Atlanta rapper YFN Lucci, who pleaded guilty to a gang charge last year, was released from prison Friday, Georgia Department of Correction officials confirmed.
The musician, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, had been in custody at the Fulton County Jail since 2021 but has spent the last year in a state prison after pleading guilty to one count of violating the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act in January 2024.
“I’ve learned a lot during my time away,” Bennett said in a statement. “Now, it’s my turn to give back. I want to use my voice, my platform, and my music to inspire those who look up to me.”
He was granted parole January 24, and it expires January 13, 2031. Special conditions of his parole include that he must have no contact with co-defendants or any gang member, no participation in criminal street gang activity, and he must receive substance abuse assessments.
As part of his parole, he can’t possess weapons, leave the state without notifying a community supervision officer and he must participate in a rehabilitation plan designed by a community supervision officer.
He was sentenced to 20 years with 10 to serve in prison followed by probation. As part of the plea deal, Fulton County prosecutors agreed to pen a letter to the Georgia Department of Corrections saying they would not oppose Bennett being released as soon as he’s eligible for parole or after serving one-third of his sentence, whichever came first.
Bennett was behind the wheel of a car that was used in a gang-related shootout that left one person dead in late 2020 and was later named in a gang and racketeering indictment that charged him with multiple counts including felony murder, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors used Bennett’s alleged association with YFN, which they contend is an Atlanta-based street gang associated with the Bloods, to also prosecute Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his alleged gang “Young Slime Life”. Prosecutors argued that YFN and YSL are rival gangs that wreaked havoc in Atlanta for years in a series of shootings and homicides.
According to the YSL indictment, members of YSL including Damekion Garlington allegedly stabbed Bennett inside the Fulton County Jail in February 2022. Prosecutors also alleged Christian Eppinger and another YSL member sought permission to stab Bennett a second time at the jail.
Garlington and Eppinger are among the three remaining defendants left to try in the YSL case. Young Thug took a plea deal on Oct. 31 and was sentenced to 15 years probation.
Bennett was originally part of the state’s witness list in the YSL trial, which became the longest trial in Georgia’s history, but Bennett’s attorney Drew Findling said his client was never going to testify or cooperate with investigators in that case.
Findling said at his client’s plea hearing that he was a 32-year-old father of four with no previous criminal history. He said Bennett hopes to put these charges behind him and is already planning to get back to touring and focusing on music.
“He is overjoyed to reunite with his children, his family, and his music. He will waste no time releasing new music and getting back on stage to perform for his fans,” his attorneys said in a statement.
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