Are the lyrics of a song valid as evidence? the 12 jurors gathered in Atlanta for the trial of Young Thug will have to decide, while the substantive debates begin Monday, November 27. The 32-year-old American rapper is accused of criminal conspiracy and participation in other criminal activities of an Atlanta gang, the ” Young Slim Life “. The prosecution will present at the bar 17 extracts from his texts which, according to it, constitute confessions. The defense challenges the practice.
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For a year, the affair has fascinated the United States. Is Jeffery Lamar Williams, aka Young Thug, 32, a member of one of Atlanta’s most violent gangs or just a rapper-poser who plays the bad boy? To resolve this question, the prosecutor says he wants to rely on the rapper’s texts which according to him constitute confessions.
THE rapper from Atlanta is accused of criminal conspiracy and participation in the criminal activities of a gang. In support, alleged facts of murders, drug trafficking, car thefts, among others. He says he is innocent.
Along with around twenty people, he was indicted in May 2022 by a grand jury in Georgia, a state in the southeast of the United States, for alleged membership in a branch of the “ Bloods » identified as “ Young Slime Life », or YSL: initials which correspond to those of his label founded in 2016, Young Stoner Life Records.
The arrest in May of the interpreter of Best Friend, Hot Or Check had been a shock to the influential Atlanta hip-hop scene of which he is a central figure. At 32, the rapper has collaborated with the biggest names in rap and pop, from Drake to Travis Scott, including Dua Lipa and Justin Bieber.
“ Late night confessions » ?
Young Thug’s lawyers (” young thug “, in English), sought to have the lyrics removed from the exhibit list, saying they could influence jurors. An argument defended by the music industry, which fears seeing the creativity of artists restricted and that this practice harms the creativity of artists and disproportionately affects African-Americans.
Prosecutor Mike Carlson rejects this argument, because according to him, “ We’re not talking about rap lyrics here, but gang lyrics, These are late night confessions “.
This is not the first time in the United States that rap or hip-hop songs have been found in court: the method is used by prosecutors or lawyers to shape the image of a defendant. In the case of Young Thug, the court will undoubtedly have to provide more substantial evidence.
“ If you have other evidence, don’t use the rap lyrics. And if you don’t have any other evidence, don’t file a complaint.. »
The defense, which insists that YSL is nothing more than an artistic label, called as a witness a specialist on the subject, professor at the University of Richmond, Erik Nielson. In an interview at the beginning of the year, this expert stated that “ this question of rap in the trials is only a new illustration of a system which persists in imprisoning young men of color “. “ If you have other evidence, don’t use the rap lyricsjudged Mr. Nielson. And if you don’t have any other evidence, don’t file a complaint.. »
One of his twenty co-defendants, the rapper Gunna, entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor. The trial, which is taking place in the same Atlanta court where former President Donald Trump will soon be tried, will feature hundreds of witnesses, including rappers TI and Killer Mike.
(With agencies)