Young Thug's release from prison brought a positive end to the longest criminal trial in Georgia history. As the Atlanta rapper is welcomed home by family and friends, one of those people could very well be Gunna, who was accused of mugging Thug in the YSL RICO case. He might well deserve an apology from everyone after what happened in court yesterday.
During Young Thug's sentencing on Thursday (October 31), a surprising moment occurred in the courtroom when Thug's attorney specifically asked his client to continue working with Gunna after his release. As part of Thug's probation, which he must serve for 15 years, he cannot have contact with known gang members, including those named in YSL's indictment. The judge granted two exceptions for YSL's defendants: Gunna, who Thug is contractually obligated to work with through Young Stoner Life Records, and Quantavious Grier, aka Unfoonk, who is Thug's brother.
Brian Steel, Thug's attorney, called Gunna a “phenomenal artist” in court and noted that Thug and Gunna “often play music together.” Such kind words do not seem to indicate that there is a break in friendly relations between the two rappers. Now the argument can be made that a lawyer will say anything to help his client gain his freedom or Thug sees this from a financial standpoint to continue making money off of Gunna because he is signed to his record label. But Thugger and Gunna could be on good terms with each other. However, the Internet hasn't necessarily thought of that in the last couple of years.
The internet court rule labeled Gunna as snitching and so did several rappers through songs and subliminals. But did Gunna really tell Young Thug? Hip hop does not take kindly to rappers who cooperate with the authorities. According to Gunna, he didn't. The YSL signee was released from prison in December 2022, after serving seven months in prison. He entered an Alford plea to one count of racketeering and was sentenced to five years, with one year to be served and the remainder of his sentence suspended. The rhymer was originally arrested on May 9, 2022, along with Young Thug and 26 other affiliates of the YSL collective as part of the massive RICO case in Georgia.
After his release, Gunna insisted he did not make statements or cooperate.
“While I have agreed to be honest at all times, I want to make it abundantly clear that I have NOT made any statements, interviewed, cooperated, agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in have absolutely NO intention of get involved in the trial process in any way,” the statement read in part.
Steve Sadow, Gunna's lawyer, also insisted his client “didn't get out of jail” and wanted people to “stop spreading lies.” During the trial, Thug never mentioned Gunna or called him a snitch.
However, fans, critics and trolls continued to label Gunna as a jerk, especially after a video shot without the rapper's knowledge showing him in court when he faced the judge to accept his plea before being released. Gunna agreed with the statement, “YSL is a music company and a gang,” given by the judge. Rappers like Maino chimed in and called out Gunna saying it hurt Thug's cause.
Last December, Lil Baby said “F**k the rats” when his “Drip Too Hard” collaboration with Gunna was played during a show. Back in January, fans thought 21 Savage was targeting Gunna on the song “Letter to My Brudda,” which appeared to be dedicated to Young Thug. One of the lines of the song goes, “How you go from codentendant to af**kin' witness?”
Find a social media post about Gunna in the last couple of years and chances are there will be accusations of theft or rat emojis in the comments. He sure knows all the talk. On its cover for XXL Magazine's Spring 2024 issue, Gunna addressed what everyone seemed to be saying. “I definitely feel that everyone has been misled,” he said. Gunna also said that the relationship between him and Thug was “the same” and noted, “It's love, always. Our relationship is our relationship.”
Looks like Guna was telling the truth. After video of the judge approving Thug's special probation conditions began circulating on social media yesterday, fans appeared to be changing their tune. Seeing Thugger's lawyer praising Gunna and suggesting that Thug should work with him again caused thousands of comments on platforms like The Shade Room to rally behind Gunna. The consensus: hip-hop owes Gunna an apology.
“Owe Gunna an APOLOGY!! Up first, Lil Baby!” One user wrote in the comments section of The Shade Room's post showing video of Brian Steel specifically asking Thug to work with Gunna. “The entire hip hop industry owes Gunna a huge apology,” posted another. The sentiment was shared ten times across Instagram. This could be the case of the business paying you for all the people who called Gunna a rat.
It's been less than 24 hours since Young Thug became a free man. While there may not be a traditional “First Day Out” track given the circumstances of what he can and can't push in and out of his music, releasing some kind of new song is likely his next step. With the judge's blessing, he and Gunna could appear on a track together in the future. More importantly, now that Thug is free, he can set the record straight about his best friend and whether hip-hop really owes Gunna an apology.
Read more: Hip-hop reacts to young thug's release from prison after brutal trial
Check out Young Thug's lawyer requesting the waiver to work with Gunna and fans' reactions to the special request below.
