ATLANTA — Atlanta rapper and community leader Young Dro is marking five years of sobriety with a community celebration Monday at the Trap Music Museum centered on reflection, healing, resilience and inspiring others facing addiction.
The celebration includes a barbecue and community gathering as he reflects on the recovery journey that began on May 11, 2020.
“It’s a celebration of life,” Young Dro said. “This could’ve marked the date that I died.”
For Young Dro, the anniversary carries deep emotional significance as he reflects on the moment he entered treatment and the turning point that followed.
“On the anniversary, emotions come up of when I first left to go to rehab,” he said. “I have the day that I left and the day they let me out of detox when I was clean. It’s always important, the day that I got on the flight. That was an important day for me.”
Young Dro said May 11 marks the beginning of his sobriety journey, with Monday’s celebration serving as a reflection of that turning point and an opportunity to encourage others who may be struggling.
While speaking openly about addiction and recovery was not always easy, he said he eventually realized his platform gave him a responsibility to share his story publicly.
“I could have done this under the radar if I wasn’t a celebrity,” he said. “But since I am a celebrity and God brought me through it and my life is public, I think that it was my duty to make my recovery public.”
“I’ve always said that I don’t want to die with this information that I gained in recovery,” he continued. “All my jewels that goes along with me mentoring and being able to share with children.”
Young Dro said recovery forced him to confront more than addiction alone, describing a deeper process of personal accountability and change.
“I didn’t just need rehabilitation to get out of drugs,” he said. “I needed rehabilitation as far as manners, women, being selfish. I was very self-centered. It’s a lot of things outside of the drug addiction itself that revealed itself once I got clean.”
A key moment in his recovery involved surviving multiple overdoses, including one that required emergency response from both family and first responders.
“My settings was street and music,” he said. “I overdosed in the street in the trap. I also overdosed in the professional setting around my peers in the music industry and around my nephew. Domani did what he could do, he administered CPR until the firefighters arrived. It takes a village just like my nonprofit. Domani kept me until they kept me.”
He said he later made a point to personally thank Atlanta firefighters who responded.
“I went to thank the firefighters because I didn’t want them to go without knowing they really saved my life. Some people don’t make that window,” he said.
Young Dro also credited longtime friend and mentor Dr. Ciara with helping him rebuild both his personal life and career.
“She was like, ‘I cannot reveal these things without revealing you. I can’t help with kids and getting your kids back and with your music and taxes if you’re going to remain broken,’” he recalled.
“Everything that you see in me right now, Dr. Ciara is responsible for helping with that.”
Beyond music, Young Dro is also active in community outreach through his organization Still Takes a Village, which operates in multiple schools and focuses on mentorship and support for young people.
He also reflected on fatherhood and breaking generational cycles.
“My son won’t get to see that person,” he said. “He was a baby when I was transitioning. Right now he’s 10. Now I’m an example for him and my daughter.”
Despite ongoing challenges, he said the journey has been worth it.
“Everything ain’t happening perfect for me,” he said. “It’s always still a fight, but it’s worth it.”
Now five years sober, Young Dro said the celebration is ultimately about survival, gratitude and hope.
“I lived,” he said. “I am on a whole other journey. I am not who I used to be, I am not my mistakes and if I can do it, people can do it too.”