Young Thug's Lyrics Will Be Used As Evidence Against Him During RICO Trial

Young Thug and 13 other YSL members are gearing up for their first full week on trial. Despite numerous outcries of free speech violations, the State of Georgia will use his past rap lyrics against him in court.

Opening statements will be made as the trial against Young Thug, born Jeffrey Williams, and his YSL brethren begins today, January 9. According to a report TMZ, lyrics to several of Young Thug's past songs will be used as evidence during the trial. During a hearing last week, Judge Ural Glanville read off some of the lyrics that will be used from Thug's 2016 song "Slime Sh*t."

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

Other songs that may pop up during the trial include his 2018 banger "Anybody" and tracks off YSL's 2020 compilation album Slime Language 2 like "Take It To Trial," "Slatty," and "Ski." Prosecutors are convinced that each song contains lyrics that establish the gang's objectives and reference their alleged illegal activity. They've also referenced other songs like "Eww" which allegedly references the robbery of a woman done by YSL's Tick. Trontavious Stephens aka Slug/Tick recently confirmed he's the one Thug mentioned in the 2014 track and agreed to testify during any future trial in exchange for his freedom.

The use of lyrics during YSL's trial, and other artists' recent court proceedings, has been a hot topic in the music industry over the past year or so. Artists and executives alike have argued that using lyrics as evidence is a violation of the defendants' First Amendment rights. 300 and Atlantic Records recently posted a petition signed by numerous artists, labels, and other music executives in an effort to "protect Black art."

Young Thug is currently facing eight of the 65 charges he was initially hit with last year including participating in criminal street gang activity, possession of a firearm and controlled substances charges, and more. Jury selection for YSL's trial is still ongoing and could last for 5-6 more weeks. So far, over 400 potential jurors have been interviewed. Overall, the trial could last nearly a year.