Hip- hop has seen its fair share of high-profile criminal trials, but perhaps none will be more impactful to the genre as a whole than the ongoing racketeering trial against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his crew, YSL. While YSL is ostensibly the name of Thug’s record label, according to Georgia prosecutors, it’s actually the title of a violent street gang, Young Slime Life, with the trapper turned rapper at its head.
Over the past few months, it seems all of hip-hop culture’s eyes have been on the court proceedings due to the impact their outcome could have — not just on Young Thug and YSL, but on hip-hop as a whole. Because the Fulton County District Attorney’s indictment cites Thug’s lyrics as the main evidence against him for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the case has drawn national attention, with many observers calling this decision prejudiced against a musical form invented and primarily practiced by Black artists.
Because of the case’s import, plenty lf people will naturally want to follow it in real time, and fortunately for them, the trial is being livestreamed by multiple networks, a testament to public interest in the case. Among the networks livestreaming the trial are Fox 5 Atlanta, Law & Crime Network, and Atlanta News First.
In addition, in-depth coverage and commentary has been provided throughout by legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff, who gained attention during the assault trial against Tory Lanez for shooting Megan Thee Stallion (she aslo gained the affectionate nickname Meghann Thee Reporter from followers online). Her YouTube channel also includes a stream and her commentary with explanations and breakdowns for those viewers who aren’t familiar with legal proceedings.
The trial is currently on hiatus and scheduled to restart on January 22.
Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.