What’s Next for Young Thug?

Last night, for the first time in more than 900 days, Young Thug did not sleep in a concrete cell. The Atlanta rapper, born Jeffery Williams, was released from jail on October 31, after pleading guilty to a number of charges in the long-running RICO trial against his label, YSL. (He pleaded nolo contendere, or no contest, to the central RICO charge and a gang-leadership charge, and his attorneys continue to dispute the claim that YSL is a criminal street gang.) Thug was sentenced to five years in prison, commuted to time served, allowing him to be released after his non-negotiated plea. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported he left Fulton County Jail the night after his plea and sentencing. In court, his attorney, Brian Steel, said Thug was looking forward to spending time with his family and taking care of his health.

Thug was also sentenced to 15 years of probation, under a slew of terms. He has a 20-year prison sentence “backloaded” following his probation, which will be commuted if he satisfies the terms of his probation. During sentencing, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker reminded Thug that the backloaded sentence “can be served in custody and will be served in custody if you are not successful on your probation.” Thug must also pay a $40,000 fine. 

The terms of Thug’s probation clear a path for him to continue his music career under certain stipulations. Speaking to media outside the court, his attorneys declined to address specific aspects of his probation. “There comes a time in any case, if a person is sentenced, that we’re out of the courtroom and now what happens to that person is entirely up to them,” said Keith Adams, who has also been representing Thug. “He has the ability, the incentive, to go forth and do everything he needs to do to put this behind him, and we’re confident that he will.” Here’s what we know about what’s next for Young Thug after his plea, based on his probation and what he told the court. 

He’s leaving Atlanta

As part of his probation, Young Thug is required to leave the Atlanta metro area — where the crimes alleged in the indictment took place — within 48 hours from yesterday’s sentencing and stay away for the next ten years. He will be allowed to return for family weddings, funerals, and graduations. (At Steel’s request, Whitaker added family medical emergencies.) The judge is also requiring him to return to give four anti-gang and -violence presentations per year to Atlanta children. The presentations can be at schools or other organizations, and can include a benefit concert; they’ll count toward the community-service requirements of his probation. 

Thug had originally offered to serve the first three years of his probation under house arrest, which Whitaker did not require. She said the state “does not seem to be particularly worried about Mr. Williams, if on the streets, would be a danger to society,” considering they previously offered a sentence commuted to time served. During his presentation, Steel noted that Thug has residences and recording studios in California as well, so he’ll presumably be living there while he’s away from Atlanta. Thug will be able to travel, and he is allowed to keep his passport. 

He will not have to testify about YSL

According to Steel, the sticking point of plea negotiations that led to Thug’s non-negotiated plea was what the state wanted Thug to say about YSL. Steel said in court that Thug told him, “I’m not doing these conditions and admit that I’m the leader and I’m involved in the killing and my music just promoted everybody to do that.” So Thug pleaded nolo contendere to one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and a leadership count of criminal street gang activity, against the state’s objections. Also known as no contest, these pleas work as guilty pleas without an admission of guilt. That means Thug did not admit to being a gang leader, as Steel continued to note in his presentation. “He doesn’t need the Cleveland Avenue drug deals for $15,” Steel said. “He doesn’t need the shootings.” (Thug did plead guilty to one count of criminal street gang activity.  Whitaker said she “would not be permitting” his nolo plea to the leadership charge “if you were not pleading guilty to at least one of them.”) Nothing in the plea or probation now requires Thug to testify about YSL. 

He can keep working with Gunna

Thug cannot be in contact with known gang members, including those named in the YSL indictment, while on probation. Whitaker made exceptions for two YSL indictees: Unfoonk, who is Thug’s brother, and Gunna, who Thug is contractually obligated to work with through Young Stoner Life Records. Unfoonk, born Quantavious Grier, is currently serving a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence for possessing a firearm on probation, after he previously pleaded guilty in the YSL case. But Gunna, born Sergio Kitchens, is currently out on probation after pleading in December 2022. (He made an Alford plea, in which he pleaded guilty for his interest while maintaining his innocence.) Gunna has been back to releasing music since then, dropping the album A Gift & a Curse on YSL Records in 2023. Steel called Gunna “a phenomenal artist” in court, noting that Thug and Gunna “frequently perform music together.” Thug will be able to keep working with Gunna “for as long as they are contractually obligated,” per the conditions of his probation.

He has — and wants — to perform community service

Each year of his probation, Thug will be required to perform 100 hours of community service, including those required presentations. But as part of his suggested sentence, Steel noted that Thug wished to contribute to the Atlanta community in additional ways. “He’s going to do this anyway, Your Honor, but we made it part of the sentence,” Steel said. That includes an annual benefit concert, with proceeds donated to a nonprofit, and pledging $100,000 for three years to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office to fund an illegal gun buyback program. “You know, I don’t mind doing stuff like free shows, and I always did that,” Thug later told the court, noting he had raised money for single parents and breast-cancer patients with benefit shows. “I put millions of dollars back into my community, for real,” he added. Whitaker did not include those suggested terms as part of Thug’s sentence and probation, but still encouraged him to do them. 

He cannot use drugs or firearms

As is typical under probation, Thug won’t be allowed to use drugs or be near firearms. He will have to sign a Fourth Amendment waiver and be subject to random screenings. However, Whitaker made an exception for Thug to be near members of his security team, who lawfully carry guns. 

He could be starting a new musical chapter

Thug had already released an album from behind bars — 2023’s Business Is Business — and signs point toward him continuing his music career out of jail. However, it will be under new scrutiny. Thug’s probation does not allow him to promote gang activity, make gang signs, or use gang-related language. So far, it’s unclear whether YSL is considered a gang under those terms, considering that’s the question at the heart of the still-ongoing trial. For instance, the state has argued that the word slatt, which Thug has used in his music, is gang language, standing for “Slime Love All the Time.” Could Thug get in trouble if he says slatt on a future song? What if he raps an old song with the word slatt? And, while it would be a drastic decision, there is even precedent for rappers having their lyrics approved while on probation.

Steel has continuously argued against considering rap lyrics in the case, arguing that they’re fictional and don’t actually condone violence. However, Thug himself told Judge Whitaker he hoped to move on from rapping about violence in the future. “I understand, you know, rap lyrics, I understand how it could be twisted, I understand what it could do to the mind of people,” he said in court. “I understand all that, and I promise you I’m 100 percent changing that.” He said the trial helped him become aware of his influence as a rapper. “I have came to my senses; I understand what I mean to this world,” he said. Thug added that he has “more to rap about” now, too. “I’m older, I’m grown now,” he said.

Before delivering her sentence, Whitaker instructed Thug to continue to be aware of his role as a rapper. “Whether it is fake or not, it has tremendous impact on kids and young people who think, This is cool. This is what I wanna do. Look at him, he’s a millionaire. I can do that by being, you know, a gangster in the streets,” she said. “And that is not true.” Whitaker acknowledged Thug was “talented” while encouraging him to be “more of the solution and less of the problem. “If you choose to continue to rap, you need to try to use your influence to let kids know that that is not the way to go,” she said.