For months now, Young Thug has been awaiting trial and is in the jury selection stage of the federal racketeering case being brought against him and his record label, Young Stoner Life (YSL). But, after requesting bond earlier this week, Thug and fellow YSL rapper Yak Gotti both learned on Friday (July 21) that their requests had been denied.
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According to Thug’s attorney Brian Steele, Thug had been seeking a bond because of the poor conditions he had been facing in jail, which caused his health to deteriorate. When denying his bond, though, the Fulton County Court declared Thug a flight risk. Steele disagreed with this assertion in a statement to ABC News earlier this week.
“Mr. Williams is not a risk to commit a crime and he’s not a risk to flee the jurisdiction and that’s what bond is about,” he said.
This is the fourth time Thug’s bond has been denied, as he filed requests three times last year following his May 2022 arrest. Currently, he is facing eight charges relating to conspiracy and possession of drugs and firearms. Earlier this summer, his legal team filed a motion for some of these charges to be dropped, but as the case lags on, there has yet to be an update regarding this filing.
Throughout the jury selection stage, over 2,000 potential jurors have been summoned for over half a year, as this trial is expected to be the longest in Georgia’s history, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
As Thug remains behind bars, that has not stopped him from releasing music in the last couple of weeks. On June 23, he dropped a brand new album titled Business is Business, which included appearances from some of his best friends in the rap industry like Drake, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, and more. A few days later, he would put out a deluxe edition of the LP, with a new track list compiled by beloved hip-hop producer Metro Boomin, who added two new tracks with features from Juice WRLD and Nicki Minaj.
Additionally, Thug is rumored to have a collaborative mixtape on the way with Lil Uzi Vert, expected to be titled Barter 16. So, regardless of his discouraging legal standing at the moment, it doesn’t seem like Thug is going to let anything stop him from feeding his loyal fans.
Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW
