Young Thug has had a rough go of it in recent weeks. He was arrested and charged as part of a huge criminal conspiracy involving his Atlanta-based crew, YSL (Young Slime Life), and label, YSL (Young Stoner Life) Records, along with 27 others, including labelmates Gunna and Yak Gotti. Prosecutors called him one of the group’s commanders along with Gunna, despite mostly having lyrics by way of evidence. A search of his home yielded additional charges, though, and last week, a judge denied him bond, citing flight risk and potential witness tampering.
In spite of all that, though, Thug seems optimistic, according to one of his Atlanta-based contemporaries. Lil Baby, who has previously said he owes his entire rap career to Thug’s encouragement (and generous payments, which convinced Lil Baby to leave the trap behind for good), tweeted that he was recently in touch with his former benefactor and has good news to report. “I talked to @youngthug,” he wrote. “He in great spirits.” Unfortunately, he didn’t — and probably couldn’t — say much more than that, but it’s nice to hear that being stuck in jail hasn’t brought the “Ski” rapper down too much.
Meanwhile, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office has drawn criticism for its use of lyrics as evidence of crimes. Even rival rapper YFN Lucci’s lawyer called the application of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act “racist,” despite those lyrics also suggesting that Thug had Lucci’s mother shot. That’s solidarity.
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