Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip hop and trap music.

Young Thug has established himself as a style and music icon. And regardless of your opinion of the man, you can't deny that he has never been hesitant to be himself.


But before he was considered influencial, before meeting J. Cole and Travis Scott in London for the highest charting single of his career as the lead artist, before Young Thug announced to the world that he would be running for president of the United States of America with Gunna on the ballot as his vice president.

Before he changed his name to Jeffrey, then to SEX, then back to Young Thug, and before he received endorsements from a wide range of musical artists, including André 3000, Kanye West, and even Elton John.

Before he revealed that he was taking a year off from music in memory of his deaf brother, and  dropping "Slime Language" later that year. 

Before he would have more than 8.6 million Twitter followers, over 10 million Instagram followers, and more than 9.8 million YouTube subscribers, Young Thug grew up in Atlanta, came from a big family, and developed his flow throughout his four years in a juvenile prison facility. But soon after, he found himself low on cash and expecting a child.

So how did he go from having trouble paying for food to being at the top of the charts?

An intriguing narrative of Young Thugs' early years is provided below.


On August 16, 1991, Jeffery Lamar Williams was born in Sylvan hills, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Waka Flocka Flame, 2 Chainz, and Ludacris are among of the neighborhood's other well-known former residents.


Jefferey had a very challenging upbringing as the tenth of eleven siblings growing up in Section 8 housing. Despite the fact that his mother had several baby daddies, Jeff's father, Big Jeff, was always there to look after him.

Later, he relocated to Jonesboro, Atlanta, where the situation remained unimproved. In addition, Thug's mother had heart issues and one of his elder brothers passed away in front of him, as if straining to make ends meet weren't difficult enough.

He also witnessed the murder conviction of another of his brothers. These are the circumstances that shaped Thug's upbringing and worldview. This was really taking a toll on him as Young Thug wasn't the best student and was constantly getting into fights with the other kids.

Thug ate very little actual food, which is a peculiar trait about him. Of course, this could have been a result of a shortage of funds, but it's said that he still only consumes gummy worms and Funyons on a daily basis.

Thug has always loved wearing women's clothing. However, it wasn't initially only a fashion trend. He discovered that women's narrow pants fit him better than men's because he was tall and thin.

He had to find a different way to cop the new fit since his father wouldn't buy him a pair of skinny-leg jeans. He started robbing individuals for cash and even stole $5,000 from a nail shop. But instead of spending the money on a new outfit, he lost it all playing the dice. And now that he's got millions, I hope he's paid back that nail salon!


Thug was given a 4-year sentence to juvenile imprisonment, because he fractured his teacher's arm. I'm curious as to what the Teacher did to earn that, but it had to be really nasty. Rather than Middle school,he spent the hours of 7 am to 6 pm at the correctional facility. 

It was there he spent time honing his musical skills. He would regularly work on his flow and by the time he was about to leave, he could actually rap. He continued to live recklessly after getting out, but this time, it gave birth to his first child while he was just 17 years old.

He began recording his songs in 2010, and that same year, he released the mixtape "I Came From Nothing." However, if you play the song back, you'll hear that Young thug had no autotune and sounded more like Lil Wayne than T-Pain. His flows and punchlines were also considerably clearer and audible. This wasn't a slurred rap.

Back then, Thug had the same star power that makes him exciting to watch now, and his friend Peewee Longway was able to get him a room with Gucci Mane. Gucci put on some beats while they were all hanging around, and when Thug started rapping and kept flowing, Gucci was impressed.

Gucci was amazed by Thug since he knew music and was a prolific recorder who was known for making a ton of tracks every night. But shortly after they first met, Gucci was arrested, so Thug took care of his studio. The following two mixtapes in the "I Came From Nothing" Series were released during that time, during which he claims to have recorded roughly 5,000 tracks.

When Thug claims that 5 000 songs have been recorded, it actually seems plausible. When Gucci was released, he or his cloned version, we're still not sure, signed Thug to a deal with 1017 Records. Gucci though, presents the tale in a different way. He told XXL that he signed Young Thug without having listened to any of his songs. He also included that he did sign Thug because Peewee had asked him to and really valued Peewee's perspective.


Additionally, Thug signed a contract with 300, the old label of Lyor Cohen, and started working under Birdman's management. With the release of "Stoner" and "Danny Glover" in 2013, he started to gain popularity, and he hasn't looked back since.

Together with his former ally turned adversary, Rich Homie Quan, he was a member of the charismatic Richgang group, and in 2014, their song "Lifestyle" became an enormous hit.

In 2015, he released songs like "Best Friend" as a follow-up. After releasing an album titled "Barter 6" at the same time that Lil Wayne was having label issues with the release of his album "Carter 5," he  got into a small argument with his former idol.

But despite the controversy, Thug has kept releasing consistently good music. Thug has always kept his name in the conversation, whether it be through his Slime Season series or tunes like "Pick Up The Phone" alongside Travis Scott and Quavo.

Thug has six children, so it seems likely that he will have a sizable family of his own.

Since then, Young Thug has undergone a number of branding changes, including the "my name is Jeffrey" campaign and his effort to adopt the name SEX.

When J. Cole added a verse to Thug's song "The London," it became Thug's biggest charting record as a lead artist, he continued his recent streak of providing song-dominating features.


He also appeared on one of Post Malone's most single, and given how well Posty does on the charts, I have a feeling he'll be featured on a number-one single.