Offbeat rap maestro, Atlanta kid Young Thug on trial for organized crime

An avant-garde figure in Atlanta rap with his flows peppered with cracks and screams, Young Thug, tried for organized crime, is one of the most famous and unique stars of his genre. Tattooed all the way to his face, the rapper with an eccentric personality and psychedelic style is one of the most influential voices of his generation. At 32, the prolific artist, with iconic titles like Best Friend or Power, has collaborated with the greatest of rap and pop: from Drake to Dua Lipa to Chris Brown.

Born on August 16, 1991, Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, grew up in a poor suburb of this city in the southeast of the United States, which has become the nerve center of rap in recent years. As a teenager, he already imagined himself as "the future Lil Wayne", another rap star from the southern United States, whom he idolized before becoming one of his friends, then one of his rivals.

In 2011, the young rapper published track after track and caught the eye of rap legend Gucci Mane, who signed him. His singles Stoner and Danny Glover were hits and propelled him to stardom. Described by a critic from hip-hop magazine XXL as “the weird rap guy,” Young Thug has found “a new way to destabilize and distort his tone,” according to Billboard magazine. With his confusing rhymes and scrambled words, he stands out as one of the most emblematic representatives of the trap movement. “I like when people ask me what I say,” Young Thug confided to The Fader magazine in 2014. And continued: “I'm not going to tell them, I'm going to let them listen to my songs for another 10 years more before doing it.”

Often imitated, he has inspired many young artists like Lil Duke, Lil Keed and Gunna. The latter, also involved in the organized crime case targeting Young Thug, reached an agreement to plead guilty with the courts. The affair, which broke out in May 2022 with the arrest of Young Thug, shook the Atlanta art scene. The rapper was charged alongside around twenty other people for alleged membership in a branch of the “Bloods” gang identified as “Young Slime Life” (YSL).

Georgia state prosecutors accuse the star of being the founder and leader of the group, suspected in particular of murders and drug trafficking, and whose initials correspond to those of his label founded in 2016, Young Stoner Life Records. An association that his defense refutes, which assures that the letters correspond to nothing other than a label serving as a breeding ground for artists, with Young Thug continuing for his part to proclaim his innocence. Prosecutors are considering, as evidence of criminal acts, excerpts from songs by several artists, including Young Thug, a practice accused of being racist and an attack on artistic freedom by supporters of freedom of expression and professionals in the sector.

The artist's trial - which began in January with an endless selection of jurors - must begin on Monday with the start of the substantive debates. As a snub, Young Thug released an album Business is Business in June 2023, appearing seated in a courtroom on the cover of the record.