On the Friday afternoon before most public schools officially open in metro Atlanta, students at Skyview High School in College Park received a Grammy-winning treat: superstar rapper Young Thug.
The 33-year-old, who grew up in Atlanta and spent time in the juvenile justice system, visited the school as part of his sentencing terms after pleading guilty to drug, gun and gang charges in 2024. Roughly 30 Skyview students and staff gathered to hear the rapper encourage kids to follow their dreams and make good choices.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
“I feel like violence is just not the thing,” Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, told the crowd, warning them to stay out of trouble. “It’s just lame. It’s corny. I don’t want to see something happen to somebody that bad. Gangs are not the move.”
Friday’s event marked Young Thug’s first public appearance in the Atlanta area since leaving Fulton County Jail last fall and being banned from the metro area—a major development in the lengthy YSL gang trial. In October, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker sentenced him to time served and 15 years of probation.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
His school visit began with a moderated conversation with Greg Clay, Skyview’s board chair. The charter school serves about 300 at-risk students per semester, helping them obtain a high school diploma.
Clay, who also serves as the executive director for the City of Atlanta’s constituent services, said organizing Young Thug’s visit happened “fairly quickly.” Brian Steel, the rapper’s lawyer (who also attended Friday’s event), contacted the school nearly two months ago.
“We feel honored,” Clay told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the moment. “We’re working with the principal to think through positive ways to keep kids engaged. As you can imagine, once students fall behind there’s this notion that they may want to drop out. So we try to prevent students from falling completely off the cliff. We’re pumping hope into them.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
At the event, Young Thug (wearing a bedazzled Black cap, gold chains and a white tank with shorts) told students to focus on their grades and career goals. He encouraged kids to stay away from gangs.
“Black kids are already looked at a certain way,” he said.
The event concluded with a Q&A with students, who also took pictures with the rapper.
He encouraged students to go to college, listing the fact that he didn’t go as one of his biggest regrets. Young Thug also recounted the moment when his “life snapped.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
“It’s crazy to say, but I didn’t learn that until I got in trouble,” he said, referring to his recent jail stint, which lasted over two years. “It was big trouble, too, and the wrong way to go...when you’re getting away with it, you think you’re doing the right thing.”
He added: “I’m a superstar, and my words mean things. I got real power that God gave me, but you can’t do the wrong thing with your power.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Young Thug’s sentencing conditions initially included a 10-year ban from metro Atlanta, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, in December, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker said he can stay at his Atlanta home starting Oct. 31, 2027, provided he doesn’t violate his probation terms. The visits are limited to up to two weeks at a time and up to four times per year. He must notify his probation officer at least five days before visiting the home. Young Thug currently resides in Miami.
His probation also requires him to return to Atlanta four times per year for a “live anti-gang and anti-gun violence presentation” or benefit concert at a grade school, middle school, Boys & Girls Club or similar group. Friday’s visit was the first of such events.
Steel, who’s currently representing Sean “Diddy” Combs, briefly spoke during Friday’s conversation, describing Young Thug as a “hero.”
“Don’t give the police any reason to lock you up because you’re going into a machine that strains the human spirit,” he told students.
Kris Buchanan, 19, is a recent graduate of Skyview. He described Friday’s visit as “very powerful,” especially when learning about Young Thug’s career journey.
“It was super empowering to hear a successful Black man who came from where we came from, come to us to speak,” he said after the event. “We didn’t pay anything to be here.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Over the past few months, Young Thug has teased a new album, titled “UY Scuti.” The name references a red supergiant star in the Scutum constellation. The album, which will be promoted by Young Stoner Life Records/300 Entertainment, doesn’t have a release date.
In April, he dropped the Future-assisted “Money on Money”—his first single since jail release. He recently performed festival sets in Belgium, Switzerland and Chicago.
Following Friday’s visit, Young Thug told the AJC that he felt filled with gratitude.
“It just felt like something nostalgic,” he said. “I haven’t been to school in a minute. It felt good. “It felt welcoming.”
Throughout the event, the rapper was warm and inviting, encouraging students to ask more questions. He heavily cited his faith in God, expressing his desire to get some students baptized. Outside, as he left, he stayed to hear 19-year-old Skyview student Frandrekus Banks perform a rap.
“That’s hard,” Young Thug, smiling, told Banks.
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