young thug
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The moment of truth for Young Thug and his YSL associates is drawing near. A judge will commence seating the jury for the YSL RICO trial this week.
11Alive has exclusively confirmed that a County Clark magistrate will begin assigning jury seats Wednesday, (Nov. 1.) Even though this process was originally scheduled for later this month, Judge Ural Glanville has moved it up in alignment with the Georgia Speedy Trial law. According to Reuters, the legislation says, “Criminal defendants in Georgia can request that their trial begin in the weeks after they are indicted, as long as jurors are available to hear the case.”
It is no surprise that the “Lifestyle” rapper is eagerly awaiting the chance to defend his name. The jury selection process has been time consuming to say the least. It originally started in January and took the majority of this year to finalize. All the while Young Thug has remained behind bars as he awaits trial; he was originally arrested in May 2022.
He has been denied bond several times with his last attempt being in June. His legal team claims the time behind bars has had a glaring effect on his health. “This lifestyle has caused physically harm to Mr. Williams,” his lawyer stated during a hearing in June, according to 11Alive.
Georgia prosecutors allege that YSL is a gang with Young Thug serving as its leader. Young Thug has plead not guilty to the charges.
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Prosecutors in the YSL racketeering trial have dropped charges against one defendant who was recently convicted of murder for the second time.
On Tuesday (September 12th), Fulton County prosecutor Adriane Love informed the judge that the office would “nolle pros” the two RICO charges in their case against Cordarius Dorsey, also known as YSL Polo. This was prompted by his conviction by a jury for the murder of Xavier Turner last week. It marks the second time Polo has been convicted of murder in less than a year. He was sentenced to life in prison on the first conviction.
The murder of the 44-year-old Turner took place at the Old National Village Discount Mall in College Park, Georgia. Video evidence showing the incident was used in this case to convict Dorsey. Video evidence also played a role in the conviction for the 2019 armed robbery and murder of Sulaiman Jalloh, a 39-year-old husband and father of six at a gas station in October 2019.
Young Thug had petitioned the court to sever his case from YSL Polo’s. “Jeffery Williams, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby files this motion to sever parties in the above-referenced case,” wrote his attorney Brian Steel in a motion. “In support of this Motion, Mr. Williams shows as follows. Mr. Williams is innocent of all charges in the above-referenced indictment. Mr. Dorsey, a co-indictee, has displayed unprofessional and unacceptable conduct in Court, in the presence of this Honorable Court, as announced on the Record on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.”
The move now leaves seven defendants in the sweeping racketeering trial including Young Thug. The case originally involved 28 people who were indicted in what Fulton County District Attorney Dani Willis called “havoc” caused in the city of Atlanta dating back to 2015. Since then, most including Gunna have accepted plea deals or have had their cases severed from the main case. There is no date set for opening statements in the RICO trial, as jury selection – which started in January – is still ongoing.
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Gunna has been dealing with detractors since his release from jail, but that didn’t stop him from getting major love in the form of a sold-out New York City concert.
The Atlanta rapper performed at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday (Sept. 9) at a headlining concert, The Gift, named partly for his latest album, a Gift & a Curse. The arena was packed with a sold-out crowd eager to hear Gunna, who was performing live after being incarcerated due to the RICO indictment involving him and other YSL label mates including Young Thug. Part of the proceeds from the ticket sales went to The Goodr Foundation, a nonprofit group that “strives to end world hunger by cultivating countless resources.”
Gunna had been dealing with a barrage of comments from people who felt he snitched on Young Thug to be in a position to get a deal with Fulton County, Georgia prosecutors earlier this year. He received a four-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to one racketeering conspiracy charge last December.
The “Drip or Drown” rapper has vehemently denied doing anything of that nature and has expressed his support for Young Thug since being released. Another example occurred at the concert, with one of the stage monitors displaying a “Free Jeffrey” message on the screen. Gunna also included a video interlude which showed a montage of clips showing him in various moments of reflection and despair interspersed with snippets of conversations with his mother and others.
The concert featured a bevy of his greatest hits from his Billboard No.1 album DS4Ever such as “Poochie Gown” and “South To West,” all with Greek-inspired imagery throughout. Gunna also stimulated the crowd by performing tracks from his new album, ending with “Fukumean,” which made the crowd explode, capping off his first major show in two years. “I love the f— out of y’all, I swear to God,” he said to the audience. “This s— is crazy.” He’s set to do another headlining concert in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
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As Young Thug continues to await his day in court from behind bars, the man is keeping his music legacy out on these streets going and with the release of his latest LP, Business is Business, Thugga proves that he isn’t letting a little thing like prison slow up his rap career.
Today, the incarcerated rapper got a big assist from his homie from up north, Drake, as Drizzy took it upon himself to make a new visuals for Young Thug’s Drake assisted “Oh U Went,” in which Drizzy traveled to the South to shoot the clip. Using his own personal family reunion as the backdrop for the video, Drake has multiple people spit Thugga’s verse before he himself takes center stage at the reunion and gets in on the bar dropping bonanza in front of his friends and family.
Everyone must’ve been excited to be a part of the video, especially the kids. Just sayin’.
Check out the visuals to “Oh U Went,” and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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FN DaDealer, a young rapper signed to Young Thug‘s Young Stoner Life recording label, was arrested and charged with murder. FN DaDealer is currently being held without bond in Fulton County, Georgia.
As reported by local news outlet WSB-TV, FN DaDealer, 20, was arrested in late June after he was connected to a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in Mechanicsville.
FN DaDealer, real name Jakobe Moody, was arrested on June 29 and charged in the shooting death of Tremaine Glasper, 28. The outlet adds that Moody is currently behind bars at Fulton County Jail facing charges of murder along with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
According to details provided by the outlet, Glasper was shot on June 5 while sitting inside a vehicle, prompting officials to respond to calls regarding the shooting. The investigation revealed that Moody was one of three gunmen.
The outlet spoke with Moody’s mother, who claims her son was not involved in any street activity and that he was primarily focused on his burgeoning music career.
Police did not reveal details about the other two suspects.
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Young Thug is calling out a police officer’s claim that he’s a snitch, as his lawyers try to get the testimony thrown out before his trial.
Attorneys for the “Metro Spider” rapper filed two motions Thursday (June 29) and Friday (June 23) with the former arguing that a witness in the case who is a police detective is falsely claiming that Jeffrey Williams, aka Young Thug, confessed details of an unrelated homicide case to that detective.
In the motion, lead attorney Brian Steel argues that Judge Ural Glanville should throw out the testimony of Detective Quinn stating that it is “not accurate, places Mr. Williams’ character at issue, and is irrelevant to the trial of the above-referenced case.” Steel also states that Young Thug’s “right to a fair trial” needs to be preserved by the court and that Judge Glanville should also toss out any records of 911 calls allegedly made by the rapper in relation to this unrelated homicide.
Steel’s previous motion June 23, asked Judge Glanville to dismiss the RICO charges brought against Young Thug and his YSL co-defendants, citing the statute of limitations for the state in RICO cases has been exceeded. “In order to satisfy the crime of RICO conspiracy, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that at least one (1) overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy within the Statute of Limitations,” the motion says. “To satisfy the Statute of Limitations, the overt act must have occurred within five (5) years of the filing of the Bill of Indictment with the Clerk of Court.”
That motion continues: “Approximately overt act numbers 62 through 191 are alleged to have occurred on a date within five (5) years of May 9, 2022, the date of the original Bill of Indictment as well as the re-Indictment. The re-indictment was filed with the Fulton County Clerk of Court on August 5, 2022.”
The motions come as jury selection in the trial has been halted and scheduled to resume July 10. The high-profile case has run into several stumbling blocks from Young Thug’s brother having his probation revoked and going to prison to a Fulton County deputy being arrested on charges of inappropriate contact with one of the defendants. Young Thug also underwent a medical evaluation in May over concerns about his well-being while in custody.
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Young Thug is currently fighting for his freedom as the YSL RICO court case is still pending, but that hasn’t stopped him from flooding streets with new music. A new album from the Atlanta star dropped on Friday (June 23) titled BUSINESS IS BUSINESS, and Twitter largely says Young Thug hasn’t lost a step.
Young Thug, real name Jeffrey Williams, released his last full-length Punk back in 2021 to critical acclaim and BUSINESS IS BUSINESS looks to continue that good favor. The album is a star-studded affair with two Drake features, two Travis Scott features, and pair of features from 21 Savage, along with an appearance from Future and others.
The release of the album was unexpected as Thugger has been behind bars since May of 2022. Thug’s work ethic is the stuff of legend so many of these songs were probably vaulted for some time yet still retain the current sound.
Metro Boomin produced the bulk of the album with Wheezy, Aviator Keyz, Dr. Luke, and other notables lending the production touch. We’ve only gone through an initial first listen of the album so we weren’t able to determine if any lyrics were aimed at Young Thug’s former ally, Gunna, but he does address his current legal predicament in passing. Largely, it’s just Young Thug showing off the many styles he can employ from rapping, singing, and his knack for melody.
On Twitter, the reactions are still bubbling up for BUSINESS IS BUSINESS, and we’ve got them listed below.
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Lil Durk isn’t shy when it comes to discussing street politics. He made it clear he thinks Gunna told on Young Thug.
As spotted on HipHopDX the Chicago, Illinois native recently paid a visit to DJ Akademiks’ Off The Record podcast. As his first sit down with the controversial media personality the two discussed his career, future plans and more. During the chat Durkio was asked on Young Thug’s ongoing RICO trial and ultimately drew a line in the sand regarding the plea deal Gunna took.
“Now I don’t sit up here and play games, man,” Durk explained. “That man told. You should have went in there and kept your mouth closed.” He went on to express his love and respect for Young Thug before doubling down on his disdain for snitches. “If you a rat, you a rat,” he added. “If you rewind this clip a little bit, I looked into the camera and told you, if you a rat, I f***ing hate you. Because I love Thug.”
In May 2022 Gunna and several members of the YSL crew were charged on a 56-count racketeering RICO indictment. Gunna eventually pled out to one charge of racketeering and was sentenced to five years in prison but through his plea deal he got time served. According to the paperwork he declared YSL as a gang.
You can see the clip of Durk discussing Gunna below.
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A lawsuit against Childish Gambino alleging that his hit track “This Is America” contained elements of another previously released song has been dismissed in court.
According to reports, the case concerning the Grammy Award-winning song from 2018 came to an end after Judge Victor Marrero declared a dismissal in a Manhattan courtroom last Friday (March 24). The lawsuit was brought by rapper Kidd Wes (aka Emelike Nwosuocha) in 2021, alleging that Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) committed copyright infringement on his 2016 song “Made In America.” Wes said the hook was “unmistakably substantially similar, if not practically identical,” to his track.
“A cursory comparison with the challenged composition reveals that the content of the choruses is entirely different and not substantially similar,” Judge Marrero said, explaining Kidd Wes’ song was more of a “short, simple, aggrandizing proclamation” as opposed to Glover’s song detailing “what America means and how it is perceived.” The lawsuit also named Roc Nation, composer Ludwig Göransson and Young Thug as co-defendants.
Another factor in the decision made by Judge Marrero involved a discrepancy in how Kidd Wes registered the copyright for the song with the United States Library of Congress. The court ruled that his copyright claim isn’t valid because his registration certificate only covers the sound recording and doesn’t cover the music of the song.
“Even if Nwosuocha had a copyright registration for the composition of Plaintiff’s Composition, however, dismissal would be warranted here because the elements of Plaintiff’s Composition purportedly infringed upon are insufficiently original to warrant protection, or because they are not substantially similar to the Challenged Composition,” Marrero said.
The legal team for Kidd Wes issued a statement after the decision, saying that the artist is disappointed and is contemplating an appeal. “He stands by his music, creativity, and the independence of grassroots artists to create their own music, and receive credit where credit is due, without the fear of it being apportioned by another,” attorneys Imran H. Ansari and La’Shawn N. Thomas said.
A lawyer for Glover, Jonathan D. Davis, said in a statement: “We are very grateful for the court’s decision. No case existed here, as there was no infringement—let alone a copyright registration. That was obvious from a simple comparison of the two songs and a review of the U.S. Copyright Office records.”
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The judge presiding over the racketeering case of Young Thug has ordered a probe over the release of a video showing a possible evidence leak.
According to reports, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville ordered the investigation after a video was posted online where a witness was offering to provide information about the rapper for leniency. The footage was taken from an interview conducted in 2021.
On Wednesday (March 1), Judge Glanville issued a reminder to attorneys for the prosecution and the defense that certain evidence must be kept secret until the trial. “It affects everyone’s right to a fair trial,” the judge said. “I don’t know who did this but if this pertains to you, please amend your ways. You’re playing a very dangerous game with your six-digit bar number.”
Gina Bernard, the defense attorney for JayMan aka Jayden Myrick, filed a motion for a mistrial over the video leak citing that it “made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, as well as a jury that is honestly and truly fair and impartial.”
Prosecutors countered that the video might’ve been leaked by the defense. “The state has absolutely no interest in leaking this video to members of the public, as its dissemination serves only to intimidate and harass witnesses called upon by the state to testify in a very serious and high-profile case,” they wrote.
Judge Glanville dismissed the motion and also warned that if more evidence makes it into the public eye that he will only let discovery evidence be shown in his chambers. “For me to have to deal with this at this point in the trial is just unacceptable,” he said. Currently, jury selection for the trial has been going on for two months and is expected to go on for another several months.
The highly-publicized trial of Young Thug and 13 of his YSL associates for racketeering and other criminal activities is projected to take six to nine months. Prosecutors claim that the group billed themselves as “Young Slime Life,” and operated a criminal enterprise associated with the Bloods gang in Atlanta, Georgia. Defense attorneys claim that YSL simply stands for “Young Stoner Life” and it represents a record label founded by Young Thug.