Key Takeaways
- Fetty Wap called himself “selfish” for turning to drug trafficking to support his family, saying they could have found another way.
- The rapper said he makes no excuses for his choices and learned that wealth does not guarantee happiness after his family lost everything.
- He served three years of a six-year federal drug sentence before his January 2026 release and credited faith with keeping him motivated in prison.
Fetty Wap has opened up about the self-reflection journey he endured while serving time for a federal drug trafficking conspiracy.
The New Jersey rapper appeared on ABC News' Nightline earlier this week, where he recounted serving three years of a six-year sentence. Around the three-minute mark of the video below, he was asked what he believes caused his arrest.
"I was being selfish," the rapper replied. "At the time, I was like, 'I’ve gotta make sure all my family is good' and not really realizing [that] we could’ve figured it out a different way."
Fetty added that he doesn’t "make excuses" for the decisions he's made but tries to "right those mistakes." The rapper also shared that he’s learned that being wealthy doesn’t equate to being happy.
"You don’t need money," Fetty said. "For years, [I was] growing up poor. I’m like, 'We just need a little bit of money. We’ll be good. … Then we had a lot of money. We weren’t good. And then we lost it all."
He added that between losing the money and making his career comeback, his family has been the "happiest" they’ve “ever been.”
The "Trap Queen" hitmaker, who is newly engaged, was arrested in October 2021, and a year later was found guilty of a federal drug charge. He was released from prison in January 2026.
Fetty Wap has frequently spoken about his time in prison in interviews, and in June, he told Real 92.3 LA that it was his reliance on "faith" that kept him motivated.
