Rapper Young Thug pleads guilty to gang, drug and weapons charges

Rapper Young Thug pleaded guilty to gang, drug and weapons charges in Atlanta on Thursday.

The 33-year-old Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, filed his lawsuit without reaching a deal with prosecutors after negotiations between the two sides failed, said lead prosecutor Adriane Love. That leaves the judgment entirely with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker.

Young Thug pleaded guilty to one gang-related charge, three drug charges and two firearm charges. He also entered a no-contest plea to additional charges of gang violence and conspiracy, meaning he chose not to contest those charges but can be punished for them as if he had pleaded guilty.

The judge listened to Love and defense attorney Brian Steel before making a sentencing decision.

Love explained to the judge the evidence she would have presented to prove Young Thug's guilt, including some of his rap lyrics. She asked the judge to sentence him to 45 years in prison, with 25 years in prison and the remaining 20 years on probation.

The rapper's lead attorney, Brian Steel, said they “vehemently disagree” with many of Love's statements and that it was “insulting” that the state was using Young Thug's lyrics against him.

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Steel said the evidence against his client was weak and accused prosecutors of misrepresenting and hiding evidence and said Young Thug had been “falsely accused.” Steel said he told his client he believed they would win the trial and should get a jury verdict.

“But he told me, 'I can't wait another three months if there's a chance I can go home because my kids are hurt.' “I have things to do,” Steel said.

Young Thug, a hugely successful rapper, founded his own record label, Young Stoner Life or YSL. Prosecutors said he was also a co-founder of a violent criminal street gang and that YSL stood for Young Slime Life.

Two years ago, he was indicted in a sprawling indictment that accused him and more than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia's anti-crime law. He was also accused of gang, drug and gun crime.

Young Thug's plea comes nearly a year after prosecutors began presenting evidence in the troubled trial. Jury selection at the Atlanta courthouse began in January 2023 and lasted nearly 10 months. The trial of six defendants began with opening statements last November, and prosecutors have called dozens of witnesses since then.

Three of his co-defendants had already pleaded guilty this week after making deals with prosecutors. The plea deals still leave the fate of two other co-defendants unclear.

Nine of those charged in the indictment accepted plea agreements before the trial began. Twelve more are being negotiated separately. Prosecutors dropped charges against a defendant after he was convicted of murder in an unrelated case.