Young Thug’s brother Unfoonk has been sentenced to nine years in prison for violating the terms of his probation, according to Rolling Stone via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Unfoonk, whose real name is Quantavious Grier, pled guilty to violating Georgia’s RICO Act and theft by receiving stolen property in December and was granted release with time served. He was given 10 years probation in lieu of 12 years in prison.
However, on May 4, he was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, violating his probation. Some of the other terms included not associating with any other suspected member of the alleged YSL gang/record label, 750 hours of community service, and a 10 am to 6 pm curfew. During the sentencing hearing on Monday (June 5), Judge Ural Glanville noted Unfoonk hadn’t begun his community service or paid his probation fees: $141.08. He’s quoted in Rolling Stone‘s report saying:
“The issues I find aggravating in this particular circumstance are several. You got arrested with a gun within six months of you being placed on probation. All you had to do was complete your probation and do what you were supposed to do. Instead, you were out riding around with a gun in your car.”
Unfoonk was among a dozen alleged YSL co-conspirators to accept a plea deal in exchange for his release, including Gunna. All of them maintain that their Alford pleas do not constitute “snitching” — although the hip-hop community at large appears to disagree.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Young Thug, born Jeffrey Williams, has gained a significant following in the hip-hop community over the years, but what is his net worth in 2023? This article will explore the factors contributing to Young Thug’s impressive net worth.
Young Thug’s Net Worth
As of 2023, the Atlanta-born rapper’s net worth is estimated to be around $8 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Early Life & Breakthrough In The Music Industry
Young Thug’s journey to fame began with the release of his mixtapes in 2011, which helped him gain attention in the Atlanta rap scene. However, his career didn’t take off until 2013, when his mixtape, 1017 Thug, received critical acclaim. Collaborations with popular artists such as Gucci Mane, Rich Homie Quan, and Birdman further boosted his profile, leading to more lucrative opportunities in the music industry.
Young Thug: Chart-Topping Albums & Singles
A key contributor to Young Thug’s net worth has been his successful releases as a solo artist and in collaboration with others. In 2015, he released his first platinum single, “Best Friend,” which solidified his status as an influential artist. Additionally, his collaborative mixtape with Future, Super Slimey, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2017, proving his commercial appeal.
His 2019 album, So Much Fun, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the hit single “Hot,” which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. This album increased his earnings and demonstrated his staying power in the industry.
Young Thug: Touring & Live Performances
Touring and live performances have been essential in adding to Young Thug’s net worth. He has toured with popular artists like J. Cole and 21 Savage, headlined his own shows, and participated in major music festivals such as Rolling Loud and Coachella. These live events have provided a significant source of income for the rapper and helped him expand his fan base.
Endorsements & Business Ventures
Like many successful artists, Young Thug has ventured into other areas outside of music. He has partnered with various brands for endorsements and sponsorships, including Puma and Calvin Klein. These deals have undoubtedly contributed to his overall wealth. In 2016, Young Thug launched his own record label, YSL Records, which has signed several artists, including Gunna and Lil Keed. This business venture allows him to profit not only from his own music but also from the success of the artists he mentors.
Philanthropy & Giving Back
While Young Thug has amassed significant wealth, he has not been shy about giving back to his community. In 2017, he donated the proceeds from one of his concerts to Planned Parenthood. Additionally, he has been involved in various charitable endeavors, such as supporting his hometown of Atlanta during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion/TLDR
Young Thug’s estimated net worth of $8 million in 2023 is a testament to his hard work and dedication to his craft. From chart-topping albums and singles to successful tours and business ventures, the rapper has established himself as a major player in the hip-hop industry. With his unique style and undeniable talent, likely, Young Thug’s net worth will only continue to grow in the coming years.
Gunna may be planning a triumphant comeback to the rap business, but he may find the environment much more hostile than when he was arrested for racketeering with several other members of Young Stoner Life back in 2022. There are plenty of fans who believe he violated a code of honor in accepting a plea deal in exchange for his freedom, and at least one of his peers feels that it went even further than that.
Lil Durk told gossip blogger DJ Akademiks he’s convinced that the Atlanta rapper cooperated with authorities’ investigation. “I don’t sit up here and play games,” he said. “That man told. You should have went in there and kept your mouth closed.”
Gunna has denied that he “snitched,” agreeing only to plead guilty to one count of racketeering — an acknowledgment to the government’s insistence that YSL is actually a street gang. Several members of the collective were also offered so-called “Alford pleas,” which are reportedly common in such cases, as they can help strengthen prosecutors’ cases against the primary targets of an indictment — in this case, Young Thug, the founder of YSL.
“If you rewind the clip a little bit, I looked into the camera and I told you, if you a rat, I f***ing hate you,” Durk said. “Because I love Thug.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A YSL co-defendant was given a separate trial after a mental health evaluation, according to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Jayden Myrick, originally one of 14 defendants in the YSL RICO case, was ordered to undergo the evaluation after claiming that he was receiving legal advice from Donald Trump and Joe Biden and wanted to represent himself in the upcoming trial.
Chief Judge Ural Glanville severed Myrick’s case on Monday due to the fact that the 22-year-old hadn’t been taking his medication for at least four months. In April, Myrick was quoted saying, “I’m not the regular inmate, I be with Joe Biden and Donald Trump and they be talking to me. Donald Trump is going to get me out.”
Myrick is already serving a life sentence for murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault for a 2018 robbery that turned into a deadly shooting. With his case being severed, there are now 10 remaining co-defendants in the original YSL case. The rap label is suspected of being a street gang led by Young Thug responsible for a slew of murders and other violent crimes in the Atlanta area.
Of the 28 men who were initially indicted, several received plea deals in exchange for time served and their admission that YSL is indeed a criminal organization. However, no such deal was ever extended to Young Thug, whom authorities believe is the ringleader of the entire operation and has been in jail since his arrest a year ago.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The YSL RICO case — which has been underway since January, with court selection taking up most of the three months since — took yet another dramatic turn this week, as Atlanta local news reports one of the attorneys for the defense was arrested for battery and bringing contraband to court this morning.
Anastasios Manettas was handcuffed and charged with one count of simple battery against a law enforcement officer, one count of obstruction, and two counts of pills not in their original container after being caught allegedly bringing the prescription pills to the Fulton County courthouse and throwing his phone at a deputy. Manettas is the defense attorney for Young Thug co-defendant Miles Fairley.
He wasn’t the first person to be caught allegedly smuggling contraband into the courthouse. In January, co-defendant Yak Gotti’s mother was arrested and charged with a criminal attempt to commit a misdemeanor after trying to pass the rapper a bag reportedly filled with tobacco and rolling papers.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, another defendant, Rodaluis “Lil Rod” Ryan, was led out of the courtroom after being suspected of having marijuana in his possession but made a commotion loud enough to be heard in the courtroom, prompting the courtroom to be cleared.
In three months, not a single juror has been selected, although some potential jurors have been censured for not taking the process seriously. One of the defendants, Jayden Myrick, aka SetTrip, filed a motion in February to have the case declared a mistrial due to discovery material being made public and potentially biasing any jurors against him.
The entire case, of course, hinges on the state’s belief that YSL Records is not just a record label, but a criminal organization.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
On “Muso Kuso” from his new, posthumous album Keed Talk To ‘Em 2, Atlanta rapper Lil Keed sounds suspiciously like his mentor Young Thug. From the guttural, yowling flow he affects alongside guest rapper Nav, to the nasal, high-pitched whine he tacks onto the ends of his bars, he near-perfectly duplicates the YSL impresario’s most distinctive vocal traits. Normally, this kind of thing might not even be notable for a trap rapper operating under the banner of an older, more experienced contemporary.
But just two tracks earlier, Keed appeared to be set on channeling the more brusque, blunt-ended style of trap rap pioneers like Jeezy and Yung Joc. On “Go See,” the album’s blustering, boisterous intro, Keed sounds like he stepped out of a time machine freshly arrived from a decade earlier. And on “Bags To The Sky,” the bridge between the two tracks, he’s a SoundCloud rapper, floating along on a cotton candy beat as he delivers a signature chirpy chant of a hook, giving his take on the briefly dominant sound of the late 2010s.
These three tracks perfectly encapsulate and preface a project that displays all of Keed’s fascinating, chameleonic versatility, his way of refusing to settle into one recognizable style for an entire project. The second installment of his Keed Talk To ‘Em series – and unfortunately, the last – is as freewheeling and loose as its title suggests. Here is a rapper at play, trying out and discarding new styles as he sees fit, showing off, and getting down. It’s perhaps a glimpse behind the scenes of the album recording process that circumstances forced into being an album itself.
You often hear rappers talk about recording hundreds of songs in the course of creating a new project, then having to whittle that daunting number down to a playlist that could reasonably be finished in an hour or on the average commute. And while many of those sketches never see the light of day – barring the leaks that have become increasingly common in the digital era as hard drives go missing and hackers waylay file exchanges – this is what often takes place in those sessions: Play.
In the 50 years since rap was first recorded for mass consumption, dozens of unique approaches have been developed, copied, modified, and evolved from the relatively straightforward rhyme schemes of old. And rap has also slowly absorbed traits of outside genres as it incorporated new technologies and production styles that allowed for greater experimentation. The landscape is truly sprawling, and oftentimes, an artist wants to try out all those toys in the toy box before settling on the one or two that will come to define the sound of a song, album, or catalog.
The time to do this is mostly behind closed doors. Hip-hop is as much a branding exercise as it is a musical genre; the most successful artists have clearly defined, easily recognizable cadences, vocal tones, beat choices, and even ad-libs. You just know when you’re hearing a Jay-Z verse – even a verse that was merely penned by him and performed by someone else – or an Eminem screed or a sermon by Pastor Future. And as much as that’s how artists build their legacies and set the foundation for long careers, any veteran artist can also tell you, it gets boring.
This is why someone like Common does an album like Electric Circus or Kanye West drops 808s & Heartbreak. However, the reception for such experimentation can vary wildly – just look at the two examples mentioned above. So, for many artists, there’s more benefit in experimenting out of the spotlight, fine-tuning any planned musical shifts, and only gradually showing off that versatility in the interest of slowly evolving into a different kind of artist or sharing a different side of themselves.
Lil Keed had two great advantages going for him in that respect. The first was timing; he had the good fortune to come into his own as a rapper just when streaming and the internet have been eroding the barriers between subgenres of rap. Taking it even further, because so many young rappers are developing their craft in the spotlight as a result of SoundCloud, Instagram, and song leaks, fans are much more receptive to big musical shifts. The other great advantage Keed had was being signed to one of the more nurturing artistic environments in the music business today.
Young Thug, who once paid Lil Baby an impressive sum to give up trapping and stick to rapping, allowed Keed to try things. You could just about hear the support he was being given on projects like Long Live Mexico and his Trapped On Cleveland mixtapes. As much as Keed operated in the mode of modern trap, he never felt restricted. He didn’t need to sound like Thug or Lil Baby or Young Scooter or any of his influences. He just did, bouncing from track to track employing whichever flow felt right on the beat. It makes sense; this is what Young Thug always did, so of course, he’d allow his artists similar freedom (the freedom he was often criticized for enjoying at a similar phase of his own career).
Keed is able to take this even further, veering dangerously close to boom-bap traditionalism on “Lost My Trust” with Cordae, getting introspective on “Can’t Fall Victim” and “Self Employed,” and even taking a gospel-R&B tack on album closer “Thank You Lord.” Keed stood out because he was so unconstrained by the boundaries that usually box in other rappers. He could do anything, so he did. It’s a shame that the world was deprived of the opportunity to see what he would do given the tools and toys that will undoubtedly continue to be added to hip-hop’s ever-growing repertoire of styles, sounds, and new technology.
Keed Talk To ‘Em 2is out now via YSL and 300 Entertainment.
Lil Keed is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
As the YSL RICO trial continues, one of Young Thug’s co-defendants has requested that it be declared a mistrial, according to Law&Crime Network producer Cathy Russon via HipHopDX.
Jayden Myrick, aka SetTrip, filed a motion for mistrial on Tuesday (February 21) through his lawyer Gina Bernard, who argued that Myrick’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury has been violated by discovery material being shared with the public.
A previously signed court order prevents discovery material from being shared on social media or to official news sources but what appears to be a video of cooperating witness’ testimony to police has been circulating on social media for the past week.
Therefore, says Bernard, “While said evidence may not directly implicate my client, it along with all of the publicity and courtroom incidents since the start of this trial that have not been the result of any conduct of my client, Jayden Myrick, make it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, as well as a jury that is honestly and truly fair and impartial.”
Among those courtroom incidents were scenes in which fellow co-defendant Yak Gotti’s mother was arrested for trying to sneak him contraband, another co-defendant was tased by court deputies after handing Thug a pill, and multiple members of YSL accepted plea deals to avoid longer sentences.
The trial is expected to continue for at least six months — and potentially as much as nine months.
Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A deep dive into Young Thug (real name Jeffery Lamar Williams) and YSL’s RICO case is heading to the small screen, thanks to ABC News Studios. Despite the fact that the trial is still ongoing, the hour-long documentary titled Rap Trap: Hip-Hop On Trial will feature commentary on the initial indictment of Williams, his brother Unfoonk, and fellow rapper Gunna back in May.
When news of the indictment hit social media, fans of the rapper and other musicians began to push back against the prosecutor’s office for including Williams’ lyrics as alleged evidence in the full 88-page indictment against him. The trailer for Rap Trap: Hip-Hop On Trial teases that Williams’ label 300 Entertainment CEO Kevin Liles, his ex-girlfriend Jerrika Karlae, fellow musicians Fat Joe, Killer Mike, Will.I.Am, and more will explore that further.
In the trailer, rapper and activist Killer Mike says, “Rap music is judged unlike any other genre like Black people are judged, unlike any other people.”
Former No Limit rapper McKinley “Mac” Phipps Jr.’s case will also be featured in the documentary, as several of his lyrics were used to help convict him of manslaughter in 2001 over the death of a 19-year-old man at a Louisiana nightclub the year before.
Rap Trap: Hip-Hop On Trial will air on Hulu beginning February 23. To watch, click here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Lil Keed‘s first posthumous song has arrived. “Long Way To Go” dropped today along with a heartfelt statement from Keed’s mother, Tonnie Woods-Reed. In it, she reveals that he was working on a new album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2, at the time of his death from eosinophilia, and promises more to come.
Before his death at the age of 24, Keed was a rapper on the rise, receiving co-signs from the likes of Drake and Young Thug, who signed him to the YSL Records imprint. Keed died just a month before YSL Records was caught up in a racketeering indictment which saw key members like Thug and Gunna locked up for the better part of a year. Thug goes on trial this month after Gunna and several others pled guilty to racketeering in exchange for lesser sentences.
You can check out the “Long Way To Go” video above, and Woods-Reed’s statement below.
On May 13, 2022, I lost my son Raqhid Render—who many of you knew as the artist Lil Keed,” Woods-Reid said. “While this journey through the different phases of grief has been indescribably hard, a way that I have found to cope is through his music. Right before his passing, Keed was hard at work at what would’ve been his highly anticipated next album, Keed Talk to ’Em 2. As much as he was a great father, son, and friend—he was also an artist who (thanks to many of you) lived and continues to live through his music. With that being said, the time has come to share some of our last pieces of Keed with you all starting with the release of his first single, “Long Way to Go.” This song holds a special place in my heart and as you guys will see it will reflect on many aspects of Keed’s journey here on Earth. I hope you all appreciate it as we take the first step in cementing Keed’s legacy. Long Live Keed!
Lil Keed is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Three men included in the RICO indictment against YSL have been charged with stabbing an unidentified fellow inmate of the Fulton County Jail, according to WSB-TV. Although the victim has not been identified, the three alleged attackers were.
Damone “Bali” Blalock, Christian “Brhis” Eppinger, and Rodalius “Lil Rod” Ryan are facing undisclosed charges as a result of the stabbing in addition to their previous charges as part of the racketeering case against YSL.
Blalock and Ryan are both already serving life in prison for six separate murder charges, while Eppinger is accused of shooting an Atlanta police officer in February 2022 as the officer attempted to arrest him on previous warrants for robbery and aggravated assault.
YSL — which stands either for Young Slime Life, which authorities call a hybrid street gang, or Young Stoner Life, the official acronym for the label started by Young Thug — was accused of violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, resulting in the arrests of 28 members, including Young Thug, Gunna, and other rappers signed to the label in June 2022.
Since then, several members have taken so-called Alford pleas, maintaining their innocence while pleading guilty to lesser charges in exchange for reduced sentences. Gunna, Unfoonk, and YSL co-founder Walter Murphy have all accepted these plea deals, leading to criticism from members of the hip-hop community.
Incidentally, another rapper, YFN Lucci — an alleged rival of Thug — was charged with a similar indictment a year before, and has been awaiting trial ever since, with his case getting bumped for Thug’s. Lucci has petitioned for an emergency bond due to the long delay for his case, as well as, of all things, getting stabbed while being held in protective custody.
a year before YSL, the Atlanta DA charged YFN Lucci & crew—YSL’s alleged rivals—with a RICO
he’s been in jail ever since, almost 2 years, & still has no trial date bc it was bumped in favor of Thug’s
lawyers pushing for emergency bond, noting he was stabbed in jail+quoting MLK pic.twitter.com/g3NMzsrEge