REFORM, since REFORM was born out of Meek Mill getting a technical violation of probation, meaning he wasn’t in trouble for breaking a law or committing a new crime, right? He was on supervision, and he was in trouble, and I think that’s a light way of putting it, but he was sentenced to two to four years in prison, not for breaking a law, but for violating a rule. You know, even as a criminal defense attorney, that’s not something that I spent a lot of time thinking about, mainly because once people are sentenced, especially in a high trial volume type office, you are often thinking about the next person who is pre-trial, who is facing their case. So you aren’t always looking at what happens to people sort of after they’re on supervision, or at least 10 years ago, you weren’t, right? And I think understanding, in Meek’s case, that that you would get two to four years not for committing a crime, but for breaking a rule. That felt unconscionable. And REFORM was born out of Meek’s insistence that, yes, while he had, you know, resources and a platform and people who fought for him, and ultimately, he was freed, that this is the same type of injustice that’s faced every single day by people all over the nation on supervision, especially in places like Georgia, right?
Anytime that you have jurisdictions or states that have really high rates of supervision and really long periods of supervision with really onerous conditions, you’re going to have these unjust and oftentimes unconscionable violations of supervision that find people behind bars again, not because they’re a risk to public safety, but because they broke a rule that was part of the guidelines of their supervision, and we have to do better than that, right? We know that’s not helping public safety or anyone, and I think, what the negotiations in Young Thug’s case broke down over initially were those conditions and ultimately, why his team praised and put their faith into the judge in crafting conditions that they felt Jeffery Williams could actually abide by.
What was your initial reaction to the plea deal? In the week leading up to that moment, there was a lot of talk about some sort of deal which ultimately went stale. Then the prosecutors wanted him to serve something like 20 to 45 years, if I’m not mistaken.
I was following along and watching it. As a nerd, that’s part of what I do for fun. But also it was incredibly interesting, educational, and unlike anything we had seen, right? We know that in trials, and, cases, especially, frankly–sometimes prosecutors who are eager to get someone that those things can go off the rails. We don’t usually see it unfold in quite this obvious of a way. You don’t usually see prosecutors admonished by the court over and over again for the type of stuff that was happening in this case.
As somebody who had been watching it, even though I wasn’t at all involved, I was, initially somewhat surprised, because he has two of the best attorneys, I think, in the country who are doing a phenomenal job for him. I think a lot of people felt like this was probably going as well as it could possibly go, given how much power the government has in these situations. As you mentioned, I heard there were plea deals. I wasn’t sure if that would happen with Jeffery Williams, especially because of how much he had insisted on his innocence. On the other hand, he’s been in the worst conditions that anyone could be in right, one of the worst jails in the nation. He’s been there for two years and just had his 33rd birthday; is experiencing his kids missing him and crying for him.
So the uncertainty of not knowing whether this would go on for months longer, or whether there would be a mistrial and he would have to start all over. I mean, I could see, I think, at that point, why there would be a plea. So that part was surprising, but I think the part that was genuinely shocking. It’s pretty unusual to plead open or plead to the sheet, or however you want to call it, especially mid-trial. So to hear that they had been negotiating with the prosecution and had come to a point where they couldn’t go any further and that they were going to put their faith in the judge by pleading open, in other words, pleading to all of the charges levied against Mr. Williams, right? As if they went all the way to the end of a jury trial and were convicted on all of the counts. That felt surprising.
I think, had he not had two of the greatest lawyers in the country, there would have been a lot of concern about why that was happening and what was going on. But knowing the incredible skill and dedication that his attorneys had, it became clear quickly, I think, that not only was this a good thing based on what Mr. Williams wanted to do, but that his lawyers had seized on the main issue that often gets missed in these cases, which is, what are the conditions of that supervision? So not just how long is it and not just how much time is hanging or backloaded over Mr. Williams’s head but what are the conditions day to day? Because those usually make the difference between sort of a trap door right back to prison, which is, you know, 25% of prison admissions right now are technical violations, right? So trap door right back to prison, or the ability to possibly succeed and go forward and potentially even thrive. It will be challenging with the conditions he has, but it’s different than it being determinative. And that’s really because of the conditions that his counsel fought for.
In terms of his conditions right now, and just the possibility of them being a little bit more difficult to comply with, especially just considering what his work is, what do you think the biggest threat out of these conditions is to his freedom?
Oh, that’s a really good question. I think there are definitely pieces of [what] you mentioned given kind of his specific situation, being a musician, being an artist. There are definitely ways in which he was targeted because of that. What was really important, I think, about the sentence and the conditions, is that many of them were individualized. I think four conditions really stand out as being some of the more onerous conditions of his supervision. Three of those four are ones that are at least as onerous as they apply to everybody else on probation, right?
There are standard conditions of probation that the judge made some exceptions for, right? So they individualize those conditions. So for example, the travel restriction. People in Georgia on probation, the hundreds of thousands of people, sadly, on probation in Georgia, they generally are subject to a blanket travel restriction, right? It’s not just that they can’t travel internationally or across state lines. They can’t even travel across county lines. Given Jeffery Williams’s career and given what he does, Judge Whitaker said on the record that they don’t want him subject to that travel restriction. Not only can he cross county and state lines, but he can also travel internationally, and should keep his passport, and he needs to. That’s the type of individualizing of a condition where that’s not by any means giving him a free pass. He’s still got a lot of conditions, but that condition, in particular, having that exception there that a lot of people don’t have, is going to make a really important difference for him. So that’s one.
I think another really big one that is going to be really difficult, even with the exception, people in Georgia who are on probation have a condition that is a prohibition against associating with “disreputable persons and places,” which is a really vague and broad, and frankly, an offensive term, but it’s been understood to mean that you can’t associate with anybody else with a criminal record. For a lot of people, that means you can’t associate with other family members. And that was clearly a really big piece of this, and so that’s an exception. He’s allowed to associate with his brother, with Mr. Kitchens are going to given contractual obligations, and then with anyone, who is, I think said necessary for lawful business. But what exactly is going to be determined as sort of the bounds of lawful business, right? That’s something that’s very, very subjective, and that’s something that’s going to be tricky. So again, that’s a place where, even with individualizing, that gives him a little bit of room, given his job, right? But it’s still going to be tough.
I think by far the the two toughest ones, right, which are really more specific to him are the “stay away from the Metro Atlanta area.” You heard his dad talking afterward, about how he took particular offense to that, since they’re from there and you know the prosecutor, [Young Thug’s dad] felt was not from there. And so for them to be able to dictate where Mr. Williams goes, felt especially offensive. That one’s going to be difficult, I think.
But the one by far that will be most difficult is the one that is almost impossible to know how it will be applied, which is the one about not being able to have any types of references to gangs, right? That’s a type of condition where, if we were on all on the same page about how we define gangs and gang activity, that might be one thing that we could agree was fair. I think what this trial showed is that we are all, including some witnesses who at various times, define things differently on the stand, prosecutors who define things differently while they were asking questions or through charging documents–we are all on different pages about what qualifies under that type of a condition. That means it’s going to be very, very difficult to predict when something like that will trigger a possible violation and when it won’t. So that. by far, I think is the most difficult condition to abide by.
FULL SENTENCING
THIS JUDGE SAW THROUGH THE STATE’S GAMES AND RULES THAT THUG IS NOT A DANGER
Young Thug entered a Nolo plea for unlawful for person who occupied a criminal street gang position but he pleaded guilty to another charge related to criminal street gang activity. Considering the prosecutors have argued that YSL is a gang and not a label, how does this impact him as an artist? Even in the case of being able to communicate with Mr. Kitchens as part of contractual obligations, how is he able to release music under this label?
I think that’s the ultimate question, right? And that’s what no one has really been able to answer. So I think there are some really important aspects of the no-contest or Nolo pleas to those charges, right? To the one gang charge and the RICO charge. I think one of the things you know, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention, that these conditions were so important in crafting the sentence that Young Thug ended up with more convictions than what he would have gotten if he had gone with the negotiated plea from the prosecution, right? The deal itself is confidential in terms of what the negotiations were. So this is just what was reported in terms of what was on the record and in the interviews.
From what we know, it sounds like the three charges that the prosecution said that they would dismiss in return for their negotiated plea, which had a ton of really onerous, restrictive conditions day-to-day, is that they would dismiss the RICO charge, one of the gang charges, and I believe the machine gun or firearms charge. So two of the charges that he pled Nolo or no contest to and one of the charges, the firearms charge, that he actually pled guilty to in front of the court, right?
It’s important to think about how critical the details of these conditions are. So much so that it was worth trading the number of convictions to get better conditions. I think it’s important to recognize that the prosecution came in and ultimately objected to him pleading even no contest, even though those charges that he pled no contest to were the two charges that they were going to dismiss. The reason why likely–again, I’m not in their head–but the reason why it’s likely that they were so adamant that they did not want him to be able to do that in front of the court when they no longer had control over the conditions that would be ordered is because, without those two, it means that he has not admitted to the underlying factual allegations, right? So the factual allegations that he would have to admit to with a guilty plea.
If you saw Mr. Sledge two weeks ago, most of the controversy there was over him having to admit to factual allegations to take his plea, and then, getting on the stand, and contrary to those factual allegations, according to the prosecutor, and ultimately the court, him then saying, “YSL is not a gang. It’s a music label. The factual allegations underlying the charges may say it’s a gang. I may have had to agree to that to plead but I don’t agree with that as I’m testifying. I need to tell the truth as I’m testifying, and it’s not a gang,” right? So what Jeffery Williams Nolo plea arguably allow him to do is put a little bit of distance between any type of factual allegation and adoption from him, that YSL is, in fact, a gang.
Will that mean that he can go on making music under a label, YSL? I mean, I think it’s really up in the air. It seems frankly, very risky, given the position prosecutors have taken on this. I think even if he dissolves YSL, and they have a different name for it, some of the questions will be, “What if you reference YSL in a song?” or “What if you play some of the prior music that he’s made that’s so popular?” Or “What if you wipe your nose in a music video?” right? We’ve gotten so overly broad in what they consider to be a sign or an indication of a gang that it really begs the question in terms of who’s going to be interpreting this. How will Jeffery Williams know how it’s going to be interpreted, and how can he make sure that he is following the guidelines so that he doesn’t end up in a situation [like] Meek was thrown in prison for two to four for a technical violation? Jeffery Williams is looking at 20, right? So if he does something or says somethingin a song or performs something that they believe violates this condition, that’s incredibly dangerous for him to the tune of 20 years of his freedom.
On a statistical level, what are the chances that these agreements will send him back?
I think it really gets to the point of probation and the way that it can be more or less effective, right? And the way that it can be an obstacle versus sort of a tool to get services and to get what people need in re-entry. There are studies done on this, the more conditions you place on somebody, the less likely it is that they’ll succeed on supervision, right? So that’s the first piece. So having these really strict conditions makes it more difficult, right? I think that the federal study that was done was every additional condition can reduce your likelihood of success by up to 19%. So, every single condition that courts pile on as a special condition is dangerous, and increases the risk or the likelihood that someone will violate. On top of that, the longer you’re on supervision–it’s sort of counterintuitive in some ways–but it doesn’t increase public safety. It doesn’t reduce recidivism or the likelihood of being incarcerated.
Statistically, if you have actually more than five years of supervision, it’s harmful, right? You actually see an increase in recidivism. You see an increase in the likelihood of return to incarceration, which is part of why REFORM and so many other groups, including great, great groups in Georgia, work really hard on reforms that are evidence-based, that look at the evidence-based supervision terms to ensure that conditions are individually tailored and not onerous, and that time periods aren’t lengthy.
I think that if we just talk about statistically and we think of supervision as, sadly, an incredible driver of mass incarceration and instead of a tool to support success in the community, but realistically, more of a way of tethering people to the system. This is a huge risk, right? It’s a huge challenge. The prosecution, I believe, offered something like three and a half years on reporting status. But again, from what we understand, way worse conditions would have landed him in trouble almost immediately. Under Judge Whitaker’s sentence, he’ll be reporting for double that, so seven and a half years under reporting supervision, but with conditions that hopefully are a little bit more likely to allow him to, at the very least, survive; maybe not thrive in the way that we wish he could, with his talent and with the fact that everyone seems to agree he’s not a threat to public safety, right? If the prosecution is offering him probation, by its very nature, that meant that they were okay with him being in the community. So I think you know, this sort of cracks the door open for him. He seems extremely talented and extremely determined. He has a chance to be able to make it here. Statistically, it is a huge uphill battle with that length of a sentence and that number of conditions and somebody who is, I think, you know, as recognizable as he is, right? So they’re going to be likely monitoring him quite a bit, but I think it’s possible.
The final question I have for you: how does the outcome of the trial and the probation conditions, how does this case impact his freedom of speech moving forward during this time? Does it create a scary precedent moving forward for other cases?
You know, I think any time that we are limiting what people can think and how they express themselves through creative forms of entertainment, especially in this day and age when we have social media; anytime we’re not just limiting that, but punishing it with prison cells that feels extremely dangerous, especially the added danger with supervision is, again, people aren’t being punished for actually breaking laws. So you don’t even have the threshold that you have with a new case or a trial where they have to prove, at least in theory, right, some sort of connection between lyrics or posts and an actual law that was broken–actual criminal behavior.
I personally may disagree with that anyway, but that’s at least a threshold that has to be met on supervision. No crime has to occur, right? All that has to happen is a violation of the condition, and that’s why these conditions are so important. It’s. It’s so critical that instead of sort of glossing over them, as courts normally do, that we spend a lot of time really crafting them so that they are supportive and individualized and designed to promote success in the community and public safety, as opposed to just tether someone to the system and sort of weigh them down. Because here, we don’t have to find that a crime was committed if he is expressing himself through lyrics that the court doesn’t like. Here, all they have to find is that it violates a rule that they created to go with his supervision. And that’s terrifying.
Young Thug has the whole world watching him these days following his release from the YSL RICO trial on a plea deal and 15 years of probation. He got out on October 31, and by the next day, he was already FaceTiming T.I. and linking up with him to celebrate his freedom. It didn’t take long for Thugger to return to social media either, with him tweeting out “Real plea deal jack” and “Wham [Lil Baby] let’s drop one on these rats peter” on November 2 and 3, respectively. That last tweet sparked an ongoing conversation about his seemingly fractured bond with Gunna, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
All of this is to say that the hip-hop space and beyond is very interested to see what the Atlanta rapper will do next. Furthermore, this idea became even more relevant considering the community service guidelines as part of Young Thug’s plea deal. On November 6, he called in via FaceTime to a conversation that his lawyer Brian Steel held with law students at Atlanta’s Emory University. Already giving back to the community!
Now, though, there are more people than ever wondering about Young Thug’s relationship with Gunna, which seems at an all-time low. Last Saturday (November 9), the former tweeted and deleted a scathing message towards the latter, and we’re still no closer to finding out whether this was the result of a hack or a legitimate shot. Either way, Wunna’s brother reportedly said “the feeling is mutual,” and neither side has provided a message of clarification at press time. Either way, a lot of fans think that we might get new music sooner than we anticipated. Thug, Travis Scott, and Lil Baby hit the studio up on Sunday (November 10).
With all this in mind, Young Thug kept himself pretty busy in these first two weeks out of jail, all things considered. The hip-hop world continues to react to his freedom and movement as of late, sparking up a lot of debate and different interpretations. What can we expect from the next two weeks? We don’t know, but we’re sure that they will also cause a splash.
2024 has been a very combative year for hip-hop, that almost goes without saying. The number of beefs that us and fans are witnessing is quite remarkable, but also kind of saddening. Sure, the competitive nature of it all is something that has helped revitalized the genre after a down year in 2023 in some respects. However, wishing for a more exciting stretch has come with some drawbacks for sure. The loss of fantastic duos is probably the most glaring of them all. Drake being up against well over a dozen MCs and adjacent acts has stripped away a lot of potential collabs. Once some of his closest pals in Metro Boomin and Future are now mortal enemies.
We could go on and on about the rest, but we now have to shift our focus to Gunna and Young Thug. There are the most recent to be at odds thanks to a tweet and delete from the YSL boss. “Gunna stop acting like we friends on the internet, I don’t know u my guy,” he tweeted days after his release from the RICO trial. Gunna has yet to speak on the matter, but we are almost 100% positive he’s on that same energy. It’s got us reminiscing on tracks between Gunna and Young Thug like “Lesbian,” which seem like a relic of the past now. It may be a Metro Boomin track, but the way they were able to match each other’s energy was special anytime the worked together was special. Time usually heals most things, so hopefully, that’s all that’s required.
I might start coppin’ gold like I’m Mr. T (What?) I wan’ ride the new Rolls or that Bentley B (That Bentley B) Yeah we gon’ cop some Chanel, the double C (That double C) I done bought her a bag, got her lovin’ me (Yeah) I’ma pop, I’ma flex like I’m Double D (Flex, wet) I’ma hop on the jet, hit another city (‘Nother city)
Jeffery Williams and Sergio Kitchens quickly became one of the hottest rap duos not just out of Atlanta, but across the whole genre in the late 2010s. As Young Thug and Gunna, respectively, they cranked out hit after hit, with the former’s influence on the latter and their personal friendship resulting in undeniable chemistry. Despite a lot of legal roadblocks, challenges, and conflicts, the main public narrative maintained an air of support and brotherhood between them. So why do folks think – or perhaps know – that the “Hot” collaborators are now beefing with each other?
As you may imagine, the YSL RICO case threw a huge wrench into their relationship, especially following Gunna’s plea deal almost two years ago. Snitching narratives ensued, defenses emerged, and Young Thug was all quiet about the whole ordeal… Until now, allegedly. With all this in mind, we’re here to break down the history of their bond, their eventual success as label-bound collaborators, and their actions and developments during and after their stints in the YSL RICO trial that caused such public disarray with fans. While their relationship is still up in the air without a full-blown (and not deleted) statement from both sides, things don’t look too promising for any advocates for their unity. How did this happen?
Gunna first met in Young Thug in 2015 through mutual friend and community leader Keith “King” Troup. Wunna went to Thugger’s “With That” music video shoot for his Barter 6project in the south side of Atlanta in 2015, and from there, they formed a close friendship that eventually evolved into a collaborative relationship. Troup sadly passed away in December 2015, something that the “Sold Out Dates” rapper says strengthened his familial bond with his “Halftime” mentor.
August 26, 2016: Young Thug Introduces Gunna To The World
On August 26, 2016, Young Thug released his beloved mixtape JEFFERY, which featured superstar rappers like Travis Scott, Gucci Mane, and more. But this also became Gunna’s first introduction to a massive audience following an earlier mixtape under a different artist name from 2013. He appeared on the track “Floyd Mayweather” alongside La Flame and Guwop.
October 14, 2016: Drip Season & YSL Records Launch
The official connections for these next two events are a bit confusing, but here’s what we can gather. On October 14, 2016, Gunna released his debut mixtape under this artist name, Drip Season, and featured Young Thug on the track “Cop Me A Foreign.” This mixtape was released under YSL Records, which Thugger would officially announce as his new record label just a few weeks later on November 15. Furthermore, this social media announcement explained it as an imprint of 300 Entertainment. While it seems odd to have a project come out under a label that its founder announced weeks later, we presume that they still had some paperwork to sort out concerning these official launches that wouldn’t have impacted Drip Season‘s release.
February 2017: Wunna Is Officially YSL
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JUNE 2: Rapper, Gunna, performs during Day 2 of the Roots Picnic festival 2024, in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Brandon Laws/HotNewHipHop)
We told you this timeline is a tad confusing, didn’t we? Around February 2017, Young Thug and YSL Records officially announced that they signed Gunna to the imprint. Looking back, it’s unclear whether or not this was already public knowledge given Drip Season and the JEFFERY feature, but regardless, this is when things were set in stone for good. Also, the details of this record deal and how they relate to his subsequent release schedule are unclear when it comes to financial agreements, rights, number and nature of releases, etc. Nevertheless, the College Park native went into full gear with various albums and mixtapes under the label, including Drip Season 2 that year, Drip Harder with Lil Baby in 2018, 2020’s WUNNA, and 2022’s DS4EVER. And of course, Thug’s featured on all of them.
This is when the tale of Young Thug and Gunna takes a turn for the worse. On May 9, 2022, federal authorities indicted them along with 26 other YSL affiliates in a sprawling RICO case alleging various furtherances of criminal activity. Police arrested Thugger that same day, who faced the brunt of the charges as the purported leader of the supposed “gang.” On the other hand, Wunna turned himself in to authorities two days later on May 11. He faced a single count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The court denied both of them bond on several occasions as the rap world reacted to this shocking and stake-heavy move by prosecutors.
December 14, 2022: Gunna Takes A Plea Deal
Then, Gunna’s career took its most significant turn since its inception. On December 14, 2022, he took an Alford plea deal in the Young Thug and YSL RICO trial, which means that he pleaded guilty to his count of conspiracy to violate the RICO act while maintaining his claim of innocence. Authorities released him from prison the very same day. The Drip Or Drown spitter then put out a statement denying any sort of testimony, cooperation, interview, or other processes that would make him a “snitch,” as allegations about that behavior quickly emerged from the hip-hop world and beyond.
However, court footage shows that Gunna answered “Yes” to a couple of key questions while accepting his plea deal in the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. He affirmed that YSL is both a record label and allegedly a gang, that he had knowledge of crimes allegedly committed by its affiliates, that guns and drugs found by police during a search on a car that he was in along with Young Thug were not his, that YSL is allegedly a gang that must end, and that he furthered the alleged crimes of the collective through his music.
June 16, 2023: Wunna Drops, And Young Thug Follows
About six months after Gunna’s plea deal, he dropped his comeback album a Gift & a Curse via YSL Records with no features on June 16, 2024. The album continues to speak on the YSL RICO case and against allegedly false snitching allegations, which some rappers like Lil Durk and Lil Baby seemingly espoused through subliminal lyrics. That’s in addition to the broader conversation labeling him as a “snitch.” The LP was a commercial success and held hit singles like “fukumean.” A week later on June 23, Young Thug dropped an album of his own, BUSINESS IN BUSINESS, while still in jail on RICO charges.
It’s important to note that neither Gunna nor Young Thug featured on each other’s projects from this year. In addition, while Thugger remained silent on his relationship with Wunna, his “DOLLAZ ON MY HEAD” collaborator has remained publicly supportive of Thug and YSL ever since his plea deal. This came amid unconfirmed and seemingly misguided rumors that Wunna wanted to leave YSL Records, plus the discussion around the snitching allegations that the hip-hop community and beyond engaged in.
May 10, 2024: One Of Wun
Amid Young Thug’s trial in the YSL RICO case, Gunna dropped yet another album on May 10, 2024. One Of Wun featured artists like Offset and Roddy Ricch, and some fans speculated that some of its lyrics responded to rappers calling him a “snitch.” The new record was released via YSL Records once more.
As if the little text under an album on Spotify wasn’t enough, Gunna clarified his presence on Young Thug’s YSL Records via a video interview with the streaming platform’s RapCaviar playlist division, published on June 24, 2024 amid his tour. “I’m still signed to YSL,” he shared outside of his mother’s house. “I’m still providing. We’re still pushing. No paperwork has been changed, you know what I’m saying? So it’s like, whatever’s been getting and how we’ve been pushing this s**t, it’s still going.”
Via an Instagram Story post on August 4, 2024, YSL cofounder YSL Mondo retracted his previous claims that Gunna was a “snitch.” This was the latest defense of Wunna against the snitching allegations in his direction by key collective members before Young Thug’s release. For example, Thug’s father Jeffery Williams Sr. publicly expressed his support for him on multiple occasions, even popping out for one of his concerts and asking other rappers to stop speaking about him and the snitching allegations.
As a Halloween treat, fans learned that they might finally find an answer to the Young Thug and Gunna rumors. On October 31, 2024, Thugger entered a plea deal in the YSL RICO case that resulted in his freedom that very same day, with 15 years of probation to follow. As part of his release conditions, he and his lawyer Brian Steel asked if he could maintain his working relationships with Wunna and with Thug’s biological brother Unfoonk, who was also a codefendant in the YSL RICO case. This was because one of the probation guidelines barred contact with YSL affiliates, but Judge Paige Reese Whitaker approved both exceptions. In the “bread & butter” artist’s case, it was due to his contractual obligation to YSL Records.
November 9, 2024: Thugger Fans The Flames Of The Feud
Finally, we arrive at our current juncture and the most solid piece of “evidence” supporting Young Thug and Gunna’s beef. On November 9, 2024, the former tweeted and then quickly deleted the following message toward the latter: “Stop acting like we friends on the internet, I don’t know u my guy.” This followed some other curious social media messages from Thugger about collaborating with Lil Baby (a previous supposed Wunna critic) to “drop one on these rats.” Given the deletion of the tweet and its emergence so soon after his release from prison, many fans speculated that someone hacked his Twitter account to cause false division.
No matter whether Young Thug intended to publish this tweet shading Gunna or not, the message seems to have stuck. Wunna’s brother reportedly responded to this deleted tweet with the following message: “Trust and believe the feeling is mutual [blue P emoji].” Until we get a clear and direct statement from both rappers, it seems like this iconic rap camaraderie is over… For now.
Young Thug is linking up with everybody who campaigned for his freedom. The rapper was seen in the studio with collaborators like Future, Travis Scott and Lil Baby on November 10. Two days later, a video surfaced of Thug hanging out with Antonio Brown in the studio. Brown had been a vocal supporter of the “free Slime” movement while Young Thug was behind bars, and the two appear to have picked up their friendship right where it left off.
The video in question was taken by Antonio Brown. He can be heard talking to Young Thug off camera. He pokes fun at the rapper for putting on weight while he was locked up. “You got some pounds, P,” AB claims. The rapper takes the comment in stride and the two men laugh in what appears to be a recording studio. It may seem odd to have Antonio Brown near recording equipment, but the former NFL superstar athlete has dabbled in music over the years. The most notable instance of an AB release was “Get In My Bag,” which was released in 2022 and featured none other than Young Thug.
The song was released while Slime was behind bars. That said, he still drops a verse and appears in the music video. Antonio Brown and Thug can be seen rapping and having fun in a neon-lit bowling ally. To further illustrate how much time has passed between now and the release of the song, “Get In My Bag” also has a cameo from Gunna. Thug and Gunna used to be extremely close. But the former has made it clear that he is not friendly with the rapper anymore.
“Gunna stop acting like we friends on the internet,” Young Thug tweeted on November 9. “I don’t know u my guy.” The revelation came as a shock to many, since the rapper had previously requested that he be able to work with Gunna upon release. Antonio Brown has also been embroiled in social media antics as of late. The former athlete made fun of the way Lizzo held a pen in a recent video. The singer responded by posting a video of herself and using AB’s words against him.
Young Thug is back. The rapper is free after undergoing the longest criminal trial in Georgia history, and he’s ready to resume his career. Thug received overwhelming support from his industry peers, many of whom celebrated his release on Instagram. Now, however, the time has come to get in the studio. Young Thug posted a photo from a recording session on November 10, and the artists who appeared alongside him have fans everywhere salivating at the mouth for new music.
The photo in question is a bit blurry, but the rappers present are unmistakable. Young Thug appears to be working on songs with fellow superstars Travis Scott, Future and Lil Baby. They have been some of Thugger’s most frequent collaborators over the years. Future recorded a collab album with the rapper in 2017. Travis Scott featured Thug on his breakthrough mixtape and first two albums. Lil Baby, meanwhile, is a YSL affiliate and one of Thug’s most successful proteges. There are tons of classic songs between these four men, and the fact that they are all present in the studio together suggests that there’s a huge Young Thug comeback around the corner.
Those who have been paying attention to Young Thug’s social media know that a Baby collab is eminent. On November 3, just four days after his release, Thug confirmed his plans to link back up with Lil Baby on a new song. “Wham let’s drop one on these rats Peter,” he wrote. Baby responded via Instagram Stories: “Wish ya none but billions jack! #whatwhamsaysgoes.” The hashtag that closed the statement out began to pop up on Billboards throughout Los Angeles. Fans have interpreted this as confirmation of Thug and Baby’s friendship, as well as their dislike of alleged “rat” Gunna.
