Young Thug, who is currently awaiting trial, will drop his album Business Is Business on Thursday. The project — whose cover art features the rapper inside a courtroom alongside some of his co-defendants — was announced on his social media, tagging producer Metro Boomin, who executive produced the LP.
“BUSINESS IS BUSINESS TONIGHT. @metroboomin let’s go,” the caption read.
Metro Boomin shared the LP’s cover art on his social media with the hashtag #FreeTwin and also shared a selfie where he’s seen wearing a shirt with Young Thug’s face and the words “Free Jeffrey Williams,” using the rapper’s real name. “I love you bro,” he wrote.
The project marks a full-length followup to his 2021 album Punk, and his first project since he was incarcerated on RICO chargers alongside Gunna and 26 others in a gang-related indictment.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleges that Thug is the leader of Young Slime Life, which she claims is a criminal street gang. Williams, who has denied all allegations, has been incarcerated since May 2022, when Fulton County Police arrested him at his Atlanta home.
He’s filed for bond on four separate occasions, with his last attempt on April 26, but he’s been denied three times because of presiding judge Ural Glanville’s belief that he’s a danger to the community. (Gunna was let out of prison in December after pleading to a racketeering conspiracy charge.)
The release of Business Is Business also comes several weeks after the rapper’s brother Unfoonk was sentenced to nine years in prison for violating his probation. He pleaded guilty to violating the RICO Act by receiving stolen property in connection to the YSL Case involving Thug.
“The issue I find aggravating in this particular circumstance are several. You got arrested with a gun within six months of you being placed on probation,” Judge Glanville said. “All you had to do was complete your probation and do what you were supposed to do. Instead, you were out riding around with a gun in your car.”
Young Thug last dropped his LP Punk in 2021, and ranked twelfth on Rolling Stone‘s 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2021 list. “Navigating his childhood traumas, complicated relations with law enforcement, and his responsibilities as a wealthy community figure, Thug shows skill in the tender without sacrificing the fun of his oeuvre,” read a review of the record, which featured songs with Drake, Juice Wrld, Mac Miller, and Post Malone.
Earlier this year, Philmon Lee dropped “Bady Don’t Cry” and Yeah released “My Wrist,” both which featured verses from Young Thug.