Exactly two years ago today, on May 9, 2022, the rap world watched in horror as Young Thug and 27 other YSL members were arrested and hit with RICO charges.
So much has happened in the two years since Thug’s arrest. The state of Georgia charged Young Thug and five other codefendants of being part of a menacing street gang that committed numerous crimes throughout Atlanta over the past decade. Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, is accused of being the ringleader. He faces charges of criminal street-gang activity, violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a machine gun and drug crimes. Through it all, his rap peers haven’t wavered in their support, shouting him out on tracks and on social media.
Yet many of Thug’s rap peers were also arrested, including Gunna was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. The rapper negotiated an Alford plea deal in December of 2022, and despite being free is still trying to escape being labeled a snitch two years later. Another prominent YSL signee Yak Gotti, is currently on trial alongside Thug. He’s facing a count of murder and conspiracy to violate the RICO Act.
The case has also called into question the use of rap lyrics in a criminal court, as Thug’s own bars are currently being used against him to try and tie him to numerous crimes. For example, prosecutor Adriane Love referenced the lyrics “hundred rounds in a Tahoe” in her opening arguments last November. Love claimed those lyrics were in reference to the murder of a rival gang member who got shot while standing next to a Chevy Tahoe.
Throughout it all, Thugga has remained in jail for the entirety of his trial. He’s been denied bond five times, and his trial will likely drag into 2027. As the trial has gone on, his support in the rap game has continued to grow, with dozens of rappers calling for Thug’s freedom in their songs.
Check out 24 times rappers have shouted out Thugga in the two years since his arrest below.
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Kendrick Lamar
“Not Like Us”
“Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head.”
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Drake
“Sticky”
“Free Big Slime out the cage.”
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Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign
“River” “Vultures”
“Free Larry Hoover, free Young Thug/Free Larry Hoover, free Young Thug.” – “River”
“This one here for YSL, I ain’t talkin’ Saint Laurent. – “River”
“Still screamin’ ‘Free TC, Melly, and Thug'” – “Vultures
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Future
“Where My Twin @”
“Where my twin at? In a courtroom/With his head up, ain’t no tissue.”
“I done seen what n***as do to a slime boss.”
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Gunna
“Ca$h $**t,” “Rodeo Dr”
“I’m still doin’ it for Jeff and Lil Keed and you know it’s R.I.P. to the pope.” – “Rodeo Dr”
“Our the barrel, man, free my bro Jeffro.” – “Ca$h $**t”
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Travis Scott
“Meltdown”
“I know what’s at stake, I’m screamin’, ‘Free Jeffery.'”
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Nicki Minaj
“Money” with Young Thug
“Wait, Free Thug.”
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Gucci Mane
“All Dz Chainz”
“R.I.P. to Trouble and free Thugger and free Gunna too.”
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YoungBoy Never Broke Again
“Letter to Big Dump”
“Oh, I’m slime, I pray for Thug, askin’ God one more time/If you ain’t had once, we all deserve a second chance to shine.”
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Lil Uzi Vert
“Oh yeah, free Thugger, b***h.”
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Meek Mill
“Big Stunna,” “Lyrical Eazy” featuring Rick Ross
“I say, yeah, free Thugger, whoever killed Takeoff, he a sucker.” – “Big Stunna”
“Bout that cash, it get real slimy, talk like Thug and ’em (Free Thug)” – “Lyrical Eazy”
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Kodak Black
“300 Blackout”
“That’s f**ked up what they did to Young Thug, can’t let ’em get me.”
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21 Savage
“Topia Twins” with Travis Scott
“Slime sittin’ in the cell, I bet he comin’ home like Pac.”
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Lil Durk
“Cross the Globe”
“Deep in her guts, she screamin’ out facts (Facts)/Screamin’, ‘Free Thug,’ I’m screamin’, ‘Free Slatt’ (Slatt).”
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DaBaby
“F*kumean (Freestyle)”
“When we f**k, she wanna play ‘F*kumean/When I hit from the back make her holler ‘free Thug.”
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A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
“Booby Trap”
“And I keep Jeffery on my mind, free Thugger, that’s my slime.”
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The Game
“Money, Cash, Clothes,” “Violence”
“Free Thug, that’s all I can say/They tryna hit a n***a with the RICO off a handshake.” – “Money, Cash, Clothes”
“Scream from the rooftop, ‘free Young Thug'” – “Violence”
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Rod Wave
“Rap Beef”
“Tell ’em free Young Thug, that indictment b***h a beast.”
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Lil Baby
“Pop Out” featuring Nardo Wick
“Jeff can get ten M’s if he needed it, you know I rock with Thug.”
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Ken Carson
“Free Young Thug”
“Damn, they need to free Young Thug, that s**t is not okay
These folks’ll do anything to take a n***a life away.” -
Lucki
“10 P.M. in LNDN”
“Free Jeff, my ho slatt, uh.”
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Ski Mask the Slump God
“Ooga Booga!”
“What’s up? (What’s up?) What’s up? (Free Thug).”
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Fredo Bang
“Free Thug”
“Even with the hate, I’ma show a little love, rappin’ ain’t a crime, tell ’em ‘Free Young Thug.'”
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Lancey Foux
“Mmm Hmm”
“Shoutout Strick, free Slime out the fuckin’ penitentiary, ha-ha (baow).”