Atlanta Rapper Gunna released after pleading guilty to RICO charge – WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta (wsbtv.com)
In his statement Wednesday, Gunna said that when he joined YSL in 2016, he didn’t consider it a gang, but “more like a group of people from metro Atlanta who had common interests and artistic aspirations,” Gunna wrote. “My focus of YSL was entertainment -- rap artists who wrote and performed music that exaggerated and ‘glorified’ urban life in the Black community.”
Gunna said he cherishes his association with YSL music and always will.
During Gunna’s court appearance Wednesday, the judge read out the stipulations of the plea agreement that Gunna then responded to.
The rapper swore that he has personal knowledge that members or associates of YSL have committed crimes in furtherance of the gang -- but seemed to distance himself from “YSL the gang” vs. “YSL the label.”
“I recognize, accept and deeply regret that my talent and music indirectly furthered YSL the gang to the detriment of my community,” Gunna acknowledged on the signed statement. “YSL as a gang must end.”
Gunna also attested in the plea deal that he was in a car with Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams, when officers pulled them over and found hydrocodone, methamphetamine and a firearm inside. According to the plea agreement, Gunn claimed the gun and drugs weren’t his. It’s unclear if anyone else was in the car at the time.
Per the plea agreement, the rapper will have to perform 500 hours of community service, a substantial portion of which will require him to speak to young people about the hazards and immorality of gangs and gang violence.
He is also not allowed to carry a gun during the term of his sentence. If he violates the terms of the plea agreement, the district attorney has the right to revoke his suspended sentence.
Alleged YSL co-founder Walter Murphy also negotiated a plea deal in the indictment on Tuesday, according to his lawyer, Jacoby Hudson.
Hudson said Murphy has already been released and that he will not testify about the conduct of any other individual defendants. Hudson said the ways the Murphy has changed his life after he got out of prison was a major factor in the deal.
Young Thug remains in jail.