"Basically Thug still hates him" — DJ Akademiks reacts to YSL record label page reportedly unfollowing Gunna

As per an X post by @AkademiksTV dated April 21, 2025, DJ Akademiks recently commented on Gunna reportedly being unfollowed by Young Thug's YSL record label. The post is a video from one of Akademiks' recent livestreams wherein he said:

"Basically Thug still hates him...When Gunna was coming home, the whole thing was that Thug hates him."

Akademiks claimed that whatever he was sharing was about the board meetings and behind-the-scenes at Thug's YSL.

He claimed that Young Thug had been discontent with Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, since he took the Alford Plea, even before YSL's RICO trial began.

At one point, DJ Akademiks said:

"It ain't up to us on why he hate him. Now, 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. "

He continued:

"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.'"

The internet personality shared that Thug had sent some of the rappers a proposal to collaborate on his album.

He mentioned that there exists a song featuring Young Thug, Da Baby, and Lil Durk that was never released.

Moreover, Akademiks mentioned that despite reportedly removing Gunna from YSL Records' social media, it was possible that Young Thug would still get a cut if the P power rapper drops new music under another label.

The internet personality alleged that when Sergio got out of prison in the YSL Rico case, he started acting like he was "cool with Thug". However, Young Thug told most Atlanta rappers that he had nothing to do with Sergio.

DJ Akademiks also put forth a theory, stating that when Gunna would approach the YSL record label to drop his track, Young Thug would try to release his song on the same day.

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Did Gunna plead guilty in the YSL Rico trial involving Young Thug, among others? Details explored

For the unversed, Gunna was one of Young Thug's associates accused in the YSL Rico trial, claiming that the group Young Slime Life (YSL) was a criminal gang operating as a record label.

However, Sergio pleaded guilty to a single charge against him in December 2022, marking the end of his involvement in the case with a punishment of five years in prison.

However, the rapper was released because he was credited with one year of time served, while the rest of his sentence was suspended.

The rapper's lawyer mentioned in a statement that his client had taken the Alford plea, wherein a defendant can formally admit guilt while maintaining their innocence to end their personal ordeal.

As per Billboard's report dated December 2022, dismissing rumors of snitching on Young Thug to save himself, Gunna mentioned in a statement:

“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way.”

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The charges against associates of the YSL group involved allegations of armed robbery, murder, illegal firearm possession, and drug dealing.

However, Thug was released from prison in October 2024 after pleading guilty to drug and gun-related charges.

On the other hand, in his statement concerning his plea deal, Sergio had mentioned that when he joined YSL in 2016, he didn't consider it a gang, but rather as a group of people from Atlanta with common interests.