In case you hadn’t heard of him before, Jeffery Williams is a popular rapper who goes by the stage name Young Thug. And he appears to be in some legal trouble.
With a blockbuster case set to begin, Young Thug, the superstar rapper, sits at the intersection of complex questions about art, crime and the criminal justice system. https://t.co/FzeQiGGhFL
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 13, 2023
The indictment charges Mr. Williams with participation in criminal street gang activity and of furthering the interest of a criminal conspiracy through a number of illegal acts; it does not charge him individually with most of those acts, which include accusations that he rented the car used in the murder of a rival gang leader and provided safe harbor for those responsible after the killing.
Mr. Williams has denied everything. “Jeffery is a kind, intelligent, hard-working, moral and thoughtful person,” his lawyer, Brian Steel, said in a statement, arguing that the rapper had been wrongly targeted by law enforcement because of his fictional persona. “Despite the unthinkable oppressive, impoverished and cruel conditions of his upbringing, he has been able to cultivate his creative genius to lawfully and ethically attain phenomenal worldwide success.”
…
“We believe that Mr. Williams doesn’t sing about random theoretical acts — he sings about gang acts he’s a part of,” Don Geary, then a lawyer for the district attorney’s office, said in court last year.
Authenticity, an always slippery but foundational concept in hip-hop, has taken on even greater significance in the internet age. In places like Atlanta, it is a crucial selling point for the unflinching style of hip-hop known as trap music, which builds on earlier iterations of gangster rap and centers on the drug trade.
To put it simply, Young Thug’s lyrical boasts about criminal activity may end up putting him in prison. And University of San Francisco School of Law Prof. Lara Bazelon knows exactly who’s to blame for that: racists. Just hear her out:
A linchpin of the case against Young Thug who faces 120 years in prison is his particular art form. “I have some legal advice: Don’t confess to crime on rap lyrics if you do not want them used," the DA said. https://t.co/G1381l99tE
— Lara Bazelon (@larabazelon) January 17, 2023
The indictment alleges few if any direct acts by Young Thug. Instead, prosecutors are using the words in his songs to argue that he runs a criminal street gang. Anyone who cares about the First Amendment and racial justice should be deeply concerned.
— Lara Bazelon (@larabazelon) January 17, 2023
This tweet is the best one in her thread, though:
Carrie Underwood didn't get indicted for singing about taking a bat to her cheating boyfriend's car. Johnny Cash didn't get indicted for killing a man in Reno just to watch him die. This doesn't happen to white artists.
— Lara Bazelon (@larabazelon) January 17, 2023
OK, but … huh?
Right, because those song lyrics didn't correspond to actual things that happened https://t.co/OkkQTJRSTx
— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) January 17, 2023
Is it really racism that Carrie Underwood and Johnny Cash didn’t get indicted for crimes they didn’t actually commit because they’re white?
The best coverage of the YSL indictment is still from @neonflag https://t.co/uE1B0kz5G5
— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) January 17, 2023
It's really pretty simple: if you speak abstractly, or tell a made-up story, in a song, you're using free speech. If you provide details of an actual crime, hey, that can be used as evidence against you!
— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) January 17, 2023
Much like if I shot someone and then said "I shot so-and-so," prosecutors could still use that statement as evidence of my guilt even if I recorded it and then put it up on soundcloud
— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) January 17, 2023
context seems important here pic.twitter.com/RAZ5HSNlK4
— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) January 17, 2023
Context? Lara don’t need no stinkin’ context.
Police have issued a warrant for Mr. Samuel Roy Hagar following the accused fleeing the scene of a $125 traffic citation. pic.twitter.com/c9q9zo95bI
— MattBlackwell (@MattBlackwell) January 17, 2023
Bob Marley got away with killing a sheriff in cold blood. What, you think he got a pass because he spared the deputies?
— The Fed Up Commander (@Toxic_LDR) January 17, 2023
Last time we checked, Bob Marley was not a white guy.
Because none of those people actually did those things?
— The Only Gary Johnson Stan (@colorblindk1d) January 17, 2023
Young Thug didn't get indicted for his raps, but for things he did. Hope this clears things up. https://t.co/A9QCSmIFNY
— Boo (@IzaBooboo) January 17, 2023
Did, uh, they do those things? Are they plausibly accused of doing those things? One imagines this would be a key distinction. https://t.co/OxRTS0o7aT
— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) January 17, 2023
Yes, one would imagine.
Asserting race privilege here signals that your argument is emotional and not substantive.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) January 17, 2023
What a coincidence! Lara Bazelon is also emotional and not substantive!
What she is, however, is a law professor. Which is pretty disturbing.
— Ingenuous Firebrand 🐆 (@ING2Firebrand) January 17, 2023
https://t.co/8xCB4lYoGh pic.twitter.com/Qd4dHj7l4I
— Creel Committee: 1776 (@The_Real_Creel) January 17, 2023
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