The 17 Lyrics Allowed as Evidence in Young Thug's YSL RICO Trial

Yesterday was historic—GTA 6 was announced, Omegle shut down after 14 years, and Frank Ocean previewed new music. It was so historic you might have missed the headlines below:

• Song streams & revenue 💰️ 

• These 17 lyrics will be used against Young Thug in YSL RICO 🐍 

• Video of A$AP Rocky allegedly shooting at friend shown in court 📹️ 

• New Music Friday releases 💿️ 

• Industry Insights 📈 

Song Streams & Revenue

It’s a new Thursday and a new song revenue chart. As reported by Hits Daily Double, which tracks streaming revenue week over week, the above chart reflects the streaming period from October 27 to November 2.

Taylor Swift dethroned Drake’s streaming reign, but he still has four songs from For All The Dogs on the song revenue chart, which made a combined $235K from just under 49M streams. This is down 16% from the previous week of $277K from the same songs.

These 17 YSL Lyrics Will Be Used Against Defendants in RICO Trial

The hearing to determine if rap lyrics are admissible in the YSL RICO case happened, and the news isn’t good for Young Thug. Rejecting Thug’s request to ban lyrics entirely, Judge Glanville allowed prosecutors to admit 17 lyrics preliminarily, hinging on their ability to prove the lyrics are relevant during the trial to which the defense can object.

Before the ruling, Thug’s team argued that his lyrics are protected artistic free speech, and linking them to alleged crimes would be “racist and discriminatory.”

Prosecutors countered that his lyrics are relevant evidence of the charged racketeering and gang offenses. Citing the precedent of cases where “white supremacist lyrics” were used to show a defendant’s “skinhead beliefs.”

Which lyrics are being used?

The list of 17 lyrics shown in court and admitted as preliminary evidence is below. According to Billboard, prosecutors highlighted specific lyrics they plan to play for jurors and why.

From 2016’s “Slime Shit” by Thug, they referenced the lyrics “killin’ 12 shit” and “hundred rounds in a Tahoe.” Prosecutors said “12” is slang for police officers, and the lyric referenced an incident where a YSL member shot an officer. The “Tahoe,” lyric allegedly boasts about the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas, a rival gang member to YSL, which is a key allegation in the indictment.

“Not only did Donovan Thomas drive a Tahoe, there were multiple rounds of shell casings laid out on the ground where he was killed in front of his barber shop,” Prosecutor Symone Hylton said.

From 2018’s “Anybody,” they referenced Thug’s lyric, “I never killed anybody / But I got somethin’ to do with that body,” and from the 2021 YSL Records track “Really Be Slime,” they referenced BSlime’s lyric, “You wanna be slime? Go catch you a body.” Prosecutors argued that those lyrics support their allegation that YSL gang initiation involves committing murder to become a “slime.”

Video of A$AP Rocky Allegedly Shooting Friend Shown in Court

A grainy video was shown in court this week allegedly showing A$AP Rocky firing a gun at his former friend A$AP Relli during a 2021 incident that’s led to a legal battle for the rapper. Rocky has pled not guilty in the felony case and asserts he’s the victim of a money shakedown by Relli.

Rocky watched the clip during his probable cause hearing in court, which will determine whether there’s enough evidence to take him to trial on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. According to Rolling Stone, the video shows a group of men involved in a scuffle that ends with one member sprinting away while the rest scatter, but no apparent shooting.

Rocky appeared in good spirits, leaving the courtroom. When asked how he felt by a reporter, he says, “I feel how I look…good,” in the video below. His next hearing is set for Nov. 20, 2023.

What happened between A$AP Rocky and A$AP Relli?

The testimony from A$AP Relli in the tense courtroom revealed more details about the largely unknown incident on November 6, 2021, between the former friends.

Relli told the courtroom that he believed Rocky had promised to pay for the funeral expenses of one of their friends and failed to deliver. So, he sent him a text on Oct 28, 2021, that said, “You so fucking fake it’s sad.” Reli was asked if he found out Rocky did pay for the entire funeral, and he said yes, but after the incident.

More unanswered texts were sent, and Rocky finally reached out to Relli on Nov. 6, 2021, asking him to meet face-to-face in LA. Rocky allegedly showed up with A$AP Illz and A$AP Twelvyy. Relli testified that Rocky reportedly pulled out a gun and said, “I’ll kill you right now,” but there were people nearby, so he put it away.

Relli continued that he was “talking a bunch of shit” to Rocky, telling him how he failed friends from back home, and one was suffering from a crack addiction while another was living in the projects. This is when Rocky allegedly fired the first bullet that grazed Relli’s left hand and fired two or three more times before fleeing the scene.

New Music Friday

NBA YoungBoy is dropping the sequel to his 2018 album Decided, for those needing some new murder rap. Here’s all the music you can look forward to—categorized by 💿️ for albums and 🎶 for singles:

• 💿️ Too Good To Be True by Meek Mill, Rick Ross

• 💿️ Saint Michael by Trippie Redd

• 💿️ Decided 2 by NBA YoungBoy

• 💿️ The Night Shift by Larry June, Cardo

• 💿️ 11:11 by Chris Brown

• 💿️ The First Time by The Kid LAROI

• 💿️ Dennis Daughter by Lola Brooke

• 💿️ Heaven Knows by PinkPantheress

• 🎶 “Smurk Carter” by Lil Durk

• 🎶 “Lovin On Me” by Jack Harlow

• 🎶 “Long Story Short” by Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz

• 🎶 “Natural Habitat” by Ken Carson, 070 Shake

• 🎶 “OK” by Busta Rhymes, Young Thug

• 🎶 “Yonce Freestyle” by Kevin Gates, Sexyy Red, B.G. 

• Drake’s “Slime You Out” lyrics have been turned into a 12-month calendar for 2024. The limited edition product called “For All The Planners” was created by the IG account @drakecalendar.

• Snoop Dogg and his son are launching Death Row Games. The startup will focus on giving minority creators a platform to develop and publish for Fortnite using the game’s Unreal Editor.

• Tupac murder suspect Keefe D gets a trial date and will avoid the death penalty if convicted. Appearing alongside his public defender attorneys, it was ruled he’ll remain in jail until the trial.

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