Young Thug’s RICO trial has finally started. What you need to know — from YSL to lyrics
Rapper Young Thug will finally stand before an Atlanta jury on Monday, launching a long-awaited trial that will determine whether he was a key figure of criminal street gang Young Slime Life, or YSL.
The 32-year-old rap star, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, is an Atlanta native who began his hip-hop career in 2010. Known for hits “Best Friend” and “Floyd Mayweather,” Young Thug helped elevate the Atlanta rap scene as he collected Grammy nominations and MTV Video Music Awards and performed at several high-profile events, including the BET Awards and Coachella.
But Young Thug’s career came to a screeching halt in May 2022 when he was arrested on charges of participating in gang activity and violating Georgia’s criminal racketeering law as part of YSL. More than a year later, the trial for the long-gestating RICO case — which has weighed the validity of song lyrics in prosecution — is finally underway.
Here’s what you need to know to catch up on the case.
Young Thug faces several criminal charges
Since beginning his career in 2010, Young Thug has won the attention of hundreds of thousands of listeners and collaborated with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including Drake, Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott. However, Georgia officials allege that he keeps dangerous company.
In a sweeping 56-count indictment filed on May 9, 2022, Georgia officials accused the rapper of being a founding member of criminal gang Young Slime Life, or YSL. The criminal gang shares an acronym with the rapper’s Young Stoner Life label. Williams is one of 28 people — including rappers Gunna and Unfoonk — allegedly associated with YSL.
YSL was founded in 2012 in Atlanta and allegedly claims “affiliation with the national Bloods gang,” the indictment said. The group allegedly is responsible for a string of criminal activity including murders, shootings, carjackings and thefts.
In May 2022, Young Thug was arrested and charged on two counts: conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for an offense dating to January 2013, and criminal street gang activity for an offense dating to May 2018.
Young Thug was charged in a 56-count indictment that identified him and 27 other people, including rapper Gunna, as members of a criminal street gang.
Some of the rapper’s co-defendants were charged with violent crimes such as murder and attempted armed robbery, as well as participation in criminal street-gang activity.
The 88-page indictment includes a wide-ranging list of 181 acts that occurred from 2013 to 2022. Prosecutors say the acts — including social media posts and rap songs mentioning the gang — were part of the alleged racketeering conspiracy to further YSL’s interests.
The indictment also charged Young Thug with renting a 2014 Infiniti Q50 sedan that was used in the commission of the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas Jr., a member of a rival gang.
Rap star Young Thug is at the center of a case brought by Georgia prosecutors that alleges that his rap crew, YSL, is actually a violent criminal gang.
In August 2022, an updated 65-count indictment charged Young Thug with criminal street-gang activity, violation of the Georgia controlled substances act, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a machine gun and drug charges.
If Young Thug is convicted under the RICO Act, he could face a maximum 120-year sentence, the New York Times reported. Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis, who is overseeing former President Trump’s election-fraud case in Georgia, is prosecuting the high-profile RICO case.
“Mr. Williams has committed absolutely no crimes,” the rapper’s attorney Brian Steel said last year. “We cannot wait for a trial date.”
Young Thug’s co-defendants included fellow rappers
Days after Young Thug was arrested, “Drip Too Hard” rapper Gunna was booked on May 11, 2022, on a racketeering charge.
A month after his arrest, Gunna, whose given name is Sergio Kitchens, said 2022 had “been one of the best years of my life.” He also maintained his innocence.
“I am being falsely accused and will never stop fighting to clear my name,” he wrote.
The “Pushin P” rapper, 30, was released in December 2022 after entering what’s known as an Alford plea, which allows a person to plead guilty — while still maintaining innocence — if it’s believed the prosecution’s evidence likely would result in a guilty verdict at trial.
He was sentenced to five years in prison with four years suspended, according to WSB-TV Channel 2 in Atlanta. The one-year sentence was commuted to time served, with special conditions that included 500 hours of community service.
Last year, attorney Steve Sadow said Gunna’s sentence would be completed once he carried out his community service, which was to include speaking to young men and women about the “hazards and immorality” of gangs and gang violence.
Rapper Gunna, arrested last month on a racketeering charge, said in a message on social media that 2022 has been one of the best years of his life.
The indictment also listed Quantavious Grier, Young Thug’s brother, as a co-defendant. He was booked on charges of theft by receiving stolen property as well as racketeering. Grier, also known as Unfoonk, pleaded guilty in December 2022.
As part of his plea deal, Grier was put under a 10-year probation that prohibited him from contacting his co-defendants in the case (including his brother), required him to perform 750 hours of community service and obeying a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Probation also prevented him from possessing a gun.
Then in May, a police officer discovered a 9mm Glock handgun inside Grier’s Mercedes-Benz after approaching him for an alleged window-tint violation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Investigators determined the “Running Out of Patience” rapper had violated the terms of his probation.
He was arrested in May and sentenced in June to 9½ years in prison.
Young Thug and his co-defendant were caught on Fulton County court surveillance allegedly exchanging a contraband item during a hearing this week.
Several of Young Thug’s co-defendants pleaded guilty to racketeering last year and admitted that YSL is both a music collective and a criminal group. At the hearing for rapper Slimelife Shawty, who took a plea deal in December 2022, a prosecutor reportedly prompted him to acknowledge whether his co-defendants “have committed at least one of the following acts in the name of YSL: murder, aggravated assault, robbery, theft and/or illegal firearms possession.”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Slimelife Shawty, whose given name is Wunnie Lee.
Additional co-defendants who took similar plea deals include Walter Murphy, Martinez Arnold, Antonio Sledge, Trontavious Stephens and Antonio Sumlin. Earlier this month, Derontae Bebee — who rejected a plea deal in December 2022 — pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years, five years in prison and 10 years’ probation, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Young Thug’s lyrics will play a role in the prosecution
Young Thug’s gritty lyrics about gun violence and drugs helped establish his place in the Atlanta hip-hop world. But in court, they can be used as evidence.
When prosecutors filed the 88-page indictment in May 2022, they listed lyrics from nine Young Thug songs, including “Eww” and “Ski,” as acts that allegedly further the YSL conspiracy. Along the same lines, prosecutors also described several social media photos of Williams wearing red and allegedly posing with YSL gang hand signs.
On Nov. 9, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville announced he would allow prosecutors to introduce 17 sets of lyrics as evidence of Williams’ and others’ alleged criminal acts. The decision goes against the defense attorneys’ arguments that lyrics are constitutionally protected speech and would be unfairly prejudicial, according to the Associated Press.
Prosecutors allege that Young Thug’s violent boasts in song help prove his participation in criminal activity. His attorney calls the charges ‘baseless.’
“The question is not rap lyrics. The question is gang lyrics,” prosecutor Mike Carlson said in a hearing earlier this month. “These are party admissions. They happen to come in the form of lyrics.”
Prosecutor Simone Hylton said the lyrics can be categorized to prove the existence of YSL as an enterprise, describe the gang’s alleged actions and confirm that Young Thug is a founding member.
Culver City-based attorney Jovan Blacknell, who represents the family of the late South L.A. rapper Drakeo the Ruler. told The Times in May 2022 that hip-hop artists “often express dramatizations of stories and events that persist in their communities.”
Better late than never, the recording industry is backing groundbreaking legislation that could limit how music is used as evidence in criminal court.
He added: “The U.S. government knows that song lyrics are rarely a narration of actual events, yet they seek to exploit unfounded race-based stereotypes to achieve an unjust end. To use these artist expressions as a sword is a stifling form of censorship, which flies in the face of our country’s most rudimentary values.”
Jury selection for the forthcoming trial concluded on Nov. 1, nearly 10 months after the selection process began. Prosecutors reportedly said their witness list has 737 people, including lay witnesses and expert witnesses.
The Associated Press and Times staff writers August Brown, Christi Carras, Christie D’Zurilla and Jenny Jarvie contributed to this report.
Updates
11:58 a.m. Nov. 27, 2023: This story has been updated with more information about Gunna’s plea deal.
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