Kevin Liles, the co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment, has released a statement following the news that Atlanta rapper Young Thug will be released from prison on Thursday (October 31) following a guilty plea.

Liles, who co-founded 300 Entertainment in 2012 and signed Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) to the label in 2014, issued his statement late Thursday following the conclusion of Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial.

“Words cannot express the incredible happiness and relief I feel upon hearing of Jeffery’s freedom,” Liles said. “There will come a time to discuss the criminalization of hip-hop lyrics and the use of band denial as a weapon against defendants, but right now everyone should feel nothing but joy that this great artist and even better man can hug his children. parents, siblings and other loved ones tonight.

“We must always remember that artists are not fictional characters,” he concluded. “They are people first and foremost. God bless Jeffery and his family.”

The 33-year-old felon has been in custody for the past two years, following his arrest in May 2022 along with 27 others from his YSL Records label as part of a 56-count indictment for violating Georgia’s Law on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The trial, which began in November 2023, was built around claims that YSL had committed murders, carjackings, drug trafficking and many other crimes.

After days of closed-door negotiations with Fulton County prosecutors, Thug refused to take a plea deal that would have resulted in his immediate release, ultimately opting for a non-negotiated guilty plea. Late Thursday, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker sentenced Thug to 15 years of probation with no time served.

Before his sentencing, Thug noted the power and influence he has in his community, telling the court he “takes full responsibility for my crimes and for my charges.”

“I know what I bring to the table and I know what I am,” he added. “I know the heights I have reached and I know the impact I have on people in the community.”