Young Thug was arrested two years ago.
A look at the longest trial in Georgia history
Hi friends! I’m publishing an extra newsletter this week because it’s the 2-year-anniversary of Young Thug’s arrest and the YSL RICO indictment. Today’s issue will look at the rap beefs prosecutors allege are at the center of this trial.
Elsewhere: I wrote a story for Billboard that published today and explores why this trial is taking so long. I’ll also be hosting an AMA on Reddit in r/Hiphopheads at noon. Join me with questions!
YSL By the Numbers:
6 co-defendants on trial
191 overt acts
65 Counts
Nearly 10 months for jury selection
$25 dollars per day for Fulton County jurors
More than 5 months since opening arguments
More than 60 witnesses to date (out of roughly 150 witnesses on the state’s witness list)
Rap Beefs in Court
In addition to the controversial use of lyrics in this case, so much of this trial has hinged on Young Thug’s relationships with other rappers. Here’s a look into how Lil Wayne and Rich Homie Quan have fit into this case:
Rich Gang Riff: Prosecutors allege members of YSL murdered Donovan “Nut” Thomas, a rival Inglewood Family (IF) Gang member, in 2015 after a rift between Thug and former “Lifestyle” collaborator Rich Homie Quan. (Quan was also allegedly a member of the IF Gang.) Prosecutors have also said rapper YFN Lucci was affiliated with Thomas (Lucci released his debut album Long Live Nut in 2017) and have repeatedly mentioned an ongoing rivalry between YFN and YSL in Thug’s trial. YFN Lucci’s attorney Drew Findling told me the rapper will not be speaking with prosecutors or testifying in the YSL case.
During the trial so far, Young Thug’s attorney Brian Steel has consistently tried to show that Thug was friendly with Thomas in the months leading up to the murder. Steel also recently introduced promotional fliers that suggested the rapper performed alongside Rich Homie Quan under their moniker Rich Gang in the weeks leading up to Thomas’ murder.Idol or Foe: In the past few weeks, prosecutors have focused on the shooting of Lil Wayne’s bus that occurred in 2015 after the rapper appeared at Compound nightclub. APD officer Tyrone Finney testified that he heard Jimmy Winfrey, aka Peewee Roscoe say “this my city, keep fucking around and we’ll spray the bus,” although defense attorneys got him to admit his police report stated Winfrey said “I’ll spray the bus,” an important distinction in a conspiracy case. Finney said several minutes after Winfrey made this statement, he drove by in a white Camaro with an assault rifle in the passenger seat. Winfrey subsequently entered an Alford plea on two counts of violation of the street gang and terrorism and prevention act in Cobb County, according to the AJC. (He was represented by Gunna’s former attorney, Steve Sadow. Sadow is now representing Trump in his Fulton County RICO case.)
While the the state has removed Lil Wayne from their witness list, they have attempted to show jurors that Wayne and Thug were beefing before the shooting.
Steel’s opening argument, as well as his questioning of state’s witnesses and confessed YSL co-founders Walter “DK” Murphy and Trontavious “Tick” or “Slug” Stephens heavily referenced the influence Lil Wayne had on Young Thug both sonically and in terms of his public image. Stephens said YSL members copied Blood terminology such as “slime” from Lil Wayne’s music, while Murphy testified that he got face tattoos because of the rapper. Murphy testified that he doesn’t remember previously telling police that Lil Wayne and Young Thug were “enemies.”
“That man is like the president. How are you going to do something to Lil Wayne?,” Murphy testified when asked by prosecutors in April if he and other members of YSL went to Compound Night Club on April 26, 2015 with intentions to disrupt Lil Wayne’s performance. Prosecutors say Murphy previously told investigators that they’d gone to the nightclub with plans to “boo” and “create havoc.” And, retired APD officer Tyrone Dennis recently testified that he saw Murphy with a gun near Wayne’s tour bus that night.
Murphy said he doesn’t believe he and Young Thug were on speaking terms at the time of the incident, although prosecutors allege Murphy previously told police that the rapper was upset he’d taken the rapper’s sisters to Compound in the middle of an ongoing feud with the IF Gang.
Steel said Young Thug was working in Louisiana at the time of the bus shooting. In early April, Lil Wayne and Young Thug released the collaboration “Bless” following years of publicly feuding. Steel has referenced the release in court and asserted that the rap beef is sometimes nothing more than a publicity stunt.