As his buzz continues to build, Young Thug's label situation has been a frequent topic of conversation among rap fans. Is he signed to Gucci Mane? Is he part of Future's Freebandz? What's his association with Young Money?
Some clarity has been provided by an extensive piece on Buzzfeed.
"He'd signed a contract...that he couldn't get out of," the story explains. "According to multiple sources, he felt ripped off and went rogue, seeking out new advisers, while those at the label that now owned a percentage of his income scratched their heads and waited."
It's a lot to sift through, with plenty of moving parts, but we've got what you need to know.
It starts before Thug was popping on a large scale thanks to his singles "Stoner" and "Danny Glover" — making fans of everyone from Drake to Kanye West along the way — when the Atlanta rapper was working closely with Gucci Mane. Though the terms are unknown, Thug signed a production deal with Gucci and began releasing music, including February 2013's 1017 Thug mixtape.
However, once, Gucci Mane was sent to jail in September, Thug began looking for a new deal; he thought his previous agreement was void, according to the story. This led to the 22-year-old's signing with Artist Partners Group, an Atlantic Records imprint, not long after Gucci was locked up.
This created a partnership between Gucci and APG that neither actually knew existed — since Thug didn't disclose, and maybe even didn't know, that he was still in business with Gucci. Until last year, Gucci ...
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