Fans of Young Thug will have the opportunity to see the rapper on stage soon, but they’ll have to leave the country to do it.
Young Thug, who grew up in Atlanta as Jeffery Lamar Williams II, will headline the Belgian electro-rock festival Les Ardentes on July 5. It will be his first show since being released from jail. The festival’s lineup was announced earlier this week.
“History,” the festival wrote in an Instagram announcement. “Young Thug is back to headline Les Ardentes!
Young Thug last performed at the festival in 2017. Last October, the rapper left Fulton County Jail after a judge sentenced him to time served and 15 years probation in the lengthy “Young Slime Life” gang trial. The Grammy winner pleaded guilty to drug, gun and gang charges.
Although news of his overseas show may surprise fans back home, it’s clearer when considering his tight probation terms.
The 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. In January, Young Thug was permitted to travel through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The 33-year-old can visit metro Atlanta for immediate family members’ weddings, funerals, graduations or medical emergencies, but he must enter only 24 hours before such events and leave within 48 hours.
His sentence also requires him to return to Atlanta four times per year for a “live anti-gang and anti-gun violence presentation” at a grade school, middle school, Boys & Girls Club or similar group and can include a benefit concert.
Young Thug hasn’t released any new music this year, but he was featured on the Lil Baby track “Dumb, Dumb and Dumber.” The song, which also includes Future, is a standout on Lil Baby’s January album “WHAM” (an acronym for “who hard as me”). Young Thug’s last album was 2023′s “Business is Business,” which he released from jail. Earlier this month, his Atlanta lawyer Brian Steel got a shoutout on Drake’s joint album with PartyNextDoor.
Fellow Atlanta rapper Ken Carson will also headline the four-day Les Ardentes festival. Tickets are available at lesardentes.be/pages/tickets.
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