American rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams, famously known as a Young Thug, is set to face trial for Racketeering Charges, which could see him serve several years in federal prison.
Thug and 27 other street gang members were swept up in a broad indictment that charged some of them with heinous acts.
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State prosecutors claim the chart-topping singer, born Jeffery Williams, is the founder and leader of YSL, or Young Slime Life, an associate of the Bloods street gang, with the trial set to begin Monday in Atlanta.
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However, defense attorneys claim that YSL is nothing more than a record company and a family of musicians known as Young Stoner Life – the name of the label formed by Young Thug in 2016 as an imprint of 300 Entertainment, a Warner Music Group subsidiary.
The case has generated great interest, not least because prosecutors intend to utilize rap lyrics as proof of criminal behavior, a practice that has long been accused of bigotry and unlawful restrictions on artistic expression.
In a video released a month after his incarceration, Young Thug urged fans to sign a petition urging lawmakers to prohibit courts from utilizing rap lyrics against offenders.
"You know, this isn't just about me or YSL. I always use my music as a form of artistic expression, and now I see that Black artists and rappers don't have that, you know, freedom. Everybody, please sign the 'Protect Black Art' petition and pray for us. I love you all," he said in the message shown at a concert.
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