ATLANTA — Rapper Young Thug is a free man after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges.

About 2 and a half years after he was arrested on charges of a extensive gang and racketeering chargeYoung Thug was released from custody Thursday night. It was a remarkable development in a process that has been long and plagued by problems.

Jury Selection at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta started in January 2023 and it lasted almost 10 months. Since then, prosecutors had called dozens of witnesses opening statements last November in the trial of six defendants.

Here are some things to know about the application:

Atlanta-based artist, whose name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, Young Thug is known for his eccentric style, rapping, and high-pitched, high-pitched vocals. He rose to prominence with hits including “Stoner” and “Best Friend” and co-wrote the hit “This is America” ​​with Childish Gambino, which became the first hip-hop song wins song of the year Grammys in 2019.

Young Thug has collaborated with other top artists including Drake, Chris Brown, TI and Travis Scott. Elton John called working with Young Thug an “amazing moment” after recording “Always Love You” with Nicki Minaj and Gunna.

He broke with the hyper-masculine norms of the hip-hop scene, wearing a dress on the cover of his 2016 mixtape “Jeffery” and saying there is no such thing as gender as part of a Calvin Klein campaign.

Young Thug, 33, grew up in a suburban Atlanta housing project that was plagued by crime and violence.

He was initially indicted and arrested on May 9, 2022, and more charges were added in a later indictment in August. The second indictment charged Young Thug and 27 others with conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The rapper has also been accused of participating in criminal street gang activity, as well as drug and weapons charges.

Prosecutors alleged that Young Thug and two others co-founded a violent criminal street gang in 2012 called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which they say is associated with the national Bloods gang. The indictment says Young Thug “made YSL a household name by referencing him in his songs and on social media.”

Prosecutors painted him as a gang leader known as King Slime, someone who sets fires and directs others to engage in criminal activity.

Prosecutors had been negotiating with Young Thug’s lawyers to try to reach a deal that would end his participation in the long-running trial. But those efforts stalled when the two sides disagreed on terms.

Speaking to reporters after the sentencing, Young Thug’s attorney Brian Steel declined to discuss the negotiations. But he said prosecutors were pushing for “outrageous” terms: “They would let him out of custody, but they would have a bond around him so tight it’s inadmissible.”

Instead, the rapper went ahead with a potentially risky, non-bargained or “blind” plea, meaning he entered the pleas without having an agreement with prosecutors.

He pleaded guilty to one gang charge, three drug charges and two gun charges. He also entered a no contest plea to another gang charge and a racketeering conspiracy charge, meaning he decided not to contest those charges but could be punished as if he had pleaded guilty.

No, as long as he abides by the terms of his sentence.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker gave him a total sentence of 40 years. The first five years were to be served in prison, but that was commuted to time served. Then he has 15 years of probation. Finally, a 20-year “loaded” prison sentence will be commuted to time served if he meets all probation conditions. If he does not successfully complete his probation, he will have to serve the 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors wanted Young Thug to be sentenced to 45 years, with 25 years in prison and the remaining 20 years on probation. The charges against him carry a possible maximum sentence of 120 years in prison, said prosecutor Adriane Love.

Steel asked the judge for a sentence of 45 years, with five suspended for time served and 40 years of probation.

He apologized to his family, his managers, his court assistants and “really everyone who had anything to do with this situation” for the time the case took him.

“I hope you’ll let me go home today and trust me to do the right thing,” he told the judge, promising he would never be in that situation again.

“I learned from my mistakes, you know. I come from nothing and I did something and didn’t take full advantage of it. I’m sorry,” he said.