YSL Records (also known as Young Stoner Life Records) is an American record label based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

. 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 Gunna,

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

and more. Several contemporary artists, including

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their face tattoo, facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous ...

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Carter was initially signed to local underground label Awful Records prior to signing with ASAP Mob's AWGE Label under Interscope R ...

Lil Gotit Semaja Render, 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 in Forest Park on Southside Atlanta's ...

, Nav, and Travis Scott, have expressed allegiance to YSL, but are not contractually signed.

History

2016–2019

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

had posted on his

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

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 and 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 and the c ...

, 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 and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

& 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 (also known as NBA YoungBoy or simply YoungBoy), is an American rapper. Between 2015 and 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and steadi ...

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 its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

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 Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hip h ...

, 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 Rec ...

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

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...

announced a mixtape with Gunna titled ''

Drip Harder ''Drip Harder'' is a collaborative mixtape by American rappers Lil Baby and Gunna. It was released on October 5, 2018, by YSL Records, Quality Control Music, Motown and Capitol Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from Lil Durk, ...

'', 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 places ...

. On February 22, 2019, Gunna released his debut studio album ''

Drip or Drown 2 ''Drip or Drown 2'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Gunna, released on February 22, 2019, by YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. It serves as the sequel to his 2017 EP ''Drip or Drown'' with American producer Wheezy. The album feature ...

'', 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, Nav, Young Thug, Guap Tarantino, MS ...

'', 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), professionally known as Zaytoven, is an American trap music record producer, disc jockey, and keyboardist from Atlanta, Georgia. He has released collaborative projects with artists including Gucci Ma ...

released a mixtape with Lil Keed,

, and

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles "One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...

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 (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

. 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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 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 via t ...

'' 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 f ...

'', 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 en ...

-related charges stemming from a grand jury indictment filed by

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

District Attorney

Fani Willis Fani Taifa Willis (, born October 27, 1971) is an American attorney from the state of Georgia. She is the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, which contains most of Atlanta. She is the first woman to hold the office of Fulton County dis ...

. Both Young Thug and Gunna were among the 28 associates charged and were arrested. On May 13, 2022, Lil Keed died at the age of 24. On December 14, 2022, Gunna plead guilty to a single charge of racketeering and stated that YSL was a criminal gang. 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.

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

Culture

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

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, 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.

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