FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — During an emotional courtroom address, Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, expressed regret for his past actions after entering a guilty plea to some charges on Thursday.
In part, Williams explained to the judge that he's reached a new level of personal growth over the past two and a half years and desires to influence his community positively.
The speech marked the end of his involvement in a RICO case connected to the alleged YSL street gang—a case that became Georgia's longest-running trial.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker's sentence for Williams included time served and probation under several conditions, including a decade-long ban from the Atlanta area. Williams pleaded guilty to six out of eight charges, sidestepping trial but leaving his remorse and hope for change evident in his words to the court.
Below is Williams’ full speech, where he apologized to his family, supporters, and the court.
Young Thug's Full Courtroom Speech
(This speech was edited slightly for readability; to watch the full speech, click here or scroll to the bottom of this article)
Whitaker: "All right, Mr. Williams, is there anything that you want to say?"
Young Thug: "Yes, ma'am. I take full responsibility for my crimes or charges. I want to say sorry to my family, my mom. My mom has 11 kids—I can't say all the names—my managers, my kids that's not here.
Really, everybody who has something to do with this situation.
I want to say sorry for just like having so much time investing into this, you know, and I am a smart guy. I am a good guy.
I got a good heart, you know. I find myself in a lot of stuff because, because I was just nice or cool, you know. And I understand that you can't be that way when you reach a certain height because it could end bad. And they don't really have to have nothing to do with you, but it can end bad, and it could, you know, fall on you.
And I know the choice is yours. It is up to you, and I hope that you allow me to go home today and trust in me to do the right thing and never see you again. Unless it's at a bar in the future or something, just out of this type of situation. I promise you, I'm never going to be in this type of situation again.
I'm going away. I've learned from my mistakes, you know. I came from nothing, and I've made something, and I didn't take full advantage of it. I'm sorry.
Through these last two and a half years of my life, you are really truly, honestly are the best thing that has happened to me because you may made everything fair for me and everybody involved on both sides, you know.
I'm sorry to the sheriff, you know, everybody for just having to put the extra time. And I know y'all got to pay more money, but I'm sorry for y'all having to put this extra time in to be away from y'all family, you know, and I just hope that you find it in your heart to allow me to go home and be with my family and just do better as a person.
I know what I bring to the table. I know what I am. I know the heights I've reached. I know the impact I got on people here in the community, you know, all people.
I learned that late, like past these past two or three years of my life, I kind of learned that late and maybe it was because I was, you know, probably on drugs or anything.
I don't know.
But I have came to my senses, and I understand what I mean to this world, but I am a good guy, you know. I don't mind doing stuff like, you know, free shows, and I always did that, you know. I did free shows and gave it to single parents, millions of dollars. You know, I made $1.8 million on a, on a free show and I gave it all to single parent charity.
And I did like two or three shows that made like $700,000 apiece, and I gave it to the breast cancer organization. Like, you know, I do things. I put millions of dollars back into my community for real. I really did.
I did more than anybody ever did from my side, you know. But I understand, you know, rap lyrics, I understand how it could be twisted. I understand what it could do to the mind of people. I understand all that, and I promise you, I'm 100% changing that.
You know, it's just, I'm older, I'm grown now, you know, and it's just like I'm smarte. It's more things to rap about. Like I've experienced a lot of good things. I experienced more bad things, but I experienced a lot of good things, too.
And anyway, I can go for ever."
YSL RICO Trial | Timeline
11Alive has tracked key developments in the case and highlighted moments in the courtroom. Follow along in the timeline below.