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Big Boi wrote an extensive tribute to the late Rico Wade of the Dungeon Family, sharing it with fans on social media.
As the Hip-Hop world is still reeling from the sudden death of southern rap trailblazer Rico Wade, one-third of the Organized Noize production crew and Dungeon Family founder, Big Boi opened up about the loss of his dear friend and collaborator. In a post shared on Instagram on Monday (April 15), the veteran MC and one-half of OutKast displayed a collection of photos and videos from the breadth of their 30-year friendship.
“This is a different type of hurt …. Slick Ricky Wade .. I know you’re with us STILL … in a bigger role now… Big Angel Energy… the Highest of Vibrations … Praise Yah,” Big Boi wrote in the caption of the post, ending off with hashtags honoring Wade and the Dungeon Family. The video clip in the post was taken from The Art of Noize documentary chronicling the Atlanta, Georgia production team of Wade, Sleepy Brown, and Ray Murray which had previously been streaming on Netflix.
“Rico Wade is one-third of Organized Noize and he’s like the mouthpiece for that collective of producers. He was connected to LaFace Records through Pebbles ’cause he went to school with Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins from TLC. She connected him with Pebbles and through them, Pebbles introduced Rico to LA Reid,” Big Boi says before adding: “He was like the gateway to get to LA, as well as the producers who produced Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. They signed OutKast. Organized Noize were responsible for us signing to LaFace Records. So without Rico Wade, Sleepy Brown, and Ray Murray, there would [be no OutKast].”
The death of the 52-year-old Wade last Saturday (April 13) took everyone by surprise. Many others expressed their grief in posts shared on social media. Grammy Award-winning artist CeeLo Green offered up a heartfelt and lengthy tribute to Wade in his Instagram post. “I speak on behalf of all my brothers and all of your sons we #love you and I cannot thank you enough! I’m forever in your debt. and all of the goodness God has promised us for going forward I shall give you a token of gratitude.. wow my elder is a ancestor now that means you really put that work in… amazing! Job well done.”
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Source: Fulton County PD / Fulton County Sheriff’s Department
For years now Gunna has been fending off allegations that he went Tekashi 6ix9ine on Young Thug and his YSL family and though he isn’t going to be taking the stand against his former crew in their upcoming RICO trial, fans are still torn on whether or not the rapper did allegedly snitch when he took a plea deal.
Now the rapper is looking to clear up any misconceptions about how he was able to dodge a five-year prison stint and regain his freedom in 2022 and in a recent interview with XXL, Gunna tried to explain that the general public has been misled about his Alfred plea which caused a few of his rap peers such as 21 Savage, Lil Baby and others throw darts at him for allegedly dropping dime.
Per XXL:
“None of those rappers, they’re not on the case,” Gunna told XXL. “They don’t know legally what’s going on.”
He added that he has talked “peacefully” to about “three or four of those guys,” but wouldn’t elaborate further.
“I definitely feel like everybody’s been misled,” Gunna added. “And like, you know, when you’re being misled, you got a choice to follow or make your own decisions. And that’s what is being shown right now. You’re being a follower or you’re being neutral to be like, ‘I don’t know what their business is or what they really got goin’ on.’”
Regardless of how his fellow Hip-Hop peers and fans might feel about his current street status, Gunna went on to release his first post-prison album, A Gift & A Curse in 2023 which further divided fans as many loved the album while others refused to listen to it based off principal. Still, the album went on to debut at number 3 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and garnered more than 100 million streams for records off the album.
Obviously he still has support out on these streets.
With that being the case, Gunna went on Instagram to announce that his next album One Of Wun is on the way and though he didn’t give a release date, the reception in the comments have been mostly positive as his day-ones will remain in his corner. At least until someone like Young Thug comes out and confirms that Gunna did indeed become a turncoat. Should something like that that happen, who knows how the Hip-Hop community would react.
What do y’all think about Gunna saying people have been “misled” about his plea deal? Let us know in the comments section below.
The annual Music Biz Conference will move from its current Nashville home to Atlanta in 2025.
Specific dates and venues for Music Biz 2025 will be announced later. The conference will continue in its usual May timeframe.
Music Biz, which attracts more than 2,300 music business professionals each year, has been held in Music City for nearly a decade, and returns this year, from May 13-16.
“We’ve had a wonderful 10 years in Nashville. We love Nashville,” Music Business Association president Portia Sabin tells Billboard. “It’s been such a great place for us to grow and we are so appreciative and are very much looking forward to this year’s conference in Nashville.”
The move was inspired by the September 2022 launch of the Music Biz Roadshow program, which has traveled to cities including Atlanta, Dallas and Miami.
“With the Music Biz Roadshow, we bring our members to different cities across the U.S. for free educational programs for artists and musicians,” Sabin says. “We got inspired by doing that because there are so many great music cities out there in the U.S.”
Atlanta felt like a natural evolution for Music Biz. “When we first brought the conference to Nashville, it was a smaller version of what it is now. We feel like Atlanta has that growth potential,” Sabin adds, noting that music industry professionals from more than 30 countries attend Music Biz each year. “Atlanta has that great international hub airport, which will make it easier for people from abroad to get to [the conference]. We are excited to showcase another great American music city.”
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In 2013, the organization formerly known as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) rebranded as the Music Business Association. Following a four-year stint in Los Angeles from 2011-2014, the Music Biz conference has been in Nashville since 2015. The Music Business Association headquarters continues to be located in Nashville.
Beginning in 2025, the Music Biz event will revert to the way it was scheduled in its NARM days when the conference frequently moved to a new city.
“We will be on probably a two-year schedule, staying in a town for two years before going to another town,” Sabin says, noting the conference could potentially be hosted in cities such as Miami and San Diego in the coming years.
“And I’m sure we will be back in Nashville at some point,” Sabin adds. ‘Nashville’s a fabulous city and we are so grateful to have been here for 10 years. We’re looking forward to this year’s conference in Nashville. Atlanta has so much going on in terms of the music industry there, and I think it has somewhat been overlooked in general. It’s a great spot to have the conference and have this important group of people showing up to do business there.”
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The RICO trial of Young Thug gained another wild moment as a witness admitted to being high while testifying.
On Tuesday (March 19), the racketeering trial of rap star Young Thug and the YSL (Young Slime Life) crew was underway in a Fulton County courtroom. The defense attorneys for Young Thug called Adrian Bean, a witness for the prosecution to the stand. As cross-examination began, Bean leaned forward with his eyes semi-closed. “Man, umm,” he began, “Can I get a water or something? I’m so high right now, y’all, I’m about to go to sleep on y’all now. I am. I ain’t gon’ tell a lie.”
The revelation prompted lead prosecutor and District Attorney Adriane Love to ask Fulton County Supreme Court Judge Ural Glanville for permission to approach the bench. Love brought Bean a bottle of water while Brian Steel, Young Thug’s attorney, asked if Bean was okay enough to continue. Despite expressing how his condition was, Bean replied, “Let’s keep the ball rolling.” The entire moment was captured in the Livestream of the trial.
Bean was called to the trial by the prosecution due to him being one of the witnesses they’re relying on to establish that Young Thug, aka Jeffrey Williams, was at the scene where Donovan Thomas Jr. was killed in a drive-by shooting Sept. 11, 2013. But further cross-examination by the defense of Bean seemed to support their argument that police were pressuring Bean to say Young Thug was at the scene. Bean also expressed that he couldn’t recall key facts during testimony he gave in February, citing his history of drug use.
The trial has seen multiple instances of outlandish behavior from one attorney joking that they would open an OnlyFans account to supplement their income to DA Love and a defense attorney getting into an argument so heated that Judge Glanville had to step in and ask them to “take it down a notch.” He also found himself admonishing the courtroom audience as a defense lawyer quipped about the exchange later that day. “I didn’t ask anyone to laugh in the gallery. This is a courtroom. Not some entertainment forum for you,” Judge Glanville stated.
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Cam Newton was recently involved in a brief scuffle during a 7-on-7 football tournament last weekend, and new details have emerged. While Newton still hasn’t made a public statement, it has come out that none of the people involved are moving forward with pressing charges.
TMZ Sports learned that Cam Newton, 34, and Top Shelf Performance’s TJ Brown and Steph Brown all are deciding to leave the authorities out of their dustup, which largely amounted to nothing considering Newtown seemingly held the pair at bay on his own without throwing one punch. An unnamed man ran into the frame and joined the fracas and attempted to throw a sucker punch but missed badly.
In subsequent interviews, which we’ll share from the TPS side below, they claim that Newton was talking trash and that it’s a common occurrence between Newtown’s football league and the team TPS oversees. However, there is a video of one of the Brown brothers talking trash about Newton and questioning his quarterback skills.
TJ Brown did apologize for what happened on the field last weekend and realized that the spectators should not have been witnesses to the incident.
That said, until Cam Newton decides to share his side of the story, the account from the Brown brothers is as much as we’ll get for now.
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Cam Newton might not be slinging footballs on the gridiron these days but that doesn’t mean the 2015 NFL MVP hasn’t kept himself in good shape. A video surfaced of the free-agent quarterback getting into a bit of a brawl but what was most impressive is that his hat never left his head nor did he seem that bothered.
Cam Newtown, 34, was in Atlanta for a 7-on-7 football event over the weekend as reported by Deadline with the former Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots star in town with his C1N 7v7 squad. According to reports and accounts online, a group of individuals appear to shove the still-physically imposing Newton around. It hasn’t been confirmed but it appears the potential assailants were from Top Shelf Performance, a group that had teams playing in the inaugural We Ball Sports 7v7 tournament.
The video shows Newton, decked out in an elaborate hat, standing tall above the group as the fight moved from inside a pop-up tent to another area. Newtown and his hat held their own against the group before a security guard and other individuals came through and pushed the throng back as tempers settled.
Details are scant and Newton nor anyone from the We Ball Sports side has offered a public statement regarding the incident.
On X, formerly Twitter, the video of the incident has gone viral with many remarking on the sheer size of Cam Newton and noting with good humor that his hat was just as unbothered as he was. We’ve got the best of the reactions from X below.
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9. This joke got several repeats and it’s the last one I’m sharing.
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A church in Atlanta found itself the center of discussion online after videos from a New Year’s Eve service went viral. The dReam Center Church of Atlanta held service this past Sunday (December 31) and a moment showing attendees rocking out to “Swag Surfin’” has sparked an interesting debate.
As seen on local outlet 11 Alive, footage of the Sunday service from The dReam Center Church of Atlanta went wide and showed Pastor William Murphy leading his flock to dance to the song “Walk It Out” by Unk before opening the stage to play “Swag Surfin’” from Fast Life Yungstaz.
Pastor Murphy used the songs, most especially “Walk It Out,” to illustrate how he wants the flock to move into the new year, and this would seem to be a familiar bent for the churchgoers at dReam Center Church
From what we learned, dReam Center Church is known for its high-energy sermons and services, not unlike many churches nationwide that minister to a younger demographic. However, there are some of the faith who feel that the use of secular music in church is a clashing of worlds while others welcome the shift as a breath of fresh air.
On X, formerly Twitter, the debate seems split down the middle with some appreciating the moment and others blasting it. We’ve got those reactions listed below.
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Atlanta prosecutors accused chart-topping rapper Young Thug of running a criminal street gang that operated like a “pack” of wolves during opening statements of the artist’s high-profile racketeering trial on Monday (Nov. 27).
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Kicking off a complex trial that is expected to last as long as a year, Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love read a passage from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book about wolf packs — and said that Thug’s gang had similarly “operated as a pack.”
“For ten years and counting, the group calling itself ‘Young Slime Life’ dominated the Cleveland Avenue community,” Love told the jury. “They created a crater … that sucked in the youth and innocence and even the lives of some its youngest members.”
Love repeatedly referred to Thug as “King Slime” and portrayed him as the clear leader of the gang: “The evidence will show that the members of YSL knew who their leader was, and they knew the repercussions of not obeying him.”
In an indictment unveiled last year, Fulton County prosecutors alleged that Thug (Jeffery Williams) and his “YSL” were not really a popular music collective called “Young Stoner Life,” but a violent Atlanta gang called “Young Slime Life” that committed murders, carjackings, drug dealing and other crimes over the course of a decade.
Along with other charges, Thug is accused of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a 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. If convicted on all eight of his counts, Thug faces decades in prison.
Go read an explainer of the YSL case here, including a full breakdown of the legal charges and a deep-dive into the background of the accusations.
After months of slow-moving jury selection, Monday morning was set to finally mark the start of the trial for Thug and five remaining alleged members of his gang. But the start of the hearing was delayed for an hour over a missing juror; then, just minutes into Love’s statements, the case was bogged down in objections, forcing Judge Ural Glanville to clear the jury from the courtroom.
Defense attorneys first claimed that Love was “burden shifting” in her explanation of the case to jurors – meaning she was wrongly making it appear that the defendants would need to prove that they were innocent. Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, then moved for a mistrial after he claimed that Love had shown jurors evidence that had already been explicitly banned from the case. Glanville later denied that request but admonished the state for how it had prepared its opening statements.
Eventually, after a lunch break and extended disputes among counsel for both sides, jurors returned to the courtroom for opening statements to continue throughout the afternoon.
This is a developing story and will be updated later today with more information from Monday’s hearing.
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Chaka Zulu, a longtime music manager and music executive, was cleared of charges connected to the 2022 shooting in Atlanta. Prosecutors determined that Zulu shot and killed a man in self-defense, putting to rest the harrowing ordeal.
As reported by WSB-TV, Chaka Zulu, known to most as the manager for Ludacris, was involved in an incident in the summer of 2022 in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood with three people shot, including Zulu among the victims. From what was reported then, the incident stemmed from a fight outside a popular bar in the area but it wasn’t clear then if that was where the altercation began. Of the three people who were shot, an unnamed 23-year-old died at the scene.
Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis, explained the decision via an exclusive statement:
“The Atlanta Police Department made an arrest on charges determined at a standard of probable cause, which is their duty in this and all cases The District Attorney’s office investigates cases to determine what can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial…Our investigation of the facts and analysis of applicable law indicates that this is an appropriate resolution of this case based on the standard of proof required. Because the defendant is now involved in a pre-indictment diversion program, we will not comment further about the matter at this time.”
Last week, Gabe Banks, the attorney for Zulu, offered his own statement in the matter:
“Mr. Chaka Zulu, a beloved son of Atlanta, is pleased with the outcome of the thorough investigation conducted by District Attorney Fani Willis and her team of lawyers and investigators. From the beginning of this case, Mr. Zulu was committed to a fair process. He fully believes that after a thoughtful examination of all the facts and evidence related to this matter, District Attorney Willis reached an appropriate and just decision. It is not lost on Mr. Zulu that there was a loss of life under extraordinary circumstances. However, it is now time for Mr. Zulu to put this difficult process behind him, and to focus on the support and nurturing of his family. Accordingly, we respectfully request privacy at this time, and that any inquiries be directed to the office of Gabe Banks, Esq.”
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At the end of 2021, Young Thug was one of hip-hop’s biggest rising stars: a critically-adored rapper with three chart-topping hits, three-chart topping albums, a Grammy award for song of the year and his own record label (YSL, short for Young Stoner Life) under Warner Music’s 300 Entertainment.
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Two years later, Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) is set to face a grueling trial starting Monday (Nov. 27) over allegations he ran a violent Atlanta street gang that committed murders, carjackings and many other crimes over the course of a decade — charges that, if proven, could send him to prison for decades.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office is prosecuting the case, has said that YSL wrought “havoc” on the Atlanta area for nearly a decade: “It does not matter what your notoriety is, what your fame is,” Willis said hours after the superstar rapper was first arrested. Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, says he is innocent: “Mr. Williams committed no crime whatsoever.”
The YSL case pits prosecutors in America’s rap capital against one of the country’s biggest hip-hop artists, making it one of the music industry’s most closely-watched criminal cases in years. To get you up to speed before the trial, Billboard is explaining the YSL case: How did we get here? What exactly is this case about? And what comes next? Here’s everything you need to know.
What’s Young Thug accused of doing?
In May 2022, Willis unveiled a 56-count indictment against Thug and 27 other alleged members of YSL — an entity that she says is not really a record label called “Young Stoner Life,” but actually a violent Atlanta gang called “Young Slime Life” that’s affiliated with the national Bloods gang.
The case claims that since 2012, YSL members have committed a wide range of criminal wrongdoing centered on the Cleveland Avenue area of Atlanta, including murder, assault, robbery, theft, illegal gun possession, illegal drug possession and sales, and more. And prosecutors say that Thug was the clear leader of the organization — they’ve called him “King Slime — who “made YSL a well-known name” by “referring to it in his songs.”
In addition to Thug, the charges also targeted his star protégé Sergio “Gunna” Kitchens, as well as Deamonte “Yak Gotti” Kendrick, Arnold “Lil Duke” Martinez, Thug’s brother Quantavious “Unfoonk” Grier and many others.
The case is built on Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a 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 racketeering laws make it easier for prosecutors to sweep up members of an alleged criminal enterprise based on many individual actions.
Some of the most serious accusations in the indictment center on the 2015 killing of Donovan “Big Nut” Thomas Jr., who prosecutors say ran a rival gang in Atlanta. Five YSL members are directly charged with the murder, while Thug himself is accused of renting the car that was used to commit the killing.
Prosecutors also say other members looked to Thug for leadership on serious crimes. In one allegation, the indictment claims that two other YSL members discussed “how to obtain permission” from the rapper before attempting to murder rival rapper YFN Lucci (Rayshawn Bennett) while he was in jail.
After an updated, 65-count indictment was filed August 2022, the star himself is now facing eight counts, including one count of participating in the RICO conspiracy; one count of participating in a criminal street gang; three counts of violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act; one count of possession of a firearm while committing a felony; and one count of possession of a machine gun.
Go read the full indictment here.
What happened to Gunna?
In the 18 months since the YSL indictment was first handed down, many of the original 28 defendants have either accepted plea deals or been separated from the case for procedural reasons, leaving only six defendants to face trial this week. Just weeks ago, for instance, Derontae “Bee” Bebee pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.
The biggest plea came from Gunna, a critically-acclaimed YSL artist who has frequently been described as Young Thug’s protégé. Last December, he took a so-called Alford plea — a legal maneuver that allows a defendant to enter a formal admission of guilt while still maintaining their innocence. The deal made sense: Gunna had been charged in only one count of the indictment and faced far less serious accusations, mostly centered on his participation in music and social media that promoted YSL.
At the time, Gunna stressed that he had not agreed to work with prosecutors to convict Young Thug or any of the other defendants, and had “absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way.” But at the court hearing where he entered the plea deal, Gunna publicly acknowledged that YSL was both “a music label and a gang,” and that he had “personal knowledge that members or associates of YSL have committed crimes and in furtherance of the gang.”
That has led to some backlash for the rapper, but true to his word, Gunna is not expected to testify at the upcoming trial. Citing an anonymous source, Rolling Stone reported in December that an understanding had been reached that “the state is not going to call him as a witness.” And if he were called, he would still be entitled to exercise his Fifth Amendment right to avoid answering questions.
Why are rap lyrics being cited in court?
The YSL case is one of the most prominent examples of prosecutors using lyrics as evidence against the artists who wrote them — a controversial practice that has drawn backlash from civil liberties activists, defense attorneys and, increasingly, the music industry.
Critics say the use of lyrics as evidence unfairly treats rap as a literal confession rather than a work of creative expression, potentially violating the First Amendment. Even worse, they say rap can have a prejudicial effect on jurors, tapping into existing biases toward young Black men and helping prosecutors win convictions where more concrete evidence is lacking.
California recently enacted first-of-its-kind legislation restricting the practice, and Democrats in Congress have proposed a bill that would do the same in federal cases — an effort supported by major music industry groups. But in the absence of such laws, courts around the country have mostly upheld the right of prosecutors to cite rap lyrics, particularly in gang-related cases.
For her part, the Fulton County District Attorney has offered no apologies: “If you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I’m gonna use it,” Willis said last year. “I have some legal advice: don’t confess to crimes on rap lyrics if you do not want them used, or at least get out of my county.”
At a climactic pre-trial hearing earlier this month, Thug’s lawyer blasted prosecutors for attempting to use creative expression to convict his client. “They are targeting the right to free speech, and that’s wrong,” he said. “They are saying that just because he his singing about it, he is now part of a crime.”
Prosecutors argued back that lyrics were “proclamations of violence” by alleged gang members, making them “highly relevant” to proving that YSL was an illegal criminal enterprise. “The issue here is not rap,” one Fulton County attorney argued. “This is not randomly the state attempting to bring in Run DMC from the ’80s. This is specific. These are party admissions. They just happen come in the form of lyrics.”
In the end, Judge Ural Glanville sided with prosecutors and allowed the lyrics to be used in the case, repeatedly telling Thug’s lawyer that “the First Amendment is not on trial” in the case. “They’re not prosecuting your clients because of the songs they wrote,” Glanville said. “They’re using the songs to prove other things your clients may have been involved in. I don’t think it’s an attack on free speech.”
Go read the full list of lyrics that could be cited in the case here.
What took so long to get to trial?
The case against YSL is almost unfathomably complex — so much so that it has repeatedly strained the local legal system nearly to its breaking point.
With 28 men originally indicted, finding lawyers for all of them — a constitutional requirement — proved difficult. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, prosecutors secured millions in extra funding to bring huge gang cases, but Georgia’s public defense system did not receive equal funding to keep up. That forced the state to contract with numerous private defense attorneys to help cover the YSL case, but even that arrangement nearly fell apart this past spring over inadequate pay.
Jury selection was even harder. With the trial expected to last as long as a year, it proved nearly impossible to find a dozen people who could drop their financial commitments and halt their lives for that long. The selection process started in January with hopes that the trial could kick off in the spring, but it eventually took more than 10 months — by most accounts, the longest ever jury selection in Georgia state history.
Throughout all of that, Young Thug and the other defendants have been sitting in jail. Though Thug’s attorneys argued that he should be placed under house arrest, Judge Glanville repeatedly refused to grant him bond, swayed by arguments from prosecutors that doing so would increase the risk of witness intimidation.
How is Donald Trump involved?
If the words “Fani Willis” and “RICO” sound familiar, they should: She’s using the very same statute to bring an even-higher-profile case against Trump and others over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Back in August, a Fulton County grand jury in August indicted Trump and 18 others over accusations that they participated in a criminal scheme to try to keep the Republican in the White House after he lost the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. Several co-defendants in that case have recently pled guilty to lesser charges, including former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.
Willis recently proposed an August 2024 trial for the case — a timeline that could mean that both the YSL trial and the Trump trial would be happening simultaneously. Like the YSL case, the DA’s office expects the election trial to last many months.
Trump’s lead attorney, Steve Sadow, represented Gunna in the YSL case and negotiated his plea deal to end his involvement.
What do prosecutors need to prove?
As with all criminal cases, the burden is on prosecutors to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Thug and others did what they’re accused of — meaning jurors must be virtually certain that they’re guilty before they vote to convict.
To prove the core RICO charges, the DA’s office will need to show a “pattern of racketeering activity” by the YSL members — meaning they conspired to run an illegal enterprise, or a “racket.”
Prosecutors will try to do so by detailing more than 150 “acts” that were allegedly carried out “in furtherance of the conspiracy.” Some of those will be what are called “predicates” — meaning actions that would crimes on their own, like the like Donovan murder. But others will merely be “overt acts,” meaning any concrete step that YSL members took to help the illegal enterprise, even if it isn’t a crime on its own. That’s where social media posts and song lyrics come into the case.
Importantly, prosecutors don’t need to show that every defendant knew about every element of YSL’s operations. They only need to prove that each YSL member knew about the conspiracy and agreed to be part of it, and took at least two actions to further it.
RICO is best known for the federal law that was created in the 1970s to target mob bosses who didn’t directly commit crimes themselves. But many states have passed their own versions, and Georgia’s, passed in 1981, is notably broader than the federal version. It has a longer list of crimes that can serve as “predicates,” and it covers shorter-term criminal conspiracies than the federal law.
Willis is very familiar with Georgia’s RICO statute. In addition to using it against YSL and former President Trump, she also recently brought a RICO case against a gang that allegedly robbed the Atlanta homes of celebrities like Mariah Carey.
And back in 2014, when she was an assistant DA, Willis served as lead prosecutor in a RICO case against a group of Atlanta educators over their role in widespread cheating on standardized tests. Following an eight month trial — the longest in Georgia history — Willis secured convictions against 11 of 12 of the teachers.
“The reason that I am a fan of RICO is, I think jurors are very, very intelligent,” Willis told reporters last year. “RICO is a tool that allows a prosecutor’s office and law enforcement to tell the whole story.”
How is the trial going to play out?
Starting first thing on Monday, the six remaining defendants — Thug, Marquavius Huey, Deamonte “Yak Gotti” Kendrick, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Shannon Stillwell — will go to trial.
The jury, composed of seven Black women, two white women, two Black men and one white man, will hear opening arguments from both sides, and then the DA’s office will begin calling witnesses. According to a report by Atlanta’s 11Alive, prosecutors said in court earlier this month that their list of potential witnesses includes a stunning 737 names, featuring 258 lay witnesses — regular people who can testify to what they saw — and 479 expert witnesses, who will explain complex issues to jurors.
Eventually, the defendants will get a chance to call their own witnesses. In a recent legal filing, Thug listed among his potential witnesses rappers T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Killer Mike (Michael Render), as well as music business executive Lyor Cohen, who co-founded 300 Entertainment. Thug’s attorneys will also call their own expert witnesses to counter the testimony from the government.
If convicted on the RICO charge, the defendants face prison sentences lasting anywhere from five to 20 years. But Thug and others also face separate charges over other specific crimes that, if proven, could add additional prison time to any eventual sentence.