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The hotly-anticipated trial of the rapper Young Thug is underway in a courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia, following almost a year of delays.
In May 2022, Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, was arrested and charged in a sprawling RICO indictment along with 27 other defendants.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – who is using the same law to prosecute Donald Trump in his Georgia election interference case – accused the suspects of being part of a criminal street gang named YSL or “Young Slime Life.”
According to prosecutors, the gang is responsible for a series of violent crimes, including murders, shootings, carjackings and racketeering.
Young Thug has denied the accusations and insisted that YSL is simply Young Thug’s record label – Young Stoner Life.
After several defendants took plea deals or had their cases severed, the Grammy Award-winning rapper and five others are finally on trial.
Week two of the trial began Monday after a three-day recess. Court kicked off with a thirty-minute scuffle between the parties about the prosecution’s witness list.
Last week, Young Thug’s lawyer explained the meaning behind several of the rapper’s lyrics – after prosecutors claimed the lyrics are central to the case.
This included claiming the word thug means “truly humble under God”. His courtroom performance has since gone viral on social media.
