The criminal trial of rapper Young Thug finally got underway in the US state of Georgia yesterday, with the prosecution delivering its opening remarks.
"For ten years and counting", said Fulton County District Attorney Adriane Love, according to Rolling Stone, "the group calling itself Young Slime Life dominated the Cleveland Avenue community of Fulton County. They created a crater … that sucked in the youth, innocence and even the lives of some of its youngest members".
The core allegation in this case is that, as well as running a YSL record label, Young Thug - real name Jeffery Williams - also headed up a YSL gang that was involved in murders, shootings and carjackings. He was charged last year with numerous counts of racketeering.
“YSL, as the evidence will show, didn’t move individually", Love continued. "The members and associates of YSL moved like a pack, with defendant Jeffery Williams as its head".
The prosecution will use Williams' lyrics and creative output as evidence in this trial. This is a controversial move, but a tactic that was approved by the judge. Critics argue that jurors are prone to assume rap lyrics are rooted in reality when, of course, they can describe entirely fictional events.
However, according to the BBC, Love argued in her opening remarks that Williams' lyrics "bore a very eerie significance to real life". Later citing lyrics from an associate of Williams that refer to a murder, she added: "We didn't chase any of the lyrics to solve any murders. Law enforcement in Fulton County chased the murders and found the lyrics".
It remains to be seen just how much the prosecution relies on those lyrics in court, though Williams' defence is sure to continue pushing back at the suggestion that a defendant's creative output constitutes credible evidence.
The case continues.