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14 Oct 2022

Cardi B Left Speechless By GloRilla’s Birthday Gifts: ‘Now You My Woman’

Cardi B and GloRilla have developed quite the friendship since the Bronx rap star shouted her out, and now they’re exchanging gifts.

On Friday (October 14), Cardi shared a video on Instagram of her and GloRilla having a studio session when the Memphis native surprised her new bestie with some new jewelry for her 30th birthday — including a Patek Phillipe watch.

“So I’m in the studio with GloRilla and she… I don’t even got no words to say,” Cardi said, appearing as if she were about to shed a tear. “She gave me some Van Cleef earrings … but she also gave me a fucking Patek, bro!”

“Like, what the fuck?! Nobody ever does something so beautiful like that but my man,” she continued, before joking: “Now you my woman. If that’s my man, you my woman. Fuck that.”

Cardi added in her Instagram caption: “Y’all look what @glorillapimp just gave me !!!!! I love her for fuvkin ever …I wanna cry but imma Gangsta!!!!”

The gifts come after Cardi and GloRilla joined forces for their first collaboration, “Tomorrow 2,” last month. The song was a remix to Glo’s original track and came with an accompanying video that found the duo running wild all over New York City.

The pair’s appreciation for one another started when Cardi mentioned GloRilla during an interview with Angie Martinez in July, during which she crowned Glo’s breakout hit “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” the song of the summer.

The CMG signee caught wind of Cardi’s praise and said she was grateful for the co-sign, while also sharing a “crazy” Instagram DM exchange she had with the Invasion of Privacy star.

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“As soon I get off the plane, she hearted something because I used to always DM her all the time, I would blow her up,” she recalled on On The Radar Radio.. “I don’t know what it was I sent her, but I know she hearted it, and I text her after she hearted it. She text me back, then she sent me the little voice message. I was like, ‘Ahhh Cardi!’”

Cardi B took her appreciation to the next level in September when she quoted lyrics from GloRilla’s original “Tomorrow” on Instagram after celebrating the outcome of her 2018 strip club assault case.

14 Oct 2022

Live Nation Urban Acquires Equity Stake in Broccoli City Festival

Live Nation Urban has acquired a significant equity stake in the Washington, D.C.-based Broccoli City Festival, company officials announced Friday (Oct. 14).

Broccoli City has grown every spring since the launch of its first event in 2010; Live Nation Urban notably acquired the stake from festival co-founders and entrepreneurs Marcus Allen and Brandon McEachern. 

As part of the acquisition, Live Nation Urban welcomes Allen and McEachern in executive roles. They will work alongside Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee and his team to scale the Broccoli City brand and “catalyze the creation of new content and culture-centric live experiences and festivals,” according to a press release announcing the deal.

The Broccoli City Festival, described as “a black-owned social enterprise rooted in impact and entertainment that focuses on people and progress,” has notably featured icons such as Lil Wayne, Cardi B, Childish Gambino and the late Nipsey Hussle as well as rising superstars Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Summer Walker, Wizkid and City Girls. Based in D.C., the festival “staunchly supports environmental consciousness in the African-American community and fosters creativity through innovative initiatives at the intersection of technology, music, art, and social impact,” the release continues. “Over the last decade, it has inspired and mobilized 20 million-plus young people through events and online platforms.”

The acquisition highlights a cycle of black entrepreneurship. Beyond the festival, Gee and Live Nation Urban have focused on championing Allen and McEachern and their vision in the long run.

“For us as a company, this investment was an important one,” said Gee, noting that when Live Nation Urban formed in 2018, one of its first deals was a co-promotion agreement with Broccoli City. “I promised the guys that the success of our partnership would lead to greater things, and it was important to me to keep my word. We are not simply investing in a festival; we are investing in these amazing founders. We believe this will be the first of many brands that we will build together with Marcus and Brandon as they have an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit.”

The Broccoli City crew is “super excited about this partnership with LNU/LN, and working closer with Shawn Gee. I really appreciate him encouraging us to be big thinking entrepreneurs and brand builders… not limiting us to event producers,” added McEachern. 

To position Broccoli City for further growth, “we are going to focus on curating untapped niche markets, bigger partnerships, and international expansion,” Allen added. “Our big picture goal is to create a 100-million-dollar community at the apex of live entertainment, social impact, and digital media.”

14 Oct 2022

Cam’ron, Ma$e & Jadakiss Join Forces On New Song ‘G.L.H.’: Listen

Cam’ron, Ma$e and Jadakiss have joined forces on a new song titled “G.L.H.” — check it out below.

The track was unleashed on Friday (October 14) and finds the New York rap trio getting their bars off over booming production. Killa steps to the plate first with a verse flexing on his competition.

“Still moving reckless / I’ll snatch you out of your Lexus / I’m moving blocks like it’s Tetris / A hundred thousand by breakfast / Praying the Lord protects us / God bless us / We make a profit, the cops they wanna stop it / The D.A., he trying to knock it / He passing the judge the documents,” Cam raps.

Kiss follows with an equally fiery verse, rapping: “Yeah, don’t let these n-ggas get the best of you / I need every penny so I’m bagging up the residue / Tell ’em ‘No’ and they gonna get quiet and think less of you / But I was rolling loud way before there was a festival / Don’t overreact, that’s them broke n-ggas testing you / They don’t even ask how many with us, they just let us through.”

Ma$e closes things out with a verse that opens with: “Now you know you TED Talking with a guru / I stay sticking dolls like I’m voodoo / Fresh off a jet, Honolulu with your boo boo / Talk spicy, let them soup you / I know out half of your noodle, n-gga.”

“G.L.H.” comes just days after Cam’ron, Ma$e and Jadakiss’ recently announced 3 Headed Monster tour was canceled. The veteran trio were set to play six shows in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida and other states later this month.

An explanation for the cancelation has yet to be given, but Ma$e seemingly pointed the finger at Diddy earlier this week amid his latest back-and-forth with his former label boss.

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“It’s Time To Show People What Fearless Looks Like,” he wrote on Instagram while reacting to the axed shows. “‘No Matter What Happens, I’m Not Stopping Nothing That I’m Doing!’ So Y’all Can Cancel All of The Dates I will not apologize for what’s right! EITHER WAY I WILL BE PERFORMING SOMEWHERE!!!”

He added: “Also, to my #1 hater BTS make sure you pull up since your trying to stop everything I do BTS. We know what’s going on… but it’s not gonna work. Just setting me up for a bigger break! – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.”

“G.L.H.” follows Cam’ron’s long-awaited joint album with A-Trak, U Wasn’t There, which arrived in September. The nine-track project boasted guest appearances from Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Styles P, Conway The Machine and Dame Dash.

14 Oct 2022

Beyonce Addresses Fashion Designer Who Claims He Wasn’t Paid for Work on ‘Renaissance’ Album Art

Beyoncé and her team have thoroughly shut down allegations that Nusi Quero wasn’t paid for his work on styling the singer in her Renaissance album artwork.

After the designer claimed in now-deleted Instagram posts that Bey’s team — specifically her stylist Marni Senofonte — had never compensated him for his contributions to the “Break My Soul” vocalist’s high-fashion album photo shoots, an official statement denying all of Quero’s “troubling” allegations was shared Thursday (Oct. 13) with Entertainment Tonight.

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“It is deeply troubling that designer Nusi Quero has posted damaging statements about Marni Senofonte regarding non-payments for work completed,” said Beyoncé’s rep in the statement. “In fact, he was paid for his work, and there is proof of all payments made.”

The statement continued to divulge specific details about the alleged timeline of payments made by the 28-time Grammy winner’s camp to Quero.

“We have been in communication with his team and there were three payments made to him,” it reads. “The first payment was made on May 9, 2022. The second payment, a fifty percent down payment on the agreed cost, was made via wire on July 8, 2022. The third and final payment was returned when he changed his account number. It was returned as an invalid account number based on an error on his part.”

“After persistent and exhausting communication to get the correct information on his account and two unsuccessful wire transfer attempts, a physical check was mailed to him for final payment on September 29, 2022,” the statement concluded, according to ET.

Billboard has reached out to Beyoncé’s reps for comment.

Quero’s accusatory claims are just the latest to arise regarding Beyoncé’s Renaissance album cycle. Pop duo Right Said Fred alleged earlier this month that Bey had neglected to approach them for permission to sample their 1992 hit “I’m Too Sexy” in a track called “Alien Superstar” on her July-released record.

“Normally the artist approaches us but Beyoncé didn’t because she’s such an arrogant person,” brothers-turned-bandmates Richard and Fred Fairbrass told U.K. tabloid The Sun at the time.

“Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album,” Beyoncé responded to the allegations in a statement to Billboard, noting that the brothers had been given a co-writing credit on “Alien Superstar.” “For their song, there was no sound recording use, only the composition was utilized. Permission was asked of their publisher on May 11, 2022, and the publisher approved the use on June 15, 2022. They were paid for the usage in August 2022.”

Before that, Kelis alleged something similar. In July, she called out Bey and The Neptunes for interpolating her 2003 hit “Milkshake” into Renaissance track “Energy,” writing on Twitter at the time that her mind was “blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding.”

Beyoncé responded by removing the interpolation altogether from “Energy” as it appeared on Tidal and Apple Music.

14 Oct 2022

How Burna Boy’s ‘Last Last’ Conquered Hip-Hop Radio

Over the past several years, Burna Boy has grown into a legitimate international star, with each of his last three albums achieving higher and higher slots on the Billboard 200 and his 2021 album, Twice As Tall, winning a Grammy for best global music album. And as his music has grown in popularity in the U.S., he’s been able to reach new milestones like selling out Madison Square Garden, which he did earlier this year. But one aspect of stardom had until recently eluded him: U.S. radio airplay.

That has changed over the past few weeks, as his single “Last Last” from his latest album Love, Damini has begun climbing the Billboard radio charts. And this week, it has finally crowned one of them, having reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, a testament to the work put in by his label Atlantic Records. And it helps earn Atlantic’s executive vp of black music promotion Kevin Holiday the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.

Here, Holiday explains the strategy that brought a song that was originally released in May to the top of the airplay charts in October. “Radio is a long game, and it takes time for records to organically connect with an audience,” he says.

This week, Burna Boy’s “Last Last” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?

The key decision was to ask urban radio to collectively move in one direction at the same time. Another crucial decision was making sure we highlighted all the latest and greatest information on Burna Boy the week prior to achieving the No. 1. These decisions put us in position to attain our goal.

The song has not just reached the top of that chart, but it’s also climbing the all-format Radio Songs chart, reaching a new peak of No. 24 this week. How are you expanding its airplay audience?

The regions with the highest populations aid the growth in audience airplay. With that said, we are expanding Burna’s airplay audience by targeting the major markets, in hopes they play the record more.

The song has been out for five months now, since first being released in May. Why is it climbing and peaking at radio now?

It takes some time to get folks on the same page and increase airplay. Radio is a long game, and it takes time for records to organically connect with an audience.

Last year, Wizkid‘s “Essence” broke through on U.S. radio, opening up a lane for music by African artists that hadn’t really existed before. How has that changed what’s possible for Burna at radio?

Wizkid helped reshape the sound of traditional U.S. radio from just playing American hip-hop and R&B records. Burna Boy’s music has a grassroots structure of R&B mixed with a “feel good” vibe, which doesn’t completely break the boundaries of the music played within the formats. Ultimately, the possibilities are endless for Burna Boy.

Recently, we’ve seen songs make inroads at pop radio with a pop artist remix. Is that something you guys are exploring? What could that do for a song like “Last Last”?

Although “Last Last” is perfect as is, a pop remix can give a different twist and widen the audience. As of now, I believe there are no plans for such a remix… But never say never!

How can success at radio like this help boost Burna Boy’s career moving forward?

As U.S. radio continues to create global superstars, the sky is the limit for Burna Boy and his future endeavors. We are just getting started!

14 Oct 2022

Big Sean & Jhené Aiko Announce Sex Of Their Baby At L.A. Show

Los Angeles, CA – Big Sean and Jhené Aiko have announced the sex of their new baby.

The Souled Out singer was first spotted sporting a baby bump in Beverley Hills, California back in July, and Sean don soon confirmed that the pair were expecting in an excited Instagram post.

“Whole new motivation foreal!” Sean wrote at the time. “Very grateful God continues to bless us, Thank You. Can’t wait to be a Dad.”

During a show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night (October 13), Big Sean shared some more details on his unborn child while sharing the stage with his expectant girlfriend.

“L.A., make some noise… make some noise for our baby boy!” Sean told the crowd while the couple performed their 2017 track “Moments.”

The news comes after Big Sean opened up about his partner suffering a miscarriage on his 2020 song “Deep Reverence.” “Should be a billionaire based on the time off I’m not takin’ / Probably why this shit with me get crazy and we lost a baby,” he rapped.

Speaking to Sway in the Morning, Sean confirmed he was referring to Jhené Aiko.

The parents-to-be are also hard at work on new TWENTY88 music. During Thursday’s concert, Big Sean teased a sequel to their 2016 collaborative album by telling the crowd: “Make some noise if you ready for that TWENTY88.”

The former G.O.O.D. Music MC previously confirmed a new TWENTY88 album is in the works in February. “I’m here working on [a] new album and new TWENTY88, me and Jhené,” he said during an Instagram Live with Queen Naija. “Shit, we’ve been working on it for a little bit… It’s coming along good, though.”

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The last time fans heard new TWENTY88 music was on Big Sean’s 2020 album album Detroit 2 on the track “Time In.” In an interview with Ebro In The Morning, Sean described working with his longtime partner as one of the easiest things to do.

“Collabing with [Jhené] is like one of the easiest things ever, you know?” he said. “When we both are in a mood, you know? ‘Cause when you in a relationship too, sometimes you can be irritated with each other.”

14 Oct 2022

First Out: New Music From Girl in Red, Tove Lo, Doechii & More

As we head into the weekend, why not start it off right with a few songs from your favorite queer artists? Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of First Out, our weekly roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.

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From Girl in Red’s continuation of an old classic to Tove Lo’s masterful new single, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:

Girl in Red, “October Passed Me By”

Despite already having a song about the month of October in her repertoire, Girl in Red is ready to revisit the autumnal season with her latest single. “October Passed Me By,” at its core, feels like a follow-up to her breakout song “We Fell In Love In October,” reflecting on the relationship that inspired the latter with a wistfulness unbecoming of her age. The bare-bones production gives way to the singer’s high-quality lyricism, as she looks back on a love that she thought would define her.

Tove Lo, “Grapefruit”

With her highly-anticipated new album Dirt Femme due out in a week, Tove Lo is making sure her fans are as ready as possible with “Grapefruit.” The new synth-driven, infectious pop track sounds like an in-line offering from an artist making a dance-pop comeback. It’s writing marks something much deeper; Lo gets incredibly real as she sings honestly about bulimia, as she painfully counts out the reasons she despises being stuck in the abusive cycle of living with an eating disorder.

Doechii, “Stressed”

For her last few releases, alternative hip-hop star Doechii has been making sure to let fans know exactly how much of a boss she really is. On “Stressed,” though, the singer takes a step back to address a moment of insecurity. Letting her words flow effortlessly out, Doechii spits on maintaining a public image of composure and confidence, while internally battling doubt and distress. It’s a tender moment backed up by the kind of R&B production that will have you immediately vibing right along with with her.

MUNA, Live at Electric Lady

Not everyone is going to get the chance to see MUNA while they embark on the rest of their U.S. tour. So, the band is making sure everyone gets a taste of their live sound. With their new Live at Electric Lady EP, the group takes five songs — three from their latest self-title album, one from their sophomore effort Saves the World, and even a cover of a fan-loved Taylor Swift track — and interprets them live in studio. It sounds even better than you would expect, proving yet again the trio’s penchant for performance.

Hope Tala, “Stayed at the Party”

Neo-soul star Hope Tala has been singing a lot about parties lately, and it makes sense why; parties act as microcosms of human interaction, making them rife for storytelling. Enter “Stayed at the Party,” Tala’s latest track that takes a left turn at the concept and examines why she’s at the party in the first place. Set as a quiet, internal dialogue between her and a romantic interest, “Stayed at the Party” forces Tala and her audience to come to terms with the things that they’re avoiding, rather than dancing the night away.

Betty Who, BIG!

For Australian pop act Betty Who, revelation is the name of the game. On her latest album, aptly titled BIG!, Who takes massive swings only to see them regularly pay off. Whether it’s on her anthem of self-acceptance (“Big”), a sweeping ode to moving on (“Someone Else”), or a heartbroken ballad of losing friends over time (“Grown Ups Grow Apart”), BIG! never feels unwieldy — it’s always squarely in the singer’s corner.

14 Oct 2022

Drake & The Weeknd Snub Grammys For Another Year Running

Drake and The Weeknd have once again denied the Grammys the chance to give them any awards.

As voting for the 2023 Grammy Awards commenced on Friday (October 14), the Toronto pair’s respective albums — Honestly, Nevermind and Dawn FM — were notably absent from the ballots.

Hit singles like “Sticky” and “Sacrifice” were also missing, although Drake and The Weekend’s feature work appeared numerous times across the ballots.

Drizzy and Abel’s boycott of the Grammys comes as no surprise considering their vocal disapproval of the awards in recent years. Drake has often voiced his frustrations with the Recording Academy, most notably in 2017 when he skipped the show entirely, despite “Hotline Bling” winning two awards that year.

“Even though Hotline Bling is not a rap song, the only category they can manage to fit me in is a rap category,” he said in an interview with DJ Semtex at the time. “Maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m Black, I can’t figure out why. I won two awards but I don’t even want them, because it just feels weird for some reason.”

Drake received nominations for “Way 2 Sexy” and Certified Lover Boy at the 2022 Grammy Awards, but later pulled them from consideration.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=HHBq5b7cnvk

The Weeknd, meanwhile, publicly scolded the Grammys in 2021 after his juggernaut album After Hours was snubbed.

“Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he said at the time. The Recording Academy went on to tweak some of its rules in response, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to convince The Weeknd to submit his work.

Despite his protests, the XO crooner still won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance thanks to his appearance on Kanye West’s “Hurricane.”

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Additionally, Bruno Mars announced in a statement earlier this week that he and Anderson .Paak won’t be submitting their collaborative album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, for Grammys consideration either.

“We truly put our all on this record, but Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly and most importantly, sexually, bow out of submitting our album this year,” Mars wrote. “We hope we can celebrate with everyone on a great year of music and partake in the party. Thank you for letting Silk Sonic thrive.”

Released in November 2021, An Evening With Silk Sonic was expected to receive multiple nominations at the 2023 Grammy Awards, including in the coveted Album of the Year category.

The project’s lead single, “Leave the Door Open,” swept every category it was nominated in at this year’s ceremony in April, where it won Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

14 Oct 2022

Megan Thee Stallion Teases a ‘Hot Girl’ ‘Saturday Night Live’: Watch

Move over, hot girl summer — here comes hot girl SNL. Just two days away from making her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live, Megan Thee Stallion recorded a reel of hilarious teasers with cast member Heidi Gardner, who promises that this Saturday (Oct. 15) will entail “a real hot girl SNL.”

In the Thursday (Oct. 14) teaser video, the rapper tries introducing herself as this weekend’s host and musical performer several times to get the perfect take — but Gardner makes it a little difficult. “What’s up y’all. It’s Megan Thee Stallion, aka the Hot Girl Coach, and I will be the musical guest and host this week on SNL,” Meg says.

“It’s going to be an awesome show, all we have to do is write it,” Gardner adds.

An astonished Meg asks, “We got people working on that, right?”

In another take, Gardner jokingly tries to steal Meg’s thunder. “I’m Heidi THEE Gardner, and I’ll be there as well,” the comedian says, making the “Plan B” rapper frown.

“Don’t do that,” Meg tells her.

Finally, the two ladies come together. “Let me tell you, it’s going to be a real ‘Hot Girl’ SNL!” Gardner declares.

“OK, Heidi!” a grinning Meg replies, before sticking out her tongue to do her signature “Ah!”

“Woah, how do you do that?” Gardner asks, trying — and failing — to do it herself. But because she’s the Hot Girl Coach, Meg is encouraging anyway. “Yeah!” she tells Gardner.

The Grammy winner’s teasers with Gardner follow a previous trailer she filmed with another SNL cast member, Sarah Sherman. In the Wednesday (Oct. 12) skit, Meg hilariously breaks the news to Sherman, who’s obliviously spent the entire work day without any clothes on, that her “whole WAP is out.”

This Saturday will mark the “Sweetest Pie” artist’s first time hosting SNL, though she made her musical guest debut back in 2020 when she performed her hits “Savage” and “Don’t Stop.” This time around, she’ll most likely play tracks from her August-released sophomore album Traumazine, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

Watch Megan Thee Stallion and Heidi Gardner tease this week’s Saturday Night Live episode above.

14 Oct 2022

Gunna’s Lawyers Call Foul On Witness Tampering Text: ‘Misled the Court’

A day after an Atlanta judge refused to release Gunna from jail, his lawyers made a striking accusation against prosecutors on Friday – claiming an alleged smoking gun text message cited by government lawyers actually had “nothing to do with witness intimidation” and had been used to mislead the court.

At a hearing on Thursday, prosecutors told Judge Ural Glanville that they were in possession of a message in which a co-defendant offered to “whack someone” on Gunna’s behalf. A short while later, the judge denied the rapper bond for a third time, meaning he’ll remain in jail until his January trial.

But in Friday’s filing, Gunna’s lawyers said they’d finally gotten their hands on the message in question – and that it was from June 2020 and “has nothing to do with witness intimidation or obstruction.”

According to the new filing, the actual message reads: “Tell gunna happy c day it’s all love [100 and heart emojis] I’ll still a whack some Bout him.”

“For the state to [argue] that this text is an offer to commit murder (or to threaten or injure a witness in a case that was still two years in the future) aptly illustrates the problem of a hearing by ambush and proffer,” wrote attorney Steve Sadow and Gunna’s other lawyers.

“Respectfully, at each of the bond hearings before the Court, the State has relied on proffers of evidence— never disclosed to Kitchens prior to a hearing — and none of the proffers has panned out,” Sadow wrote.

A spokesman at the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Both Gunna (real name Sergio Kitchens) and Young Thug (Jeffery Williams) were indicted in May, along with dozens of others, on accusations that their group YSL was not really a record label called “Young Stoner Life,” but a violent Atlanta street gang called “Young Slime Life.” The charges included allegations of murder, carjacking, armed robbery, drug dealing and illegal firearm possession over the past decade.

The two stars, who strongly deny the charges, have both repeatedly sought to be released on bond ahead of their trials, which are currently scheduled for January. But both have been refused, largely because prosecutors have warned that they might threaten witnesses or otherwise obstruct the case.

Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Gunna’s lawyers said those warnings had largely been premised on unreliable “proffers” from the government, none of which had later proved to be based on hard proof. They said there was not “a shred of evidence” to support keeping him locked up before he has been proven guilty.

But at the hearing, prosecutor Adriane Love repeatedly cited the supposed “whack” statement by the co-defendant, arguing that it suggested people were willing to murder witnesses for Gunna. She said she was uncertain about whether the message in question had yet been uploaded into court records, but said it would be available by the end of the day if not. Minutes later, Judge Glanville denied bond.

On Friday morning, having seen the text in question, Gunna’s lawyers argued that Love “misstated” the evidence and had thus “misled” Judge Glanville. They put particular emphasis on the date, since it allegedly suggested witness tampering the current criminal case: “The text in question, dated June 14, 2020 — almost two years before the indictment was returned in this case — has nothing to do with witness intimidation or obstruction.”

The new filing did not outright ask the judge to reverse his own decision, but asked Judge Glanville to officially note the actual date and content of the text message, rather than rely on the description offered by prosecutors.

The case against YSL is built around Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a state law based on the more famous federal RICO statute that’s been used to target the mafia, drug cartels and other forms of organized crime. Such laws make it easier for prosecutors to sweep up many members of an alleged criminal conspiracy based on many smaller acts that aren’t directly related.

Beyond indicting two of rap’s biggest stars, the case also made waves because it cited their lyrics as supposed evidence of their crimes — a controversial practice that critics say unfairly sways juries and injects racial bias into the courtroom. California recently banned the tactic in that state, but Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has strongly defended using it against Young Thug and Gunna.

Barring delays — a very real possibility — trials are currently scheduled for early January.