YSL Records (officially Young Stoner Life Records, allegedly Young Slime Life Records) is an American record label based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. It was founded in 2016 by the Atlanta-based rapper

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

. The company is a label imprint of

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

.Its artists include

Lil Keed Raqhid Jevon Render (March 16, 1998 – May 13, 2022), known professionally as Lil Keed, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He was signed to Young Thug's record label YSL Records, as well as 300 Entertainment. His song " Nam ...

, Yung Kayo, Yak Gotti, T-Shyne, BSlime, 1300Saint, Nine Vicious and more. Several contemporary artists, including

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

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Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commer ...

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995, or 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern Hip hop music, hip hop a ...

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes ''Harder than Hard'' and ''Too Hard'' — the for ...

Lil Gotit Semaja Zair Render (born August 6, 1999), known professionally as Lil Gotit, is an American rapper and singer. Early life Semaja Zair Render was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest of seven children. Render was initially raised on Southeas ...

, NAV,

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

, and Slimelife Shawty have expressed allegiance to YSL, but are not contractually signed. The label was embroiled in a major criminal trial from 2022–2024, with Young Thug, Gunna, and other YSL members arrested and charged with racketeering and various gang-related crimes in violation of Georgia's RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act. Authorities alleged that YSL Records is a street

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

. In 2024, label head Young Thug was released on probation.

History

2016–2019

The label was announced on November 15, 2016, through a video

had posted on his

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...

showcasing his new office. The video also includes a speech by

co-founder,

Kevin Liles Kevin Liles (born February 27, 1968) is an American record executive who is the co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment. In 2020, Kevin was recognized by Billboard Magazine as R&B/Hip-Hop Executive of the Year for both his efforts in activism ...

, praising the new label. In 2017, the label announced its first signee, fellow Atlanta native Gunna who was also being courted by Thug's mentor and former label

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

& 1017 Brick Squad Records. During a string of mixtape releases that year, the label would announce further signees to the label with

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From Louisiana, United States, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional foll ...

signing a 5-album joint venture deal with YSL and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

after opting against signing with Birdman's

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman (rapper), Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans– ...

, Lil Duke would also join the label alongside Thug's sisters Dolly and HiDoraah. On August 15, 2018, Thug announced a mixtape featuring the label's signees, except YoungBoy, titled ''

Slime Language ''Slime Language'' is the debut collaborative compilation album by American record label YSL Records and American rapper Young Thug, who is the leader of the label. It was released on August 17, 2018, for streaming and digital download by YSL Re ...

'', which he released on his 27th birthday on August 16. On September 12,

announced a mixtape with Gunna titled '' Drip Harder'', which was released on October 5 with Baby's label

Quality Control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach plac ...

. On February 22, 2019, Gunna released his debut studio album '' Drip or Drown 2'', follow the album's single "One Call", which was accompanied by a music video. On June 14, Lil Keed released his debut studio album ''

Long Live Mexico ''Long Live Mexico'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil Keed. It was released on June 14, 2019, by YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Lil Duke, Gunna (rapper), Gunna, Nav (rapper), Nav, You ...

'', which was supported by three singles "Oh My God", "Proud Of Me", and "Pull Up".

2020–present

On February 28, 2020,

Zaytoven Xavier Lamar Dotson (born January 12, 1980), known professionally as Zaytoven, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Mane, Usher, Future, Young Dolph, Mig ...

released a mixtape with Lil Keed,

, and

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

titled ''A-Team''. In March, Gunna announced his second album '' Wunna''. Its lead single ''Skybox'' was released on March 6, alongside a music video. On March 16, Gunna stated on Twitter that ''Wunna'' is an acronym for: "Wealthy Unapologetic N***a Naturally Authentic". On April 3, Young Thug and Gunna released the single "Quarantine Clean", produced by

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

. The following day, Gunna explained the album had experienced release issues due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The Gunna and Young Thug collaboration was their first released song together since "Diamonds", which was released in December 2019. On August 7, 2020, Lil Keed released his second studio album '' Trapped on Cleveland 3'' through YSL Records. On December 18, 2020, YSL Records released "Take It to Trial", by Young Thug, Gunna and featuring Yak Gotti, the first single off the ''

Slime Language 2 ''Slime Language 2'' is the second compilation album by American record label Young Stoner Life. It was released in conjunction with the label’s founder, Young Thug, and one of the label’s artists, Gunna. The compilation was released throug ...

'' compilation, which followed on April 16, 2021. On January 7, 2022, Gunna released his third studio album ''

DS4Ever ''DS4Ever'' (stylized in all caps and alternatively titled ''Drip Season 4Ever'') is the third studio album by American rapper Gunna. It was released on January 7, 2022, by YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. The album features guest appearances ...

'', which served as the fourth and final installment in his ''Drip Season'' series. On May 9, 2022, members of YSL were arrested and charged with

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was ...

-related charges stemming from a grand jury indictment filed by Fulton County District Attorney

Fani Willis Fani Taifa Willis (; , ; born October 27, 1971) is an American attorney. She is the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, which contains most of Atlanta, serving since 2021. She is the first woman to hold the office in Fulton County. Wi ...

. Both Young Thug and Gunna were among the 28 associates charged and were arrested. On May 13, 2022, YSL artist Lil Keed died at the age of 24.

Legal issues

From November 27, 2023 until December 3rd, 2024, a racketeering trial involved Young Thug and several associates of YSL. Prosecutors alleged that YSL, which they alleged stands for "Young Slime Life", functioned as a criminal

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

, with label boss Young Thug as the leader of the gang. The trial was the longest criminal trial in the state of Georgia. On December 14, 2022, Gunna pleaded guilty to a single charge of racketeering and testified that YSL was a criminal gang, as part of an

Alford plea In United States law, an Alford plea, also called a Kennedy plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea, and the Alford doctrine, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act a ...

. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with one year commuted to time served, and the remainder of the sentence suspended on probation, including 500 hours of community service. On December 17, rappers Slimelife Shawty and Lil Duke also pleaded guilty. On October 31, 2024, Young Thug was released from jail after he accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 40 years: 5 years in prison, 15 years of probation, and a backload of 20 years in prison if probation is violated. Young Thug's 5 years in prison has been commuted to time served. Young Thug's release and probation stipulations include: being banned from the

Metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

area for 10 years, unable to make gang-related music, and performance of four annual anti-gang presentations/concerts for Atlanta, alongside having no contact with known gang members or co-defendants (other than Gunna and his biological brother, both of whom were among his co-defendants).

Culture

Many popular rap artists own YSL chains, usually given to them by Young Thug.

, and

all have YSL chains. The official YSL Records Instagram page created a large stir after announcing a project titled ''

'', which ended up being a compilation album by YSL Records. A phrase commonly mentioned in songs by YSL affiliates is "SLATT" (Slime Love All The Time). The acronym was created by YSL Records founder Young Thug, and was first used back in 2013. CEO, Young Thug, also launched the "SPIDER" clothing brand on December 27, 2019, which has been co-signed by YSL affiliates. Many artists on the record label grew up near Cleveland Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia like Lil Keed, Young Thug, and Cheat Code.

Notable artists

Current

Former

Discography

Compilation albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted and certified songs

Artist releases

Studio albums

Extended plays

Compilation albums

Mixtapes

Notes

References

External links

{{Authority control 2016 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) American companies established in 2016 American hip-hop record labels Companies based in Atlanta Record labels based in Georgia (U.S. state) Record labels established in 2016 Warner Music labels