It came easy. I never lost it. Nothing. I never lost it. I listened to music in jail and I listened to music sometimes in court and things like that, so I never lost it. I was still up to par on what was going on for the most part.
– Thug, on if making music feels the same as it felt before he was arrested[1]
On April 25, 2025, Thug appeared in a cover story interview with GQ during which he went into depth about the time he spent incarcerated, the content of the album, its name, and several other topics. In the interview, Thug revealed that since his release from jail in October 2024, he has primarily worked on his album while also revealing that his girlfriend, Mariah the Scientist, is featured on a "raw and confessional" track on the album.[1] When Thug was asked about the creation process of making music, he stated that he never lost his process despite being incarcerated for over a year. Thug was also asked about his creativity in the music industry and where it came from, to which he responded: "I don’t know. A lot of my ideas just come from UY Scuti—just come from fucking space".[1] Thug also revealed that he named the album UY Scuti because he feels as though he's one of the biggest stars in the industry:[1]
I just feel big, you know. The name of my album UY Scuti. I feel like I'm one of the biggest stars. I did a lot. Foundating this culture. The new rap game that's happening right now. I'm out of this world. Not like God, though.
Background
On October 31, 2024, Young Thug was released from Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia after accepting a non-negotiated plea deal for his charges within the YSL Records racketeering trial, which he had been incarcerated under since May 9, 2022. As part of the agreement, all other charges were dropped in exchange for Thug pleading no contest to one count each of conspiracy to violate the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act and of leading a criminal street gang, while also pleading guilty to three counts of violating the Controlled Substances Act and one count each of participation in criminal street activity, possession of a machine gun, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.[2][3][4] In return, Thug was sentenced to 40 years, but was granted immediate release from custody with the sentence being structured as 5 years commuted to time served, 15 years of probation, and a backloaded sentence of 20 years in prison conditional on violating probation.[5]
On November 3, 2024, Young Thug made his first public comments since being released from jail, with him expressing his gratitude for the plea deal.[6] On November 10, 2024, media personality DJ Akademiks posted a picture that he received of Young Thug in a recording studio with fellow American rappers Travis Scott, Lil Baby, and Future.[7] On January 19, 2025, American record producer Metro Boomin announced that he was currently working on Thug's next project through a story on Instagram.[8]
Release and promotion
Thug held up a jersey with the name "UY Scuti" at a Miami Heat vs. Golden State Warriors basketball game on March 25 and followed an account on Instagram that features the name.[9] Future tweeted the name the following day, seemingly confirming his involvement in the album.[10] British-American rapper 21 Savage would be confirmed to make an appearance on the album on April 10 through an Instagram story.[11] Fans then spotted a billboard in the California desert the following day on the way to the Coachella 2025 festival, which read "UNIVERSE HAS BEEN TOO QUIET. UNTIL NOW. UY SCUTI" with the month of May being written in the lower right corner.[12] On April 16, Thug officially announced the release of the album after sharing a link to pre-order it.[13]
The album's lead single, "Money on Money" featuring close collaborator Future, was released on April 25, 2025, and was accompanied by a high-quality music video.[14][15][16] On the same day, Thug appeared in an interview with GQ and appeared on the cover of their magazine.[1] Fans would later notice Mariah the Scientist commented "I can't wait until May 9 please change the date mr. UY scuti" under an Instagram post promoting the interview, seemingly confirming the release date.[17] The release date was later pushed back to June.[18]
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