Young Thug’s release from jail has put a positive end to the longest-running 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 snitching on Thug in the YSL RICO case. He could very well deserve an apology from everyone following what happened in court yesterday.
During Young Thug’s sentencing on Thursday (Oct. 31), a surprising moment occured in the courtroom when Thug’s counsel specifically requested for his client to continue working with Gunna upon release from jail. As part of Thug’s probation, for which he must serve 15 years, he cannot be in contact with known gang members, including those named in the YSL indictment. The judge granted two exceptions for YSL indictees: Gunna, who Thug is contractually obligated to work with through Young Stoner Life Records, and Quantavious Grier, a.k.a Unfoonk, who is Thug’s brother.
Brian Steel, Thug’s attorney, called Gunna “a phenomenal artist” in court, and noted that Thug and Gunna “frequently perform music together.” Kind words like that don’t seem to indicate there are a break in friendly relations between the two rappers. Now the argument can be made that a lawyer will say anything to help their client get their freedom, but this situation looks more like Thugger and Gunna are in good standing with one another. However, the internet didn’t necessarily think so over the last two years.
The rule of internet court put the snitching label on Gunna and so did several rappers through songs and subliminals. But did Gunna really tell on Young Thug? Hip-hop doesn’t take kindly to rappers who cooperate with authorities. According to Gunna, he didn’t. The YSL signee was released from jail in December of 2022, after being incarcerated for seven months. He made an Alford plea to one count of racketeering and was sentenced to five years, with one year of time served and the remainder of his sentence being suspended. The rhymer was initially arrested on May 9, 2022, along with Young Thug and 26 other affiliates of the YSL collective as part of the large-scale RICO case in Georgia.
Upon his release, Gunna insisted he did not make any statements or cooperate.
“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way,” the statement read in part.
Steve Sadow, Gunna’s attorney, also insisted his client “did not snitch to get out of jail” and wanted people to “please stop spreading lies.” During the course of the trial, Thug has never mentioned Gunna or called him a snitch.
However, fans, critics and trolls continued to label Gunna a snitch, especially following a video taken without the rapper’s knowledge showed him in court when he faced the judge to take his plea deal before being released. Gunna agreed with the statement, “YSL is a music label and a gang,” provided by the judge. Rappers like Maino sounded off and said Gunna saying that hurt Thug’s case.
Last December, Lil Baby said “F**k the rats” when his “Drip Too Hard” collab with Gunna was played during a performance. In January, fans thought 21 Savage took aim at 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 codefendant to a f**kin’ witness?”
Find a social media post about Gunna over the last two years, and chances are there will be snitching accusations or rat emojis in the comments. He’s certainly aware of all the talk. In his cover story for XXL magazine’s Spring 2024 issue, Gunna addressed what everyone seemed to be saying. “I definitely feel like everybody’s been misled,” he said. Gunna also said the relationship between him and Thug was “the same,” and noted, “It’s love, always. Our relationship is our relationship.”
Looks like Gunna was telling the truth. After video of the judge approving Thug’s special conditions for probation began circulating on social media yesterday, fans seemed to change their tune. Seeing Thugger’s lawyer praise Gunna and indicate Thug needed to 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.
“Yall owe Gunna an APOLOGY!! Up first, Lil Baby!” a user wrote in the comments section of The Shade Room post showing video of Brian Steel specifically asking for Thug to work with Gunna. “The whole hip hop industry owes Gunna an extraordinary apology,” another posted. The sentiment was shared tenfold across Instagram. This may be the case of mind the business that pays you for all the people who called Gunna a rat.
It’s been less than 24 hours since Young Thug has become a free man. While there may not be a traditional “First Day Out” track given the circumstances of what he can and cannot promote 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’s free, he can set the record straight about his best friend, and if hip-hop really owes Gunna an apology.
Read More: Hip-Hop Reacts to Young Thug Being Released From Jail After a Wild Trial
Take a look at Young Thug’s attorney asking for the exception to work with Gunna and fans’ reactions to the special request below.
