Hot 97’s Summer Jam festival went down this past weekend, and attendees received a surprise video message from Young Thug, who is currently in police custody.

Last month, Young Thug and 27 other people associated with Young Stoner Life (YSL) records were recently indicted and accused of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Young Thug remains behind bars and with prosecutors attempting to throw the book at “King Slime,” the rapper has garnered far-reaching support since his arrest.

Despite still being in custody, Young Thug managed to send a message to those who attended Hot 97 Summer Jam.

“Hey, how y’all doing? This is Thug,” the rapper began his audio message. “I just want to say thank you to all my friends and my family for coming out and supporting us.”

“Your support during this time means a lot to us,” he continued. “You know, this isn’t just about me or YSL. I always use my music as a form of artistic expression and now I see that Black artists and rappers don’t have that freedom.”

Speaking on Black artistic freedom, Thugger praised Kevin Liles’s change.org petition, titled “Rap Music on Trial: Protect Black Art.”

Liles, the CEO of 300 Entertainment, launched the petition last week, as Blavity previously reported. The petition is centered on garnering support for legislation that would block rappers’ lyrics from being used against them in court and the petition has gathered nearly 10,000 signatures at this point.

“Everybody please sign the ‘Protect Black Art’ petition and keep praying for us. I love you all,” Young Thug concluded his message.

Following Thug’s message, Meek Mill proceeded to chime in while on stage.

“For the people that support us, I want to say support Young Thug, support YSL, support Gunna,” he noted. “Protect Black art, because now they’re using our lyrics against us.”

While this was the first message Young Thug himself has delivered since his RICO arrest, others have provided secondhand updates in the meantime.

As Blavity previously reported, a YSL artist named Jerrika Karlae recently spoke on how Young Thug was holding up behind bars, noting that he was focusing on his faith and mental well-being.

Despite this optimistic picture, it’s also worth noting that Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, shared a grimmer message regarding how the “Relationship” rapper was doing in jail, alleging that he was being kept in “dungeon like” conditions.

300 EntertainmentBlavity-UBlavity-U-EntertainmentHot 97 Summer Jam FestivalRICO Act violationYoung Thug