NBA YoungBoy says he faced the urge to get high and made a different decision, revealing that he threw the drugs away instead of using them.
In a new Instagram Story shared from his verified account, YoungBoy wrote, “I wanted to get high last night. I just flushed the s**t down the toilet. I’m trying to see if I really can make it to 6 months.”
The post did not identify what substance he was referring to, and YoungBoy did not provide additional details about how long he had already gone without using drugs before setting the six-month sobriety goal.
What makes the admission stand out is how plainly YoungBoy described the moment. Rather than announcing that he had already reached a milestone, the rapper presented the sobriety effort as something he is still testing for himself. His wording also makes clear that the desire to get high was present, even though he says he ultimately decided to flush what he had down the toilet.
YoungBoy has spoken publicly about his relationship with drugs before. During a December 2023 conversation with Bootleg Kev, the Baton Rouge rapper addressed the perception surrounding his substance use.
“The image that I got is that I do a lot of drugs,” YoungBoy said. He also said during that interview that he had spent time in rehab and planned to focus on therapy going forward.
That same conversation showed that YoungBoy was already thinking about cutting back on some of his habits well before his latest six-month sobriety pledge. The rapper discussed what he called “rich sipping” and smoking cigarettes, while expressing frustration with how cigarettes were affecting him.
“I wanna stop smoking them so bad,” he said during the interview. The comments suggested that changing his habits was already on his mind in late 2023, even if his approach at the time was still developing.
Public concern around YoungBoy’s drug use surfaced again in early 2024. YoungBoy posted an image in February of that year showing himself near prescription pills and a drink appearing to be lean. Fans and other artists responded with messages encouraging him to take care of himself. The post came only weeks after his comments about rehab, therapy, and wanting to move away from some of the habits associated with his public image.
His history involving prescription drugs also later became part of a criminal case. According to the Associated Press, YoungBoy, whose legal name is Kentrell Gaulden, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to his role in a prescription drug fraud operation connected to his Utah home. AP reported that the Utah matter resulted in a $25,000 fine and no additional state prison sentence.
The prescription case was resolved alongside broader legal proceedings involving YoungBoy. Pitchfork reported in December 2024 that he received a 23-month federal prison sentence in a separate gun case as part of an agreement that also addressed the prescription fraud charges. The outlet reported that YoungBoy had spent more than two years on house arrest in Utah before being taken into custody during the 2024 investigation.
His current goal is also happening under different legal circumstances. Donald Trump pardoned YoungBoy in May 2025 after the rapper had already been released from federal prison and completed home confinement. AP reported that the pardon removed his remaining federal probation requirements, including mandatory drug testing.
That distinction gives the new post additional weight. This time, he says he personally had access to drugs, wanted to get high, and made the decision to get rid of them. Whether he reaches the full six-month milestone remains to be seen, but his decision to openly document the struggle offers a different look at a subject that has followed him through several stages of his career.
