This is a turning point in a case that is shaking up the American music industry. Rapper Young Thug, on trial for almost two years in a sprawling trial for organized crime, finally agreed on Thursday to plead guilty, American media report.
Real name Jeffery Lamar Williams, the artist, arrested in May 2022, is accused by the courts of the state of Georgia of being the leader of a branch of the “Bloods” gang involved in murders, trafficking drugs and violent car thefts. His trial, with five co-defendants, is the longest in state history.
He pleaded guilty in a court in Atlanta, capital of Georgia, to six counts, including possession of drugs and firearms and participation in organized criminal activity, according to the same sources. The American hip-hop star also said he did not contest charges of leading a street gang and violating Georgia's organized crime law.
Three of his co-defendants have already pleaded guilty this week. Prosecutors announced that they would seek a sentence of 25 years in prison for Young Thug, with 20 years of probation.
This interminable trial was punctuated by dramatic events. Judge Ural Glanville, who presided over a 10-month jury selection and then eight months of proceedings, had to recuse himself in July for arranging a meeting with prosecutors and a key witness, without informing all parties. He was replaced by another magistrate, Paige Reese Whitaker.
The arrest in May 2022 of the singer of “Best Friend”, “Hot” or “Check”, crowned with a Grammy Award in 2019 as co-author of the “best song” of the year, “This is America,” had been a shock to Atlanta’s influential hip-hop scene. Young Thug has collaborated with the biggest names in rap and pop, from Drake to Travis Scott, including Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber and Elton John.
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