Young Thug: American rapper’s extortion trials open in Georgia

Rapper Young Thug’s trial began in Georgia with opening arguments beginning Monday morning.

The Atlanta rapper, born Jeffrey Lamar Williams, is accused of co-founding a violent street gang in the Atlanta area.

Prosecutors are using the critically acclaimed artist’s song lyrics as evidence of the gang’s existence.

Some are observing similarities to Georgia’s case against former President Donald Trump.

Williams, 32, has been in prison since his arrest in May 2022 on charges that include participating in criminal street gang activity and conspiring to violate a federal law aimed at combating organized crime.

Prosecutors in Fulton County argued that his music label YSL, despite producing Grammy Award-winning talent, is not a real business. Instead, they claim it is a street gang affiliated with the National Blood Gang Corporation.

In an indictment issued in May, the prosecutor’s office linked the accused YSL men to a series of crimes, including murder, armed robbery and car theft.

Prosecutors in Georgia used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) — notorious for its use in Mafia prosecutions — to charge the rapper and 27 of his associates who were allegedly involved in the criminal enterprise at various levels.

Fulton County prosecutors also cited RICO to prosecute Trump and his 18 co-defendants for allegedly trying to pressure state officials to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

A few of Williams’ co-defendants with YSL took plea deals or had their cases dismissed from trial during the 10-month jury selection process, which was finally completed in early November.

Prosecutors say they plan to call up to 400 witnesses, and that the investigation into the YSL case has been ongoing for nearly 10 years.

During that period, Young Thug — who co-wrote Donald Glover’s critically acclaimed song “This is America” ​​— was a growing force in hip-hop.

The judge supervising the trial ruled this month to allow prosecutors to use some rap lyrics as evidence that the defendants committed crimes.

The use of his song lyrics as evidence in the case raised questions about freedom of speech, artistic expression and racial bias, but prosecutors rejected those arguments.

“I have some legal advice: Don’t plead guilty to rap lyrics if you don’t want to use them — or at least get out of my county,” Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis said in a September 2022 news conference.

Famous rappers such as Killer Mike, Lil Wayne and T.I. could be among those who will testify at the trial.

The trial, which is expected to last about six months, will also be closely watched due to its similarities to Trump’s election fraud case in the state.

The indictment against Trump and other defendants in the case also uses RICO statutes to allege that the former president “conspired to unlawfully” change the outcome of the election while participating in a “criminal enterprise.”