November 29, (THEWILL) – American rapper, Jeffery Lamar Williams, professionally known as Young Thug, is facing trial after being accused of leading a violent street gang in Georgia.
Prosecutors allege that the Grammy winner serves as the leader of a criminal gang known as YSL (Youth Slime Life). Relying on the rapper’s own lyrics as evidence in the case, they claim that his lyrics provide insight into his alleged role as a gang leader.
Young Thug is charged with violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering and gang laws, among other offences.
The rapper, along with over two dozen other individuals, including fellow American rapper, Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, widely known as Gunna, faced indictment in 2022. Five of them are set to undergo trial alongside Thug, with the proceedings expected to span several months.
The trial’s opening day on Monday 27th of November witnessed frequent objections, delays, and even a mistrial request, prompting Judge Ural Glanville to express dissatisfaction. Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney, Adriane Love, began the proceedings by metaphorically portraying the YSL crew as a “pack” and Young Thug as a “wolf,” using Rudyard Kipling’s “The Law of the Jungle” in her opening statement.
Love informed the jury that the rapper allegedly supervised numerous crimes, creating a figurative “crater” in Fulton County that affected the lives of its youth. Despite interruptions, Love asserted that Thugs’ lyrics held a significant connection to real-life events.
Key lyrics from Thug’s track ‘Take It To Trial’ were presented, emphasising phrases like “I done beat it twice” and “Take it to trial, get an appeal.” Prosecutors also cited lyrics from his 2018 song, ‘Anybody,’ where the rapper claimed involvement with a body.
The trial is expected to feature testimony from prominent figures in the music industry and could last anywhere from several months to a year.
Thug was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in May 2022, with additional charges added in August of the same year. The second indictment implicates him and 27 others in conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The rapper faces accusations of participating in criminal street gang activity, drug offences, and gun charges.
The prosecution’s extensive list of 191 alleged acts between 2013 and 2022 aims to establish the conspiracy to further the gang’s interests. Among these acts is an allegation that Young Thug threatened to shoot a security guard in July 2015 at an Atlanta-area mall.
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