{"id":447187,"date":"2022-05-12T20:10:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T17:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/young-thugs-prosecutors-are-using-his-lyrics-against-him-wheres-the-free-speech-brigade\/"},"modified":"2022-05-12T20:10:07","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T17:10:07","slug":"young-thugs-prosecutors-are-using-his-lyrics-against-him-wheres-the-free-speech-brigade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/young-thugs-prosecutors-are-using-his-lyrics-against-him-wheres-the-free-speech-brigade\/","title":{"rendered":"#Young Thug\u2019s prosecutors are using his lyrics against him. Where\u2019s the free speech brigade?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40b45b1e8af\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40b45b1e8af\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/young-thugs-prosecutors-are-using-his-lyrics-against-him-wheres-the-free-speech-brigade\/#%E2%80%9CYoung_Thugs_prosecutors_are_using_his_lyrics_against_him_Wheres_the_free_speech_brigade%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Young Thug\u2019s prosecutors are using his lyrics against him. Where\u2019s the free speech brigade?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/young-thugs-prosecutors-are-using-his-lyrics-against-him-wheres-the-free-speech-brigade\/#The_rapper_could_go_to_jail_for_decades_thanks_in_part_to_his_music_and_social_media_presence_Yet_theres_silence_among_those_who_claim_%E2%80%9Cfree_speech%E2%80%9D_as_their_biggest_priority\" >The rapper could go to jail for decades thanks in part to his music and social media presence. Yet there\u2019s silence among those who claim \u201cfree speech\u201d as their biggest priority.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CYoung_Thugs_prosecutors_are_using_his_lyrics_against_him_Wheres_the_free_speech_brigade%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Young Thug\u2019s prosecutors are using his lyrics against him. Where\u2019s the free speech brigade?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_rapper_could_go_to_jail_for_decades_thanks_in_part_to_his_music_and_social_media_presence_Yet_theres_silence_among_those_who_claim_%E2%80%9Cfree_speech%E2%80%9D_as_their_biggest_priority\"><\/span>The rapper could go to jail for decades thanks in part to his music and social media presence. Yet there\u2019s silence among those who claim \u201cfree speech\u201d as their biggest priority.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-232804\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/PRESS_IMAGE_r5j4oh\/young-thug-photo-via-publicist.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Young Thug\u2019s prosecutors are using his lyrics against him. Where\u2019s the free speech brigade?\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      Young Thug. Photo via publicist.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-232765\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Just over two weeks ago, free speech seemed to be America\u2019s most pressing issue. At the end of April, Elon Musk&#8217;s $44 billion bid to buy <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> was accepted, and all sides of the political spectrum were consumed by what this meant for the discourse. Musk is sympathetic to right-wing criticisms of Twitter as biased against conservatives (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2021\/oct\/22\/twitter-admits-bias-in-algorithm-for-rightwing-politicians-and-news-outlets\">claims that are factually untrue<\/a>) and has vowed to make Twitter a \u200b\u200b\u201cplatform for free speech around the world\u201d (of course, Musk <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/technology\/2022\/05\/twitter-employees-elon-musk-unbanning-donald-trump.html\">recently stated<\/a> that, under his leadership, tweets deemed \u201cwrong and bad\u201d could \u201cbe either deleted or made invisible,\u201d so who knows). This issue has more or less faded from the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> cycle, but a vision of lives destroyed for the wrong expression isn\u2019t some dystopic future. As the recent arrests of Gunna and Young Thug prove, it\u2019s h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening right now.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            The 56-count indictment was handed down on May 9. It names 28 associates of Young Thug\u2019s label YSL (Young Slime Life) including Thug and Gunna \u2013 according to prosecutors, YSL is a criminal gang founded in 2012 and connected to national Bloods crews. Each person in the indictment is charged with conspiracy to violate the state\u2019s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/why-young-thug-arrested-charges-against-atlanta-rapper-explained-rico-act-1705172\">To prosecute someone under the Act<\/a>, the state of Georgia must prove that a defendant has committed at least two offenses under the broad umbrella of \u201cracketeering\u201d and that they were perpetrated by at least two members of a criminal enterprise. If found guilty, a defendant can face up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or both.<\/p>\n<p>            Young Thug is accused of over 30 RICO violations. Some are serious, like the charge that he rented a car used in the murder of a rival gang member. But on the whole, the indictment against Thug is built on the allegation that he used lyrics in his songs and his social media presence as recruitment tools for YSL and to direct violence. Vague Instagram threats, pictures and videos of Thug displaying alleged gang signs, and lyrics from songs like \u201cEww,\u201d \u201cTake It To Trial,\u201d and \u201cSlime Shit\u201d are treated as transmissions from a criminal enterprise. (Young Thug\u2019s attorney Brian Steele has vehemently denied any wrongdoing by his client). <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            Other YSL rappers facing RICO charges are Unfoonk, Yak Gotti, and Gunna. Prosecutors have accused Gunna of nine RICO violations between 2017 and 2022 ranging from possession of drugs with intent to distribute, to an appearance in Lil Gotit\u2019s video for \u201cFox 5,\u201d where, according to the indictment, Gunna was wearing a \u201c\u2018YSL\u2019 pendant and a \u2018Slatt\u2019 pendant, with lyrics stating \u2018We got ten-hundred round choppers.\u2019\u201d The indictment calls this behaviour, and all its other assertions, \u201can overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-232802\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the chief prosecutor in the YSL case, confirmed this narrow view of the right to free speech at a press conference on Tuesday. \u201cThe First Amendment does not protect people from prosecutors using it as evidence if it is such,\u201d Willis said. \u201cIn this case, we put it as overt and predicate acts within the RICO count, because we believe that\u2019s exactly what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            Seeing these lyrics and social media presences in a court document that could destroy dozens of lives is both absurd and deeply chilling. It\u2019s also nothing new. Rap has been criminalized for decades and by authorities across the world thanks to a view of culture profoundly shaped by the Broken Window Theory, which assumes any sign of anti-social behaviour leads to increased disorder unless it is stopped at the root. With its focus on the realities of the street, rap is an easy target from coast to coast. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has partially blamed the city\u2019s violent crime rate on the rap subgenre of drill. And in Los Angeles, rapper Drakeo The Ruler saw years of his life stolen by prison as he was tried \u2013 and eventually acquitted \u2013 for murder in a trial that saw his lyrics entered as evidence.<\/p>\n<p>            Cases like Drakeo\u2019s are what make policy like the Rap On Trial bill, currently being debated in New York City, so important. If adopted, the bar would be much higher for prosecutors seeking to admit rap lyrics and videos as evidence into court. Of course, it\u2019s telling that hip-hop needs to be defended at all. \u201cEvery kind of art is drawn from life,\u201d the bill\u2019s co-author Jack Lerner told The FADER this year. \u201cJust as in country music or any other form of music, rappers take on public identities and personas, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that&#8217;s who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            Young Thug\u2019s public identity, expressed in music and on social media, now threatens to help put him in prison for decades \u2014 a final brutal irony from a justice system that created the real-life cycles of violence that Thug tried to escape through his art. This kind of prosecution seems ideal for free speech advocates, fired up from their Elon Musk\/Twitter win, to bring the momentum for their cause into the real world: speech is being criminalized in America <i>right now<\/i>, not in the \u201cwoke\u201d future they so fear. But of course they will stay silent for the same reason that the NRA said nothing when a police officer shot Philando Castile, a licensed gun owner: The right kind of people are suffering, and they\u2019re willing to bet the domino effect of these prosecutions will not eventually land on their doorsteps. <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Jordan Darville<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2022\/05\/12\/young-thug-georgia-rico-prosecution-free-speech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Young Thug\u2019s prosecutors are using his lyrics against him. Where\u2019s the free speech brigade?&#8221; The rapper could go to jail for decades thanks in part to his music and social media presence. Yet there\u2019s silence among those who claim \u201cfree speech\u201d as their biggest priority. Young Thug. Photo via publicist. \u00a0 Just over two weeks&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":447188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_532,w_1021,x_0,y_419,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/PRESS_IMAGE_vxenwn\/PRESS_IMAGE_vxenwn.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[70532,72650],"class_list":["post-447187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-hip-hop","tag-young-thug"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}