Last night (Sept. 9), Gunna performed in front of over 11,000 people in his first performance following his release from prison. The Atlanta rapper was released from prison last December after entering a negotiated deal, known as an Alford plea, in which he agreed he was guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge in the YSL RICO case. This was also the first time Gunna had performed any songs from his Billboard chart-topping album a Gift & a Curse.
When the shows were first announced, many fans on social media speculated how the turnout would be. In July, the Atlanta native’s first performance, dubbed “The Gift,” was scheduled for Sept. 9 at Brooklyn’s prestigious Barclays Center. Meanwhile, the second event, “The Curse,” will happen at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 28.
For the first concert, fans of the “bread & butter” emcee pulled up in droves to support the decorated recording artist. Many prominent hip hop voices had plenty to say about the highly anticipated event. Ice, a member of “The Joe Budden Podcast,” hit Twitter to say, “Y’all told me it was a wrap for gunna. I just left Barclays. Y’ALL LIED, BRUH.” Esteemed journalist and music pundit Wongo Okon exclaimed, “Gunna got a live band and no [backing] track. I would love to know every artists’ excuse.”
Many fans were pleased to see that the Young Thug collaborator featured an LED sign with “FREE JEFFERY” in bold letters while performing some of their most massive cuts, which led fans to question the status of their current relationship amidst the looming snitching allegations. One fan on Twitter posed the question, “Has anyone actually confirmed if Thug is even upset with Gunna, or did the internet just run with that?”
According to the official press release, the Grammy-nominated musician is collaborating with PLUS1. Each ticket sold will contribute a dollar to The Goodr Foundation, an organization striving to serve healthy meals to youth, families, and senior citizens grappling with food insecurity.