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The highly anticipated trial of rapper Young Thug is taking place in an Atlanta, Georgia courtroom after a nearly year-long delay.
Back in May 2022, Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, was arrested along with 27 other defendants and charged in a massive RICO indictment.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is using the same law to prosecute Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state, accused the suspects of being part of a criminal street gang called YSL.
According to prosecutors, the gang is responsible for a number of violent crimes, including murders, shootings, car thefts and extortion.
Young Thug has denied the allegations and insisted that YSL is simply Young Thug’s record label – Young Slime Life.
After several defendants reached plea deals or had their cases dismissed, the Grammy Award-winning rapper and five others are finally going to trial.
The process got off to a rocky start. A late juror delayed the trial by an hour and a half. The prosecution faced three objections from the defense, all of which were granted, and the defense requested a mistrial, but the request was denied.
Important points
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Young Thug aka Jeffery Williams is portrayed by the state as the head of YSL.
“Defendant Jeffery Williams’ words and actions betrayed his involvement in the conspiracy,” Ms. Love said.
He rented a car even though he owned a car that other YSL members “known to have used to gun down Donovan Thomas,” the prosecutor added.
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 08:00
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YSL is Young Thug’s own record label – Young Slime Life. The artists on his record label are considered part of the “Slime Family” and a compilation album, “Slime Language 2”, rose to number one on the US charts in April 2021.
Its artists include Gunna and Lil Keed, but several contemporary artists, including Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby and Travis Scott, have also expressed their loyalty to YSL without being signed to a contract.
However, according to prosecutors, YSL is actually a “criminal street gang” that originated in the Cleveland Avenue area of Atlanta and claims to be affiliated with the national Bloods gang.
According to a massive 88-page indictment, YSL members use “various identifying characteristics, including colors, clothing, tattoos and hand signals” to show their loyalty to the group.
The most commonly used colors by YSL members are red for Bloods and green for Slime.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, insist that YSL is just a music label.
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 06:00
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Where does Young Thug fit in?
The indictment portrays Young Thug as the leader of the criminal gang that was responsible for several violent crimes, including murders, shootings and carjackings.
Prosecutors say the rapper also used his music and social media posts to promote the gang.
He is also accused of having committed several crimes for which he is not charged.
Although he is not charged with such “overt acts,” they lend credence to the claim that the group of defendants were jointly involved in a criminal conspiracy.
Brian Steel, Young Thug’s lawyer, told the New York Times: “Mr. Williams came from an incredibly terrible upbringing, and throughout his life he has behaved in ways that are nothing short of astonishing.” He has committed no crimes .”
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 05:00
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How did the music industry react to the process?
Several big names in the music industry have expressed their support for YSL and spoken out against prosecutors’ attempts to use their own lyrics against them.
Canadian superstar Drake referenced the case in the track “Sticky” on his new album “Honestly, Nevermind.”
“Someone get paid and free Big Slime from the cage,” Drake says in the song.
Killer Mike of the rap group Run The Jewels previously told ABC News, “Hip hop is not respected as an art because black people are not recognized as full human beings in this country.”
“If we allow the courts to prosecute these men based on the characters they create and the stories they tell in rhyme, then they will be next at your door.”
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 04:00
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Prosecutors point to patterns
According to prosecutor Love, YSL uses certain symbols and other characteristics to identify itself. These included:
- Replace the letter “C” with the letter “B,” like “Bleveland” vs. Cleveland or “Bhris” vs. Chris
- Use of specific emojis: Green heart, green snake, blowing nose and green vomit
- with certain hand signals
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 03:00
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ICYMI: What happened at the Young Thug trial?
Today was a rocky start to the highly anticipated trial of rapper Young Thug, aka Jeffery Williams, and 28 other defendants allegedly involved in the YSL crime gang; The defense argues that YSL is merely a record label.
The trial was immediately delayed for an hour and a half as the court waited for a late juror.
The prosecution then began its opening arguments, which were met with numerous objections and some disagreement over whether the prosecution provided the defense with the slides it showed to the jury.
The jury then had to leave and returned briefly before being released for a lunch break.
After the court returned from lunch, the judge accused lawyers on both sides of “wasting two hours.”
Hours after she began, prosecutor Adriane Love continued her opening statement, focusing on outlining YSL’s operations and portraying Mr. Williams as the ringleader. She has also already incorporated some of the defendant’s song lyrics – their recording was already a heated topic in the run-up to the trial.
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 02:00
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WATCH: Prosecutor addressed the discovery of certain song lyrics, a pressure point leading up to the trial
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 01:00
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Was the case controversial?
The use of lyrics from rappers associated with YSL and Young Thug has been an ongoing point of contention in the case.
Earlier this month, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Justice Ural Glanville ruled that he would allow prosecutors to introduce 17 song lyrics if they can prove the lyrics are related to crimes accused of the rapper and other defendants .
Defense attorneys had asked the judge to exclude them, arguing that the song lyrics were constitutionally protected expressions of opinion that were unfairly harmful.
“The question is not about rap lyrics. “It’s about gang texts,” prosecutor Mike Carlson said during a pre-trial hearing. “These are party tickets. They happen to appear in the form of texts.”
Mr. Carlson had argued that the First Amendment’s speech protections did not apply because the defendants would not be prosecuted for their lyrics. Instead, he said, the text refers to the crime or criminal intent involved in the charges.
Another prosecutor, Simone Hylton, also divided the texts into three categories: those that prove YSL’s existence as a company, those that show the gang’s behavior and actions, and those that show that Young Thug is a leader the gang is.
Kelly Rissman28. November 2023 00:00
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Born Jeffrey Lamar Williams in 1991, Young Thug is an Atlanta-born rapper. He also goes by the name Slime.
After beginning his career at the age of 19, he signed with the Gucci Mane record label and went on to become one of the most influential artists in the contemporary hip-hop and trap music scene.
His first two albums, 2019’s So Much Fun and 2021’s Punk, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, as did his 2021 collaborative compilation album with Gunna, Slime Language 2.
Young Thug has also been involved in several collaborations that have brought him several number one hits.
These include guest appearances on Camila Cabello’s “Havana” in 2018, Travis Scott and MIA’s “Franchise” in 2020, and Drake and Future’s “Way 2 Sexy” in 2021, all of which topped the Billboard Hot 100.
He also co-wrote the hit “This Is America” with Childish Gambino, whose real name is Donald Glover, which became the first hip-hop track to be named Song of the Year at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
(Invision 2021)
Kelly Rissman27. November 2023 11:00 p.m
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What was said about Donovan Thomas?
The case centers on Donovan Thomas, whom the indictment describes as an “partner in a rival gang.” He was killed in a drive-by shooting on January 10, 2015.
Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis described Thomas’ killing as sparking a gang war that “spawned violence the likes of which Atlanta has never seen.”
The prosecutor accused Jeffery Williams aka Young Thug of renting a car despite owning a car that other YSL members “known to have used to shoot Donovan Thomas.”
The defense argued that there were “no eyewitnesses” to Thomas’ murder and insinuated that Spencer Wright, alias, “made up” the murder, pointing out that in conversations with investigators, Mr. Wright initially gave a false name – Nicholas Robinson – used.
Then, relying on Mr. Wright’s word, investigators obtained arrest warrants for his client, Shannon Stillwell, and others, he said.
Kelly Rissman27. November 2023 10:00 p.m