The rapper, who pleaded guilty to a drugs charge in 2022, will reportedly have to check in with authorities regularly as part of his release
Divinity Maxwell-Butts
Fetty Wap on Jan. 8, 2025.
Fetty Wap, who pleaded guilty to a drug charge in 2022, was released Thursday from the federal prison in Minnesota where he was serving a six-year sentence. He will serve the remainder of his sentence, due to end Nov. 8, on home confinement, sources confirm to Rolling Stone.
“I want to thank my family, friends, and fans for the love, prayers, and continued support – it truly means everything to me. Right now, my focus is on giving back through my community initiatives and foundation, supporting at-risk young children by expanding access to education, early tech skills, and vision care for young kids and students so they can show up as their best selves,” Fetty, 34, said in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. “I’m committed to moving forward with purpose and making a meaningful impact where it matters most.”
The “Trap Queen” rapper, whose real name is Willie Junior Maxwell II, was seen smiling broadly in photos and video shared Thursday by his sister and manager, Divinity Maxwell-Butts. “Fetty Wap is in good spirits. He is in a focused, grounded place. His priorities are his family, fatherhood, and being an asset to his community,” his publicist, Abesi Manyando, tells Rolling Stone.
The rapper, who lost his left eye to congenital glaucoma, will be supervised by the Bureau of Prisons’ Philadelphia Residential Reentry Management Office during his community confinement, a BOP spokesman told USA Today. A rep for the DOJ, which prosecuted his case, declined to comment.
After pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine in 2022, the rap artist received a six-year prison sentence in May 2023. FBI agents arrested Maxwell at Rolling Loud New York in 2021. He was one of six people charged with conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms of substances, including heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine from New Jersey to Long Island. He was arrested again in 2022 for allegedly threatening to kill someone he called “a rat” over a FaceTime call.
Prosecutors initially sought a seven- to nine-year sentence. His defense lawyer asked for five years. “His family has seen Mr. Maxwell mature and become more self-aware in the past several months without the distractions that weighed on him previously,” his lawyer wrote in the request. “They are convinced he will do things differently upon his release.”
This article was updated on Jan. 8 at 9:58 p.m. to included a statement from Fetty Wap and his publicist, Abesi Manyando.
From Rolling Stone US.