Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams II, known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip-hop and trap music, and a popularizer of the mumble rap microgenre. Williams began his musical career in 2011, releasing a series of mixtapes beginning with I Came from Nothing. In 2013, he signed with fellow Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane's 1017 Records and gained further attention and praise for his debut mixtape with the label, 1017 Thug, released in February of that year.
Williams first received mainstream recognition in 2014 for his singles "Stoner" and "Danny Glover", in addition to his guest appearances on numerous singles, including T.I.'s "About the Money", Tyga's "Hookah", and Rich Gang's "Lifestyle". That same year, he released a mixtape with Rich Gang titled Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1, and signed a solo recording contract with 300 Entertainment, an imprint of Atlantic Records. In 2015, he released a number of mixtapes to critical acclaim, including Barter 6 and two installments of his Slime Season series. Throughout 2016, Williams saw continued success with the release of his commercial mixtapes I'm Up, Slime Season 3, and Jeffery. In 2017, Williams guest performed on the worldwide hit "Havana" by singer Camila Cabello, which became his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. The following year, he won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for his contributions to Childish Gambino's "This Is America".
Williams' debut studio album So Much Fun peaked atop the US Billboard 200 and yielded the Billboard Hot 100 top-20 singles "The London" and "Hot". The following year, his single "Go Crazy"—with Chris Brown, from their collaborative mixtape Slime & B —peaked at number three on the chart and became his first top-ten single as a lead artist. That same year, he peaked the chart once more for his guest appearance alongside M.I.A. on Travis Scott's single "Franchise". In 2021, he did so for a third time with his guest appearance alongside Future on Drake's "Way 2 Sexy". His second studio album Punk was released in October of that year to continued success, followed by his third studio album, Business Is Business, released in 2023 while Williams was incarcerated in Georgia jail. In 2025, he released his fourth studio album UY Scuti, his first following his release from jail in 2024. In addition to his solo career, he has released two compilation albums with his record label YSL Records: Slime Language and Slime Language 2 to resultant success; the latter debuted atop the Billboard 200.
Williams has had multiple arrests and legal issues, most notably in 2022 when he was charged with violating the Georgia RICO Act and 63 counts of illegal substance trafficking or firearm possession, alongside 27 other members of YSL. He was held without bail in the Fulton County Jail on remand and his trial began in November 2023, lasting over a year and becoming the longest criminal trial in Georgia history. Williams was released in October 2024 after accepting a deal which saw him plead no contest to several charges; it resulted in him being sentenced to time served and 15 years of probation.
Early life
Jeffery Lamar Williams was born on August 16, 1991, in Atlanta, Georgia, and is the tenth of eleven children. He is from Sylvan Hills, but grew up in the Jonesboro South projects near Cleveland Avenue. Other rappers from Jonesboro South include Waka Flocka Flame, Ludacris and Williams' childhood friend Peewee Longway, from whom Williams lived four doors down.Williams was expelled in the sixth grade for breaking a teacher's arm. He was sent to juvenile prison for four years.
Career
2010–2013: Early career and record deal
Young Thug began his musical career in 2010, debuting with a guest appearance on rapper TruRoyal's song "She Can Go". After releasing the first three installments of his mixtape series I Came from Nothing throughout 2011 and 2012, Young Thug caught the attention of fellow Atlanta-based rapper Gucci Mane, who went on to sign Young Thug to his label 1017 Brick Squad Records, an Asylum and Atlantic imprint, in 2013. Thug released his first project on the label, his fourth mixtape, 1017 Thug.The mixtape received positive reviews from critics, who praised its originality. It appeared in Pitchforks Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention and Complexs list of The 50 Best Albums of 2013. Fact named it the best mixtape of the year, while Rolling Stone ranked it fifth in its 10 Best Mixtapes of 2013, and The Guardian included it among The Five Best Mixtapes of 2013. In a broader retrospective, Pitchfork placed the mixtape at number 96 in its list of the best albums of the first half of the 2010s. The track "Picacho" was similarly well-received, appearing in Rolling Stone
In July 2013, Complex included him in their list of 25 New Rappers to Watch Out For. In October 2013, Young Thug released his commercial debut single "Stoner". The song spawned a number of unofficial remixes by several rappers such as Wale, Jim Jones, Jadakiss, Iamsu! and Trick-Trick. Young Thug expressed his disapproval for the remixes, commenting "If you feel like my song isn't tough enough to the point where you have to freestyle ... Don't think I'm happy that you're doing it because of who you are. I'm ready for war."
His song "Danny Glover" received a number of remixes by Waka Flocka Flame and Nicki Minaj, among others. In October 2013, Young Thug appeared on several tracks on 19 & Boomin by Metro Boomin, including "Some More", the first song he made with Alex Tumay, who became his go-to engineer for almost everything from then until Slime Season 2. In December 2013, Thug performed at Fool's Gold Day Off show in Miami, among Danny Brown, Trick Daddy and Travis Scott.
2014–2016: Rise to popularity, label issues, ''Barter 6'' and ''Slime Season'' series
In January 2014, Young Thug revealed that he had been offered $8.5 million to sign to rapper Future's Freebandz record label. In March 2014, Young Thug's affiliation with Cash Money Records and its CEO, Birdman, led to speculation about him signing to the label, though the label's publicist later denied the rumors. On March 28, 2014, Ronald "Caveman" Rosario, director of Urban Music at 1017 Distribution, addressed the situation, stating that Young Thug signed a management deal—not a record deal—with Birdman's Rich Gang, and is still signed to 1017 Brick Squad.In 2014, Young Thug recorded several songs with Kanye West, who praised him for his ability to make songs quickly. Thug announced that he had upcoming mixtapes with Rich Homie Quan, Chief Keef and Bloody Jay. Young Thug would go on to be featured on the March 2014 cover of The Fader. On March 11, 2014, his debut single "Stoner" was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States by Asylum and Atlantic Records. On March 24, 2014, Young Thug stated his debut album would be titled Carter VI, referencing the highly acclaimed Tha Carter album series by American hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne, who has been the biggest influence in Young Thug's music career.
Two days later, it was revealed that Young Thug was working on a collaborative album with American record producer Metro Boomin, which was titled Metro Thuggin and set for release in spring 2014. The first song from the project, titled "The BLanguage", which uses elements from Canadian rapper Drake's "The Language", was released the same day. In April 2014, Young Thug released a new 808 Mafia-produced song titled "Eww", which was named one of the five best songs of the week by XXL. A remix of the song was supposed to be on Thug's debut album with verses from Lil Wayne and Drake, but did not come to fruition.
On June 17, 2014, Kevin Liles confirmed that Young Thug had been officially signed to his and Lyor Cohen's label 300 Entertainment. On July 1, 2014, Asylum Records and Atlantic Records officially released Young Thug's 2013 fan-favorite song "Danny Glover", re-titling it "2 Bitches". Also on July 1, Mass Appeal Records released "Old English", the first single from their compilation album Mass Appeal Vol. 1, which features Young Thug alongside fellow American rappers ASAP Ferg and Freddie Gibbs. On October 16, 2014, "Take Kare" featuring Young Thug and Lil Wayne was released; it was the first single from Cash Money Records's Rich Gang 2 compilation. The December 4, 2014, issue of Rolling Stone called Young Thug the "most exciting new voice of hip-hop" and "hip-hop's new crown prince". At the end of the year, music critic Robert Christgau named Black Portland—Young Thug's collaborative mixtape with Bloody Jay—the fourth best album of 2014.
In 2015, a series of data breaches resulted in the release of hundreds of tracks from Young Thug's archives to the Internet. Young Thug's planned debut album was set for release in 2015, and was said to be named Carter 6, in homage to Lil Wayne's upcoming album, Tha Carter V. Lil Wayne was not happy about the tribute, telling the audience of a show in April 2015 to "stop listening" to Young Thug. After saying he had been threatened with lawsuits, Young Thug announced that he was changing the title to Barter 6 and clarified that it would be a mixtape rather than his debut album. Young Thug announced April 18, 2015, that his official debut album will be titled Hy!£UN35, to be read as "HiTunes".
In May 2015, after much confusion as to who he was signed to and managed by, having been aligned with Gucci Mane's 1017 Records, Future's Freebandz, Lyor Cohen's 300 Entertainment and Birdman's Rich Gang, Young Thug revealed "I manage myself. I'm signed with Atlantic. I have a big, special deal with Atlantic, and it's only Atlantic. Birdman is my homie."
In 2015, Thug released the compilation mixtapes Slime Season and Slime Season 2, which were well received. Young Thug revealed in late June 2015 that he and Kanye West discussed the prospect of a joint album together. Thug said Kanye was impressed after previewing his unreleased music. "I was letting him hear all the music. Then he said I was like Bob Marley and he wanted to do an album with me. I was like, 'Let's roll! the rapper said. Young Thug appeared on West's 2016 album The Life of Pablo, and West tweeted that he would release further collaborations with Young Thug on Tidal.
In July 2015, 300 Entertainment released a promotional single, "Pacifier", in support of Young Thug's debut album Hy!£UN35. The song features production from Mike Will Made It, and was noted by critics for its experimentation with more extreme vocal scatting. On February 4, 2016, Young Thug released a mixtape titled I'm Up. On March 26, 2016, he released the final installment of the Slime Season series with Slime Season 3, declaring the mixtape the end of a phase marked by leaked material. Young Thug toured the United States on his May 2016 HiTunes tour, which featured artists Dae Dae, TM88, and Rich The Kid.