The interminable trial of Jeffery Williams — Young Thug — in Atlanta has again veered off the highway, after a high-profile witness at the center of the case was arrested on the stand after refusing to testify. Kenneth “Lil’ Woody” Copeland, a YSL associate whose leaked interrogation tape last year …
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Atlanta rapper Gunna achieved one of hip-hop’s most remarkable comebacks last year. After being ensnared in the YSL RICO case and spending seven months behind bars, he got out on a plea deal and released A Gift and a Curse last June, buoyed by the infectious single “Fukumean,” which became …
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Young Stoner Life Records rapper Strick is premiering a new music video for his song “Kisses Make Sure” with Rolling Stone. It features Young Thug, who encouraged Strick to step in the spotlight when he was just a songwriter, and James Blake. It is Thug and Blake’s first collaboration ever, …
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A lawyer for one of the co-defendants charged alongside rapper Young Thug in Georgia’s sprawling YSL racketeering conspiracy case has been arrested on suspicion she called a suspect in a different case and warned him he had active warrants and should ditch his phone. Nicole Fegan was taken into custody …
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The double standard is almost as old as hip-hop itself. A decorated filmmaker gets laurels for his or her latest bullet-laden gangster movie. A rock or country star is proclaimed a songwriting genius for violent tales of man’s inhumanity to man. But rappers are held to a different standard, their …
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The YSL RICO trial has hit another roadblock. It took 10 months for the jury to be selected for the case, which features the rapper Young Thug as a prominent defendant. Now, less than two weeks in, the trial has been delayed following news from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office …
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The defense of Young Thug began Tuesday with the rapper’s attorney, Brian Steel, explaining trap music to grandmothers. “He is not running a criminal enterprise on Cleveland Avenue to gather money and power,” Steel says, arguing that by 2014, the rapper, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, was a superstar …
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Prosecutors in the YSL trial say they have 737 witnesses they’d like to potentially call to the stand once litigation begins in Atlanta later this month. The list includes 258 lay witnesses and 479 expert witnesses, according to 11 Alive, which notes that not all witnesses actually testify. It took …
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In a long-awaited decision sure to draw scrutiny, a Georgia judge ruled Nov. 9 that prosecutors will be allowed to admit rap lyrics as evidence at Grammy-winning artist Young Thug’s racketeering and gang trial in Atlanta as long as they pass legal relevance and foundation tests. Judge Ural Glanville issued …
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The most notable instance to date of “rap on trial” is finally about to get underway in Atlanta. After a jury selection process whose length broke state records, the YSL RICO trial is set to begin on Nov. 27. Judge Ural Glanville, Fulton County prosecutors, and defense attorneys vetted more …
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