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- King Slime Podcast Reveals Connection Between the YSL and Donald Trump RICO Trials
King Slime Podcast Reveals Connection Between the YSL and Donald Trump RICO Trials
Plus, Bobbi Althoff denies sleeping with Drake after podcast drama.
Lots of new music dropping tonight from Quavo, Lil Tecca, Rod Wave, Polo G, and more š„ Weāre thinking of sending a shorter version of this newsletter every day but would love to hear your feedback in the poll below. In other news today:
Song streams & revenue š°ļøĀ
Travis Scottās Utopia 2nd week revenue š¤Ā
King Slime podcast reveals RICO link between Young Thug and Donald Trump šļøĀ
Bobbi Althoff addresses rumor she slept with Drake š³Ā
New Music Friday releases šæļøĀ
Industry Insights šĀ
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Song Streams & Revenue
As reported by Hits Double Daily for August 4th to 10th
Itās a new Thursday and a new song revenue chart. As reported by Hits Double Daily, which tracks streaming revenue week over week, the above chart reflects the streaming period from August 4th to 10th.
Gunnaās back on top with āfukumean,ā earning over $100K from almost 21M streams which helped him reach the #5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (along with radio airplay). Doja Catās new rap single āPaint The Town Redā earned $57K from almost 12M streams in its first week.
āUtopiaā Second Week Streaming Revenue
As reported by Hits Double Daily for August 4th to 10th
Continuing to track Utopia revenue, only 7 of the albumās 19 songs charted for the second week in a row on HDDās song revenue chart. Last week, we reported Utopia made 1.5M in revenue from 323M first-week streams.
āMeltdownā continues to be the most profitable song earning $85K from over 17M streams, and āI Know ?ā surpasses āFe!nā amassing 61K from over 12M streams. All seven songs amounted to 386K from over 80M streams.
King Slime Podcast Uncovers Link Between Donald Trump and Young Thug RICO Indictments
The first episode of iHeart Radioās King Slime podcast launched this week and itās juicy. Music journalist Christina Lee and crime and politics reporter George Chidi explore Young Thugās come-up in Atlanta, the YSL gang rivalry that started before Thugās arrest, and they shockingly predict Donald Trumpās RICO indictment and how itās connected to Thugās RICO. Find out more below.
Thug had been on gang investigatorsā radar in Atlanta for almost a decade before his arrest. Starting with a murder in 2015, referenced in the YSL indictment, thatās gone largely unnoticed but is a central piece to the case. Donovan Thomas was murdered in a drive-by shooting outside of an Atlanta barber shop on January 10th, 2015. Before he died at the hospital, he whispered the words, āThug had me killed.ā
In the YSL indictment, Thomas is described as a rival gang member with affiliations to the YFN street gang. Thug is accused of renting the car used in the drive-by.
"Thug had me killed."
If you are looking for insight into Atlanta's justice system and how a RICO case works, whether you're a #YoungThug fan, a #truecrime fan or following the Trump indictment in Georgia, this podcast is a window into that world.
#gapol
— George Chidi (find me on Threads and Substack) (@neonflag)
Aug 15, 2023
A year prior to Thugās arrest, YFN Lucci and other members of the YFN gang were hit with a 105-count RICO indictment. YSL was referenced seven times in Lucciās indictment, and prosecutors allege that war had broke out between the two gangs over the murder of Thomas.
The Connection Between Trump and Thug
DA Fani Willis, responsible for every RICO indictment mentioned above, has a reputation for being tough on crime and a history of using Georgiaās RICO laws to her advantage when prosecuting groups of people. In 2014, she prosecuted Atlanta public school teachers and principals in, you guessed it, a RICO indictment for a cheating scandal.
RICO laws were originally written to put mobsters behind bars, but the lenience in Georgia laws has allowed Willis to use it against a variety of groups committing crimes. The podcast was shot before news of Trumpās indictment was announced, but Willis held a press conference months ago where she hinted that she wouldnāt hold back if charges were brought against Trump.
Host Chidi, who is very familiar with crime and politics, made the valid point that the timing of the YSL RICO was curiously before but not too far off from Trumpās impending charges. Chidi said itās not hard to see the high-profile nature and sensitivity of the YSL indictment, which shook Atlanta and pop culture news, as a dry run for a high-profile political trial, aka Trumpās RICO.
You can listen to the first episode of King Slime life podcast on Apple Music and Spotify.
Context for those of you out touching grass
In May 2022, Young Thug was arrested and accused of being the leader of YSL, the label, and YSL, the street gang, in violation of the stateās RICO laws. Prosecutors referenced rap lyrics in the indictment claiming that theyāre not just a form of musical expression but a means of promoting the gang.
In the announcement of the YSL indictment, DA Willis referenced the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas and said she made a promise to his mother that she would get him justiceāserved in the form of a RICO because a car rental alone is not a smoking gun for murder.
Why this matters
The coverage of the YSL case has been scattered and piecemeal. This podcast is the first time someone has thoroughly investigated the case, the context, and the surrounding events related to Thugās trial. Two potential motives for the YSL RICO were revealed in the first episode.
The first is that prosecutors have been trying to prove Young Thug was responsible for the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas for nearly a decade, and the RICO is the perfect way to blame Thug as the gang leader indirectly. The second is that the timing of the YSL indictment was calculated and done as preparation for an even bigger fishāDonald Trump. The podcast will continue to unveil information about the trial in a new episode every week.
Do you think the YSL RICO trial is a dry-run for Trump's RICO?Click an option below to weigh in |
Drake and Bobbi Althoffās Drama Explained
Earlier this week, follow-watching fans noticed that Bobbi Althoff and Drake had unfollowed each other on IG, and their interview for Bobbiās The Really Good Podcast was deleted from her YouTube channel. Cue the conspiracy theories, with the most scathing being that Bobbi and Drake slept together, and she was now getting a divorce.
Dave Portnoy, CEO of Barstool Sports, said he DMād Bobbi about the rumors on the BFF podcast, but part of his story was censored and edited in a way that suggested Bobbi owned up to the affair over DM. She posted a screenshot of the DM convo to prove that her response said off the record, those rumors arenāt true.
Bobbi Althoff responds to rumors that she slept with Drake š³ā¼ļø
āThat is not true.ā
— RapTV (@Rap)
Aug 16, 2023
Before this silent social media war broke out, Bobbi appeared on the BFF podcast and candidly spoke to Portnoy about her experience interviewing Lil Yachty. She described him as awkward before they started filming and said she almost left because it was so uncomfortable. Some fans speculated that Drake disliked the Lil Yachty slander, given their close friendship, and thatās what led to the fallout.
If you watch the full clip below, the awkwardness she described wasnāt a shot at Lil Yachty but taken out of contextāit can sound like it was.
#BobbiAlthoff talks about her experience interviewing Lil Yachty and how it was awkwardš
— Hoolywood Boooth (@hollywoodbooth1)
Aug 17, 2023
Two days prior to the unfollowing, Bobbi attended Drakeās Itās All A Blur tour stop in LA and posted a TikTok at the show, making fun of herself for looking out of place. Drake has yet to comment publicly on the matter, but given his new album, For All The Dogs, is due for release soon, it would be on brand to have a petty lyric or two aimed at Bobbi. Twitter has taken it upon itself to ghostwrite some suggestions.
We shared a bed together, I could see the microphones / But I never phoned it in / My love for you was genuine / Actin all tough now itās all off (Althoff), mommy / Shmurda the only one I acknowledge now, Bobbi
— Joey (@gothamhiphop)
Aug 17, 2023
Context for those of you out touching grass
In July, Bobbi posted the episode of her interview with Drake that quickly went viral. Talking to Cosmopolitan, she revealed how she got the coveted Drake interview. After the rapper liked a video of her interview with Funny Marco and began following her, she decided to shoot her shot over DM. He agreed to go on her podcast and sent her his touring schedule. Two days later, she flew to Memphis and recorded the episode.
Why this matters
Not high on the life-changing scale for news, but Drakeās beefs are usually reserved for Pusha T and others in the rap sphere. He rarely does press, and he seemed to take a liking to Bobbi, posting the podcast on his socials and FaceTiming Lil Yachty during his interview with Bobbi. Hereās hoping For All The Dogs or Bobbi spills the tea.
What do you think went wrong with Bobbi & Drake?Click an option below to weigh in |
New Music Friday
Quavoās new album Rocket Power feat. Young Thug, Future, and the first posthumous music from Takeoff drops tonight š Mike WiLL Made-It and Lil Uzi Vert kicked things off early with their new single āBlood Mood.ā Hereās all the music dropping tonightācategorized by šæļø for albums and š¶ for singles:
šæļø Rocket Power by Quavo
šæļøĀ El Toro 2 by EST Gee
šæļø SANTIAGO by Russ
šæļøĀ Not Now, Iām Busy by Joyner Lucas
šæļøĀ Zero Tolerance by Giggs
šæļøĀ The Patience by Mick Jenkins
šæļøĀ Wish You Were Here by Dro Kenji
šæļøĀ Different Breed by Swavy
š¶Ā Blood Moon by Mike WiLL Made-It, Lil Uzi Vert
š¶Ā HVN ON EARTH by Lil Tecca, Kodak Black
š¶Ā Barely Holdinā On by Polo G
š¶ Hard to Handle by Young Scooter, Future
š¶Ā The Good Kind by Larry June, Cardo
š¶Ā Unavailable Remix by Davido, Latto
š¶Ā TBA by Smino
š¶Ā Forever by Ciara, Lil Baby
Who gets first listen?Click an option below to weigh in |
Nicki Minaj teases snippets from āPink Friday 2ā album and goes viral. The album was the second-highest trending subject on Twitter as a result.
SoundExchange sues SiriusXM for over $150M in unpaid royalties to artists and rights holders. The lawsuit alleges that SiriusXM has been undercounting revenue from satellite radio to reduce the amount paid out in royalties.
EST Gee walks out of Bootleg Kev interview and slams the podcaster on social media. The rapper said questions about aliens and football had nothing to do with his new album.
Like sports? šĀ š Get up-to-date analysis and unique insight thatās actually interesting to read with the Playmaker Newsletter.
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