Young Thug

Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.

Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop and trap music, and a pioneer of the mumble rap microgenre.

Jeffery Lamar Williams was born on August 16, 1991, in Atlanta, Georgia, 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 has told interviewers that he was expelled in the sixth grade for breaking a teacher's arm.

He was sent to juvenile prison for four years.

Young Thug began his musical career in 2010, debuting as a guest appearance on rapper TruRoyal's song "She Can Go".

Williams embarked on a musical career in 2011, releasing a series of mixtapes beginning with I Came from Nothing.

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/Atlantic imprint, in 2013.

Thug released his first project on the label, his fourth mixtape, 1017 Thug.

The mixtape was met with positive reviews from music critics, which noted it for its original style.

1017 Thug was included in a number of year-end lists for 2013, such as the Pitchfork Albums of the Year: Honorable Mention and Complex's The 50 Best Albums of 2013.

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.

FACT called it the best mixtape of 2013, Rolling Stone placed it at number five on their 10 Best Mixtapes of 2013 and The Guardian placed it among The Five Best Mixtapes of 2013.

Young Thug's song "Picacho" was noted as one of the standout tracks from the mixtape; although it was not released as a single, the song was included on a number of 2013 year-end lists, such as Rolling Stones 100 Best Songs of 2013, Pitchforks The Top 100 Tracks of 2013, and Spin's 50 Best Songs of 2013.

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, including Wale, Jim Jones, Jadakiss, Iamsu! and Trick-Trick, among others.

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 a few 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.

Pitchfork ranked 1017 Thug as one of the best albums of the first half of the 2010s decade, at number 96.

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 amassed 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".

In addition to his solo career, he's released two compilation albums with his record label, YSL Records: Slime Language (2018) and Slime Language 2 (2021) to concurrent success; the latter debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Since May 2022, Williams has faced mounting legal troubles.

He has been held without bail in the Fulton County Jail on remand due to being charged with violating the Georgia RICO Act, as well as a total of 56 counts of illegal substance trafficking or firearm possession charges.

Williams was arrested alongside 27 other members of YSL on gang-related charges.

He has been denied bail four times, and Business Is Business was released during his incarceration.

Williams' debut studio album, So Much Fun (2019) debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and included the Billboard Hot 100 top-twenty singles "The London" (featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott) and "Hot" (featuring Gunna).

The following year, his single "Go Crazy"—with Chris Brown, from their collaborative mixtape Slime & B (2020)—peaked at number three on the Hot 100 and became his first top-ten single as a lead artist.

That same year, he reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second time 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 similar success, followed by his third studio album, Business Is Business in June 2023.