Young Thug Wants to Help Fight Poverty in Atlanta

Young Thug wants to help fight poverty in Atlanta. In a new interview with Paper Magazine, the Atlanta artist remembers growing up poor and discusses his giving ways during the holiday season.

The JEFFERY rapper says he was one of 11 kids coming up, and, as a result, he turned to crime to help support his family. "[The fight against poverty] is important and means a lot to me, because it is a part of my background," Thugger says. "Where I'm from is real poverty. My mama had 11 kids, and when you have that many kids, you're going to experience hard times. We all got it though - my friends and I were robbers. We were bad ass kids that took everything we wanted."

Young Thug explains that he doesn't want his children to go through similar hardships, saying, "I never want my kids to feel like they don't have anything. I had my first child at 14/15, so you can only imagine [what it was like in the beginning]... When you're poor you do anything to survive. You rob and take..."

He continues, "Now I can give my kids anything they want... The holidays are when families make the most memories. It's the one time of year when the family comes together to celebrate something. Our families celebrate Christmas and food is always the center of Christmas Day. But when you don't have food, the day just seems off.You're not just going to sit and look at each other - you want to be able to eat and laugh [in the company] of your loved ones."

As aforementioned, Thugger also talks about how he loves giving back to his community. "I think people only care about what affects them. It's selfish, but I think it's the truth," he says. "If they are not affected by being poor, they don't typically fight for it. I remember not having anything, so I want to always stay involved. Whenever I go back to my side of town - Cleveland Ave - I know I have to bring money, because there'll be friends or cousins or people I knew from 6th grade who are going to ask me for money. My fiancée always says I look like Santa Claus, because I'm just giving everyone something."

In other Thug-related news, the "Memo" rapper recently warned Sean Kingston to stay out of the beef between Quavo and Soulja Boy.

11 Moments Rappers Were Good to Their Fans