Once upon a time in Atlanta, two rap stars met, vibed, and formed what looked like an unbreakable bond — the kind of friendship that comes with platinum records, designer fits, and tons of features. Gunna and Young Thug went from acquaintances to YSL family faster than you can say “pushing P.” Fast-forward a few years, though, and that story took a hard left into RICO charges, courtroom drama, and internet chaos that seemingly tore them apart again.
After Gunna took an Alford plea in the massive 2022 YSL RICO case that had Thug involved in Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial, fans started throwing the “snitch” word around like confetti. Things seemed to cool down last year, but the calm didn’t last.
Now, the plot has thickened yet again. YSL’s Instagram and website have ghosted Gunna entirely — no photos, no mentions, no trace. On top of that, Thug released a new interview and a track with Future that seemingly sends mixed messages about his relationship with the Atlanta rapper.
We broke down the rise and (possible) fall of the Thug-Gunna dynamic, the ongoing rumors of label drama, the internet’s relentless obsession with the “snitch” narrative, and why their relationship has everyone wondering if they are still brothers or now bitter enemies.
Gunna and YSL go way back
Gunna and Young Thug first crossed paths in 2015 thanks to their mutual homie and unofficial Atlanta mayor, Keith “King” Troup. Gunna popped up at Thugga’s video shoot for “With That” off Barter 6 — and apparently, the vibes were immaculate. The two hit it off, and by the next year, Thugga was already throwing Gunna a lifeline in the rap game, handing him a feature on the track “Floyd Mayweather” from his JEFFERY mixtape. A year later, Gunna officially joined the YSL roster, making things label official.
Everything was going great — with music, money, and iced-out chains galore — until 2022 came through like a plot twist in a Netflix crime doc. Suddenly, Thug, Gunna, and 26 of their associates got hit with a RICO indictment that included charges like armed robbery and alleged gang activity. While Thugga ended up going to trial, Gunna took an Alford plea (basically the legal version of saying “I didn’t do it, but fine, whatever”) and was released after spending eight months behind bars. Cue the snitch allegations.
Still, in June, Gunna publicly declared he was still YSL and that everything was cool. Things quieted down a bit, especially after Thugga got released in October and asked the court if he could keep working with his brother Unfoonk and, yes, Gunna too. It was a hopeful moment, like when your divorced parents smile at each other during Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe, just maybe, the dream team was back? Of course not.
In true Ye fashion, Thugga pulled a post-and-delete in November, telling Gunna: “Stop acting like we friends on the internet, I don’t know u my guy.” Gunna’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, stepped in like a bouncer at a club fight, to try and clear things up.
“Gunna did NOT cooperate, and did NOTHING and said NOTHING to cause harm to Thug’s case. He spent 8 months in jail and was released in Dec. 2022 after entering an Alford plea. Gunna’s plea could not and was not used at Thug’s trial and he was never even named as a witness … THOSE THAT HAVE AND CONTINUE TO BAD MOUTH GUNNA, GET OVER IT. NUFF’ SAID,” Sadow posted on X.
The Internet, of course, moved on to the next rap beef, viral dance, or AI-generated Drake song. Just when you thought the saga had cooled down, though, an eagle-eyed fan reignited the flames with a new post.
YSL (allegedly) wants to move on
On April 16, the fan page GUNNAFANDOM on X noticed something shady: YSL’s official Instagram had scrubbed all traces of Gunna. It’s like he got Thanos-snapped out of the label’s digital existence. Even the YSL website hit him with the delete-from-history treatment.
Here’s where it gets weird: the YSL account is still following Gunna on Instagram. So now fans are squinting at their screens like, “Wait, are they beefing, or is this just a really aggressive rebranding?”
Enter DJ Akademiks, who never misses an opportunity to narrate hip-hop like it’s a live-action soap opera. He chimed in to say that Thugga is trying to quietly remove Gunna from the YSL roster, but even if Gunna signs elsewhere, Thug and the label execs can still collect checks off his success.
“When Gunna got out – you got to remember, Thug is running this label from behind jail. Thug wanted this n***a off the f***ing label. There’s a lot of paperwork there. And also, you got to realize YSL is under 300 that’s now under Warner. They’re not going to release somebody from their contract ’cause they snitched. They’re going to say, ‘We’re going to make money off the snitch.'”
At first, neither Thugga or Gunna had responded to the recent chaos that had the Internet sharing their thoughts online — but now Thugga has dropped a new eyebrow-raising track.
“Money on Money” is getting side eyes
Young Thug just dropped a new song and a GQ interview on April 25 to shake the table and show off his faceless fit at the same time. The song, “Money on Money” featuring Future, doesn’t address Gunna directly, but the interview does.
When asked about his current relationship with Gunna, Thugga hit us with the verbal equivalent of a shrug: “I don’t know.”
However, fans, after hearing his new song, are thinking that Thugga knows exactly how he feels about his former collaborator.
Some of the lyrics fans are reading into include:
- “These f*** n***** tellin’ for nothin’, and I gotta be the one callin’ ’em friend”
- “Brother, you a rat (My brother)”
- “Twin, you a rat, you smoked…”
Fans were quick to start connecting dots online like they had red string and cork boards.
While Thugga hasn’t dropped any names, social media is convinced Gunna and Thugga won’t be hanging out anytime soon.