Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams on August 16, has evolved significantly since his emergence onto the rap scene. Over the last decade-plus, he's helped change the rap game while growing up before fans' eyes. From his early mixtapes to his current status as a trendsetting artist, his hair, particularly his dreadlocks, have been a significant part of his identity and a reflection of his artistic journey. Despite his recent legal troubles, spending the last 15 months in jail fighting a large-scale RICO case in Atlanta after being arrested last May, Young Thug's influence on music and fashion remains undeniable.
In 2011, at the age of 19, Young Thug released his first solo mixtape, I Came From Nothing, marking the beginning of his ascent to superstardom. Even before this official debut, videos circulating online showed a pre-fame Young Thug in his Cleveland Avenue stomping grounds in Atlanta. These early glimpses offered a preview of the artist who would later redefine the boundaries of rap and fashion.
Dun Deal, a producer who worked with Young Thug early in his career, recalls Thug confidently declaring, "I’m going to be the next Lil Wayne. Let me in.” It was 2009, and the high school quarterback, then known as Jeffery Williams, was around 17 when he knocked on the door at Dun Deal’s studio near downtown Atlanta. He was wearing a purple peacoat over a cropped jersey and bell bottom jeans. Dun, who’d already football produced buzzing local groups Rich Kidz and Travis Porter, hadn’t heard a single song by the teenager. “I looked at my boys and they were like: ‘Man, he says he’s gonna be the next Lil Wayne.’ We were like: ‘Yeah, come on in.’” This early ambition and self-assurance would become hallmarks of Young Thug's career.
Over the years, Young Thug has undergone a dramatic transformation, experimenting with various looks and pushing the boundaries of conventional fashion. He's gone from Trukfit to high fashion and everything in between. He's boldly stepped out in sheer shirts, rocked a dress on the cover of his album and was even sans clothes on the album art for another project.
His hairstyles have been equally diverse, ranging from short hair and no ink to lengthy locs of alternating colors and a face dotted with tattoos. This willingness to experiment and defy expectations has made him a fashion icon for many.
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Young Thug's fashion choices often challenge traditional gender norms. He wears little girls' dresses as shirts sometimes, women's pants. He has said that when he was 12, his father hit him for wearing his sister’s glitter shoes. As he got older, he started buying women’s jeans with his own money for their “rock star” fit, later saying that “90 per cent of my clothes are women’s”. By the mid-2010s, the fashion world was paying attention. Hip-hop traditionalists then had to contend with Young Thug as a Calvin Klein spokesperson, modelling a sleek black shift because, in his words: “You can be a gangsta with a dress.” As an Adidas Originals model, he was styled in a kimono made of trash bags and praised for his “gender-breaking style”. For the cover of his 2016 mixtape Jeffery, Thug donned a dress by Alessandro Trincone, with its cascading lavender ruffles and parasol-shaped hat designed for “men who want to express themselves”. Erykah Badu compared the striking image to the groundbreaking style of Andre 3000, who wore a dress for OutKast’s Ms Jackson single art in 2000. Even Elton John delighted in how Thug wore Gucci leather dresses and leopard-print two-pieces.
Young Thug's dreadlocks have been a defining feature of his image for a significant period. He had long cut a distinctive figure on the Atlanta scene, thanks to his septum and lip piercings, and dreadlocks that had been bleached blond and pink. The rapper’s sleek braids, wrapped and knotted, have become as legendary as his smooth rhymes. His long, wild dreadlocks are an unmistakable part of his image. These give him a distinct look that has inspired fans and fellow artists alike.
These dreadlocks are not merely a hairstyle; they represent a statement of individuality and rebellion against societal norms. Like other rappers with braids, Young Thug uses his hair to express his unique identity and artistic vision.
Young Thug definitely moves to the beat of his own drum, which has allowed other artists behind him to follow in his footsteps of non-conformity. His influence extends beyond music, impacting fashion and cultural norms. He has challenged traditional notions of masculinity and inspired others to embrace their individuality.
Many straight black men, who are listeners of Young thug, were conflicted initially but came to the conclusion that he was ‘doing that s**t for attention’. And attention is something he is receiving, whether you agree on what his motives are or not. When black rap fans (and non rap fans) saw the cover for his new mixtape, many praised Thug for pushing the boundaries of what black masculinity looked like.
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Despite his success, Young Thug's career has been marked by controversy and legal challenges. He's gotten in trouble when a mall security guard said Thug threatened to shoot him in the face. He's been questioned about firing shots at the tour bus of Lil Wayne, who was once and probably still is his greatest artistic hero. (Thug's former road manager was convicted for the incident.) He is known to have a temper, to have more-and more dangerous-bad blood with different factions in Atlanta than any other rapper. He refers to those allied against him as “peasants.” There are always lots of guns around him. The people who travel with him cut an equally fashion-forward swath. As GQ's Style Guy, Mark Anthony Green, said during the photo shoot for this story: “You will never see bigger guns tucked into smaller pants.” His main security guard carries a semiautomatic assault rifle even when Thug's at the recording studio. Just the week before, a former security guard had been assassinated in his home near downtown Atlanta. No sign of forced entry. Shot to the back of the head.
In May, Young Thug was arrested and charged with seven additional felonies related to the possession of illegal substances and firearms. His lawyer, Brian Steel, says he is innocent of the charges against him. “I’ll tell you the response to any allegation is: Mr Williams committed no crime whatsoever and we will fight to my last drop of blood to clear him,” he stated to a reporter.
The 88-page indictment alleges that those 28 YSL associates have committed crimes spanning murder, attempted murder, carjacking, robbery, possession of drugs and firearms, and witness intimidation. The Racketeering Influenced and Corruptions Act, or RICO, was created 52 years ago by the Department of Justice to specifically target Mafia organisations operating across state borders. Today, Atlanta’s Fulton County District Attorney’s office is using RICO to allege that YSL is a criminal street gang. (The indictment also alleges that YSL stands for “Young Slime Life” and not “Young Stoner Life”, as the label is known today.) A portion of the indictment cites lyrics and social media posts by Young Thug that, prosecutors allege, demonstrate criminal intent.
This legal battle has sparked debate about the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal cases. 300 Entertainment co-founder Kevin Liles and Atlantic Records chief operating officer Julie Greenwald have launched a petition titled Protect Black Art. “This practice isn’t just a violation of First Amendment protections for speech and creative expression,” the petition says.
And still, the main engine in his life is his music, and the world loves it. Thug's put out 76 solo tracks in the past two years. He's at a spot now where he can make at least $50,000 for a verse on another rapper's song, at least $50,000 for every appearance. Last year he did his first tour and sold out 17 nights. But more than that, Thug has become a kind of status symbol, an unadulterated modern version of the give-no-fucks rock star for people who don't care about the pop charts. All in ladies' Uggs.
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Despite rubbing shoulders with pop stars in the charts, Young Thug never let his listeners forget where he’s from. On last year’s Punk, his second US Number One album, Thug took listeners back to south Atlanta, the days of Jonesboro South and Cleveland Avenue.
His 2019 album So Much Fun, last year’s Punk and the 2021 YSL compilation Slime Language 2 have all topped the US Album Charts.
No one who had heard 1017 Thug (where he literally yelps “Lean, lean, lean, lean/lean lean lean!” on the hyperactive track 2 Cups Stuffed) could have anticipated Rich Gang’s platinum-selling, bottle-popping anthem Lifestyle, the platinum- selling 2014 hit on which he appears. Or his collab on an even bigger pop hit, Jamie xx’s radio-friendly 2015 track I Know There’s Gonna (Be Good Times) with Popcaan.
Thug’s approach-whether he’s recording in a professional studio or a friend’s closet-is working, his music catching on beyond the Southwest Atlanta neighborhoods where he got his start. His songs have become fixtures on radio setlists and at clubs all over the city, most recently the oddly affecting drug anthem “Stoner,” which everyone here at the house can’t resist singing every few minutes. Gucci Mane, the imprisoned, ice-cream-tattooed face of the city’s street rap community, considers him a protégé, and calls him most days from Dekalb County Jail.
The most exciting and maybe puzzling thing about Thug’s ascendant popularity is that he has consistently proven himself to be more aware of and interested in probing the sonic possibilities of present-day Atlanta rap than any of his peers. His sound is partly an exaggerated outgrowth of the insistence on new styles that has always been a part of Atlanta rap, of novelty taken to a logical extreme. But it’s also a product of his early fandom of Lil Wayne, whom he credits with teaching him to love words, to love maneuvering and manipulating them. “That’s my idol,” he says of Wayne. “Everything he do.”
He’s been accused of lyrical incoherence, but doesn’t especially mind. “I love when people ask me what I’m saying,” he says, “even though I ain’t gonna tell them. I’ll let them listen 10 more years before I tell them.”
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