Young Thug, Gunna and 28 other members of YSL are facing RICO charges and football numbers based on rap lyrics? Haven’t we heard this song before? How can justice be served if all you have as evidence are beats and rhymes?

On the evening of May 9th, Young Thug an Atlanta based Hip-Hop artist along with 28 other individuals associated with his YSL imprint were arrested and charged with 56 counts under the RICO laws. Additionally after a search and seizure, Thugger himself was charged with seven additional felonies related to previous unrelated cases involving illegal substances and murder. Initially the bulk of the evidence against Young Thug was exclusively taken from lyrics of his music detailing the supposed crimes in question. No physical evidence or eyewitness testimony had been entered. Sound familiar? Maybe because much of Young Thug’s case mirrors that of Bobby Schmurda, a young black Hip-Hop artist whose affiliations to the streets, and music that blurred the line between autobiography and fiction portraying the life of a violent gang member affiliated with organized crime. It also draws similarities in that despite the very serious, and hefty charges in front of them, the prosecution virtually has no case other than depending on the creative content that the artist produced. YSL or Young Slime Life is the label imprint founded by Young Thug and features artists such as Gunna, Keed, UnFoonk and others. Fulton County prosecutors believe that the activities of Thug and others on the label directly led to more than 50 acts of violence including assault, murder and robbery. 

To understand the seriousness of this case however, consider what the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or “RICO” is. RICO essentially is a law that was created in 1970 and deals exclusively with organized crime. A RICO case can be triggered if an individual is alleged to have committed a minimum of two acts of racketeering from a list of 27 different felonies within a 10 year period that are tied in one of four specific ways to an existing business or enterprise. This automatically if found guilty results in a twenty year sentence per charge (In Young Thug’s case he has been hit with 56 counts) and up to a 25,000 dollar fine plus a forfeiture of any profit and assets gained during the acts. Because of the very precise and specific nature of the charges, if and when federal investigators pursue a RICO charge historically the prosecution has an almost airtight case, one that involves significant and substantial evidence in their favor. 

To date, the only other piece of evidence Georgia prosecutors have are wiretaps of Young Thug encouraging members of YSL to supposedly retaliate against enemies of the label. If the “Rap Music on Trial” bill were to pass, and was nationwide rather than just in the state of New York, the case against YSL would crumble into dust as soon as the beat dropped, but to date no such law to protect artists, specifically rap artists exist. The other high profile person in the case, Gunna has a trial set for January. At the time of this, all other cases are pending. Both Young Thug and Gunna have been denied bail and remain in custody. 

Once again, this case raises the question of artistic freedom, integrity, race and justice. What can or can’t be said in the form of expression under the eyes of the law? How can the criminal justice system realistically, reasonably and ethically discern between what is an admission of a crime, or an elaborate fictional persona meant to give a semblance of authenticy to an artist? Given the history of law enforcement and its numerous racist practices it’s hard to argue they can. Consequently, is it in the best interest of an artist who is rising to become an entrepreneur putting themselves in close proximity to, even if still peripheral to those involved in “street life”? If neighborhood and family connections endanger your business, is it wise to continue to keep those connections? One of the aspects of rap specifically that at one point mirrored “the code of the streets” was that you didn’t speak openly about your movements and actions. Everything was in code. Rappers from Mobb Deep, to NaS to Jay-Z to Wu-Tang spoke about this on record, and so much of the slang and language in rap music was heavily coded in part for those reasons. The phenomenon that has occurred in Drill and Trap over the last 10-15 years of rap music, where lyrics seemingly are so literal and direct in some ways have made rappers easier targets for racists organizations such as the police to target them. But, is that even something fair to ask specifically black artists to have to think about given the massive amounts of corruption and criminality that happens throughout the United States where celebrities of all types have been found to have connections to it as well? Why is Rap singled out? 

To that final question, at least I have an answer. As rap and Hip-Hop continue to gain respect, notoriety and financial power for black people, and even more specifically young black people who are coming from what this country considers the underclass, it’s a threat to the accepted order and racial hierarchy that America has established. A country founded on the principals of white supremacy cannot reconcile any group creating and generating success by means not supplied by them. This country can never accept a non-white group who does not emulate them or adhere to their standards on the way to that success. Any and everyone else, is at the very least ostracized and are the victims of significant efforts to marginalize and be pushed to the fringes. In the worst case scenarios that YSL is enduring, it is the desire for the system to make them an example for any others who would choose to follow in that path. Choose it, and meet a dead end. It remains to be seen what the final verdict will be, and if we can ever truly know what is the truth regarding what role Young Thug, Gunna and the members of YSL may have played in any criminal acts. But unless and until the rules of the game change, this won’t be the last rap artists being indicted because of their own lyrics. 

Mikal Amin Lee