Young Thug performs at College Park festival as part of sentence

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. - It was a day to give back to the community — especially the youth — as rapper Jeffery Williams, better known as Young Thug, made a surprise appearance at the 9th annual Citywide Festival in College Park.

What we know:

The festival, hosted by Councilmember Roderick Gay at Phillips Park, brought the community together to celebrate local pride, connect with neighbors, and enjoy live performances and family fun.

"Listen — you have to focus on your grades. Make sure you are at school every day. Attendance and your grades, that’s what you need to focus on," Williams told the crowd.

While the Grammy-winning artist performed several of his hits, his focus was on encouraging young people to make better choices.

"Don’t do the wrong thing. That’s really the most substantial thing I’ve learned," he said. "Don’t do anything wrong because the odds are against us."

Williams, who is working to move beyond the ongoing YSL trial, also sat down for a live interview with FOX 5’s Portia Bruner and took questions from youth in the audience.

"Uh, the 20th chance — and we aren’t going to mess it up," he said with a smile.

He told FOX 5’s Larry Spruill he hopes his story will motivate others to learn from his mistakes.

"Be smarter — be wiser. Learn from people’s mistakes like mine. That’s why God put mistakes in place," Williams said.

Dig deeper:

More than 200 vendors took part in the event, which also included a tribute to the Chaka Khan Foundation and the opening of the city’s new playground.

Organizers said the day was all about community, connection, and creating a positive message for the next generation.