As Gunna noted on “bottom,” the eighth song from his 2023 album a Gift & a Curse, he has been the Talk of the topic in hip-hop all year long. To help celebrate this latest album, which has seen hits like “back to the moon” and “fukumean” soar up the Billboard charts, Gunna headed to Brooklyn last night (September 9) to play his first show in quite some time.
Videos by American Songwriter
The first date of a 2-show stint in New York and Los Angeles that he announced back in July, Saturday’s concert in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is Gunna’s first live performance since he was arrested in connection to the Young Stoner Life record label RICO case in May 2022. And, by the looks of all the footage caught at the show, the crowd was packed, energized, and eager to embrace Gunna’s return to the stage.
At one point in the show, on top of playing his aforementioned Top 10 hit “fukumean,” Gunna rapped both his and his mentor Young Thug’s verses from “Hot,” their 2019 collaborative song which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. While performing Thug’s part, he displayed the phrase “Free Jeffery” on the screen at Barclay’s, referencing Thug’s legal name Jeffery Lamar Williams.
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Since their arrest in 2022, Thug has remained behind bars awaiting trial in the RICO case, as he faces eight different counts relating to relating to conspiracy and possession of drugs and firearms. When Gunna initially put out a Gift & a Curse, fans believed Thug was not on good terms with Gunna, and may have been upset about Gunna’s decision to take a plea deal.
Thug would release an album of his own days later from jail titled Business is Business, where he included a verse that seemed directed at Gunna.
N***a told and he was my homie, I can’t miss him
Ain’t nobody feel him
Young Thug on “Jonesboro”
Regardless, Gunna has stayed ten toes down in his support for Thug, who first got him into rap and helped bolster his career as a YSL signee. Gunna’s next show will take place at Los Angeles’s YouTube Theater on September 28.
Check out clips from Gunna’s show in Brooklyn below.
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/MG22/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue )
Join the journey! Gunna announces The Bittersweet Tour. Reserve your spot now!
