It gets harder to believe in America and the so called American justice system everyday. As the country racks with the genocide of the Palestinian people and mass arrests on college campuses at protests against it, Georgia is in the midst of the longest trial in the history of the state. The state of Georgia is trying to frame rapper Young Thug as the leader of a massive criminal enterprise by using RICO statutes to make his music label appear like a mafia unit, painting Thug as a mob boss. The state gave a number of Thug’s friends and label mates conditional plea deals saying that YSL was a gang in an effort to connect crimes those individuals committed back to Thug. It is hard not to see this line of attack as at least somewhat racially motivated. The state’s defense has used the unique nature of the RICO case to bring an unprecedented number of witnesses to the stand in an attempt to overwhelm the jury. They still reportedly have over 90 witnesses to bring to the stand, though it has become clear in recent weeks that many witnesses the state was planning on bringing up, particularly higher profile names like Lil Wayne, were bluffs who the state had not even contacted.
To make matters worse, the music media ecosystem continues to crumble, meaning there has been far too little professional media coverage of the case. While local outlets like Atlanta’s 11Alive News NBC have been providing fairly shallow but regular coverage, and while national outlets like the NYT, Washington Post, and Billboard will post occasional in depth pieces on the trial, the only place you can find daily in depth updates on the court case are from @THUGGERDAILYひ, a Young Thug twitter fan page that took off shortly after Thug was arrested. The twitter page is anonymously run by a leading member of a 200+ person Discord channel dedicated to Thug. They started updating the Discord with information on Thug’s pre-trial hearings and formally took over the @THUGGERDAILY twitter account once the group realized that the mainstream media was not going to report on the case with the attention to detail it deserved. They’ve been updating fans on the ins and outs of the trial as it plays out in court just about every day since December 16th, 2022 when Slimelife Shawty took a plea. THUGGERDAILY not only reports on the case relentlessly but takes the time to call out other accounts posting disinformation on the case. Whenever a slimy engagement farming rap page posts something sensationalist about the Thug trial, THUGGERDAILY is always in the comments making sure fans have the real story. In a better world they’d be getting paid handsomely for this service, as their work is more than deserving of a healthy paycheck, but as so many rap writers have made apparent, the music media apparatus is not willing to put forth the money to properly cover this case.
This case presents an unfortunate opportunity for the legal system to completely reshape how they view rap labels. If YSL is seriously to be considered a Mafia unit worthy of a RICO trial, the state could potentially find a way to make almost any organized group of Black people look like a gang in the eyes of the law. This is not the only strange RICO case the State of Georgia is currently pursuing either, as they are also charging Anti Cop City activists with similar RICO charges, meaning the outcome of the Thug case could set precedent not just for other rap related cases but any case the state of Georgia might want to slap a RICO onto. With their constant coverage of the often outlandish highs and lows of the trial, THUGGERDAILY are providing a genuine service not just for Thug and hip hop fans, but for the many lawyers, judges and legal scholars, particularly those in Fulton County, who are closely following this trial hoping Thug gets a fair case.
We had the opportunity to ask THUGGERDAILY some questions about their perspective on Thug’s chances in the trial, why the state’s RICO case is taking so long, and how they cover the trial day in and day out. Thanks to our friend and unofficial legal council Ock Sportello for their assistance on this piece.
GSC: When did you get into Young Thug? What made him stand out to you as an artist?
TD: I remember the first Young Thug song I had ever heard – it was “Hercules”, a collab with Metro off his 2016 project I’m Up, a friend sent it to me while Thug was hyping up his upcoming project Slime Season 3. The crazy vocal inflections, flow, and energy grabbed me immediately, so I started going through his biggest hits on YouTube. Every song sounded like a different artist – I remember listening to “Best Friend” that same day and thinking “wow okay so he actually pronounces words sometimes”. It was nothing like I had ever heard, and the main thing that captured me was his energy.
GSC: Why did you decide to start THUGGERDAILY back in 2019? What was the page like in its early days?
TD: Funny enough, I am not the original owner of the THUGGERDAILY twitter account. I had known the original owner for quite some time through a Young Thug Discord page. He originally made it as a lowkey fan page for snippets and memes.
When Thug got arrested in 2022 I was very active in the discord chat and became the main source of information and updates on the case for the community of ~200 active people. The owner of the discord made me my own channel to keep updating people. I was able to gain access to the zoom link for the early pre-trial hearings and learned how to access the relevant documents, so I would send updates every day. In December 2022, when the first defendant to take a plea in the case (DK) got out of jail, I caught wind of it immediately and updated the discord. There was this huge frenzy of getting the documents, digging through them to find out if he “snitched”, see what type of information he provided, how many years of probation he agreed to, etc.
There was radio silence from the media online. Literally ZERO people reported on it… The coverage for the pre-trial hearings had already been super sparse – way less info than I was providing for the discord, but c’mon… someone took a plea and no one is reporting on it?? Then when Gunna took the plea shortly after, misinformation of him being a snitch based off the plea hearing video was running rampant.
At this point, the THUGGERDAILY account had about 1,000 followers. We had already talked about creating a publicly facing twitter page for the updates I was giving on discord, but now that action was happening in the case, and the coverage gave the wrong type of attention/misinformation, he offered me to take over the account.
My actual first tweet on the account was on December 16, 2022 when Slimelife Shawty took a plea:
44 likes haha!
GSC: Young Thug was first arrested back in 2022 for crimes that go back as far as 2013. What was your understanding of the Thug case as it started in 2022? Did it seem like it could drag on this long back then?
TD: I immediately knew it was going to be a RICO. Fans of Thug who had been following the then recent incidents surrounding YSL kind of saw this coming – especially when just a few weeks prior, two of Thug’s closest friends were targeted in a shooting.
I don’t think anyone expected it to drag on this long. I mean, we all knew he was facing serious allegations and serious time, but I never would have thought the state wanted a year of jury selection and a year of trial. It’s breaking records in Georgia – and not in a good way.
Additionally, with every bond hearing, fans felt certain he was going to be granted bond. His arguments in favor of bond seemed very strong to us laypeople, and he even offered full monitored house arrest. Him being locked up for 2 years before any possible conviction was definitely unexpected.
GSC: How did you get up to speed on the legalese to navigate complex verbiage of the justice system? Did you have a legal background or did you also have to learn it all on the fly? Were there any particularly good resources you used in this regard?
TD: I have zero legal background. I just love reading. Also because early on pre-trial there was usually about a month between each court hearing, so I had plenty of time to catch up. Honestly, I learned most of everything just by reading filings (Brian Steel’s language in motions is very clear and simple) and listening to the hearings.
GSC: I know that Thug is facing a plethora of felony charges, so many where at one point they raided his house while he was arrested and tacked on seven more. Is there a sense of exactly what Thug is on trial for? It feels like through the RICO the prosecution is trying to get him for a hundred things at once.
TD: Yea, basically the main accusation is Young Thug is the leader of a gang. There are very few accusations of Thug himself committing crimes, so they’re relying on his loose associations with some real deal criminals. The idea is that Thug was the “leader” of YSL, so if they can prove these criminals were part of YSL, and committed crimes to benefit YSL, Thug should go down for it. For example, the most serious thing he’s accused of is renting the car that was used in a drive-by shooting that lead to the death of a high-ranking blood gang member – Donovan Thomas aka Nut.
It’s undeniable Thug rented that car. It’s undeniable that someone used that car to kill Nut. However, it’s also undeniable Thug was not in the car at the time of the murder. So now, the prosecution’s goal is to convince the jury that Thug commanded that murder. I could go into their theory of his motive if interested.
It does feel like the prosecution is trying to get him for a hundred things at once, though.
GSC: If you could go into theory on the motive’s I’d appreciate it.
TD: Basically, Thug was making ground-breaking city-shaking music with another artist known as Rich Homie Quan. Birdman wanted to sign them as a group. Donovan Thomas, an “OG” to Quan, pushed him away from them and wanted him to focus on his solo career and stop collaborating with Thug and Birdman. Somehow, the state is arguing that means Thug and Birdman wanted to kill Nut so they could have Quan for themselves. The motive makes no sense to me.
GSC: While we started with 28, there are now just six people on trial, Thug included, thanks to a variety of plea deals and severances. Who remains on trial?
TD: The main 2 that fans would be familiar with are Yak Gotti (Deamonte Kendrick) and SB (Shannon Stillwell).
Yak Gotti is a signee to the record label, been on multiple Young Thug projects, and been around Thug forever. Most Thug fans know him well.
SB is also someone some Thug fans may have already been familiar with. He raps, but is not a YSL signee, and never been on a Thug project. He was viewed as a Thug day-one that never left the streets really.
They’re both accused of being in the car that murdered Nut.
Additionally on trial are two people both known as Quay. One of them might be familiar to super hardcore Thug fans as he was known for previewing unreleased Thug music on instagram. The other Quay, no one has any idea how he fits into YSL. He hasn’t even been mentioned in the trial yet. He’s accused of the other of the two murders in the indictment.
The last one is Lil Rod, Rodalius Ryan. Thug has never met this young kid until they met in that courtroom. He was sentenced to life for a murder he was convicted of committing when he was fifteen. He is in the entire 86 page indictment only a handful of times. It’s very unnecessary he’s even on trial here since he’s already serving life. As far as we can tell, his only purpose in the case is to put someone with a murder conviction in the Young Thug case.
GSC: The state of Georgia is putting forth an unprecedented RICO case that tries Young Thug’s YSL (Young Stoner Life) label as a gang. Was that their approach from the start? Why does it seem like they are pursuing this strategy? How radically would this reshape the way rap groups are seen in the eyes of the law?
TD: Yeah, it was charged as a RICO from the beginning. The existence of “Young Slime Life” as a gang is pretty much undeniable – it’s documented, and people have admitted to being a part of it since at least 2015 – including some codefendants in this case. The Georgia RICO law is overly broad and allows the state to bring in a ton of evidence that normally wouldn’t be admissible to be used against everyone in the case. The Georgia RICO law is based on the Federal RICO laws but are distinct enough to be quite controversial. Many legal experts I’ve talked with say the way it’s been used (against YSL, the school teachers, and other cases) is unconstitutional and would not survive the Supreme Court of Georgia. There are so many double jeopardy and confrontation clause issues.
GSC: Several of Thug’s associates who copped to plea deals tied up with the RICO seem to try to be towing the line to both not incriminate Thug and not lose out on their plea deal, including Tick who actively tried stalling during his testimony and DK who has done some of the same more recently, two men who also attest to being founding YSL members. What do you make of these guys in the scope of the case and in Thug’s life?
TD: DK and Tick’s RICO charges were made up ENTIRELY 100% of crimes they already served time for. It’s actually so unethical and straight up evil that they were tied up in this. Imagine taking a plea for a crime, agreeing to plea guilty in exchange for seven years of jail, and then soon as you’re out, you get put back in jail for the exact same thing. I cannot blame these guys for taking a plea.
Tick is genuinely one of Thug’s day ones. When he wasn’t in jail he was around Thug his entire career, even leading up to his arrest. He had some instagram posts talking about how they only gave him one day before his plea expired and he was genuinely conflicted. According to him, he asked Thug in court what he thought about the plea and he smiled and said “heck no n***as ain’t supposed to do that… but they already did it though….”.
So yeah, he was super conflicted and definitely tried to minimize the damage while looking out for his own best interests.
As for DK, that guy had been legitimately cooperating with police for years and was cut off from the rest of the group very early on. But that was almost a decade ago. He definitely wanted to leave it all behind after serving his time but the state dragged him back in.
GSC: The early weeks of the trial involved an infamous Zoom bomb and an alleged drug deal where Khalif Adams allegedly handed Thug a Percocet. Did anything come of those incidents? Were there any other weird moments early on that people may have missed?
TD: There were some pranksters that called the judge’s cellphone in the middle of a live hearing and started yelling at him “Who bribed you? How much did they pay you?” etc. and the Judge got super mad and started yelling at them back. Unfortunately, this video has been completely deleted from the internet but I did see it myself. It lead to the hearings being barred from being live streamed for a few months which was really rough, but luckily I was able to get the zoom link to keep the community updated.
There was a YSL lawyer that got arrested in the middle of a hearing for having pills in his bag. Released pretty much immediately since they were his prescription pills.
There was a recent Thug co-defendant that was sexually harassed by a Fulton County DA who wouldn’t stop asking her out.
Lotta crazy stuff. Some crazy stuff happened in private that I can’t even comment on right now but one day, when a documentary of this case is made, I hope to sell some stories lol.
GSC: After facing a years worth of jail time and much media scrutiny for his alleged snitching it seems like Gunna has been absolved both by the legal system and by Thug supporters. How did he get wrapped up in this last year?
TD: Gunna was charged the same day Thug was arrested. He was overseas when the indictment dropped and turned himself in the same week. He was the second defendant to take a plea.
Because his involvement in the indictment’s allegations was legitimately almost zero. He, along with one other similarly situated co-defendant, got very very favorable pleas that do not require them to testify to specific facts, like the rest of the pleas do. Unfortunately, when the video of him agreeing that “YSL is a gang” surfaced (which was a prerequisite to a guilty plea, and won’t be used against anyone else), internet gangsters decided that must mean he’s cooperating and gave a statement. Thug’s own family, and close friends in the industry, were sending shots at him on social media (but have since stopped).
GSC: Thug also dropped BUSINESS IS BUSINESS in the midst of his trial. What were your thoughts on the record in the context of the case? Where does it stack in Thug’s pantheon? I thought the opener “Jonesboro” and “Global Access” with Nate Reuss, who Thug has worked with several times recently, were particularly moving.
TD: The record is controversial among Thug fans. The rollout of the album being designed to basically step on Gunna’s album release just 1 week prior left a bad taste in a lot of peoples’ mouths. It was framed as a Thug vs Gunna situation, when it really shouldn’t have been, and the album’s reception suffered as a result. I personally loved the music though.
GSC: The state allowed Thug’s music to be played in court which led to Thug’s legal team playing “Lifestyle”. Why did the state want to play Thug’s music in court and do you think that Thug’s defense was able to show his work’s artistic merits and why it should not be considered in the trial?
TD: Lifestyle was released under the group “Rich Gang” which was Birdman, Rich Homie Quan, and Thug. The state wanted to make Rich Gang merch look like “gang” clothing. Thug’s defense wanted to play “Lifestyle” to show what Rich Gang actually was.
I think the part about showing his work’s artistic merits won’t come until the defense’s case in chief, because the judge blocked the defense from playing full songs to show context to lyrics being used against him until it was the defense’s turn to present their case. I am excited for that.
GSC: Thugs lawyers have also been particularly theatrical, from saying THUG stood for “Truly Humble Under God” to Max Schardt making the filing of motions feel like a battle of good and evil, as you put it. What do you make of their in court strategy and theatrics?
TD: Haha, that “truly humble under god” thing pisses me off a lot. Yes, it’s true, and fans know, that Thug was using the acronym long before he was ever arrested. But who cares. The defense’s argument this whole time has been that “Young Thug” is Jeffery Williams portraying himself as a gangster to add appeal and market his music. Thug portraying a gangster image is undeniable. So WHO CARES what Thug stands for?? Either way, it doesn’t affect the argument. No juror’s decision to render a guilty or innocent verdict is going to be swayed whatsoever by what THUG stands for. I do not understand why the defense, and the state, have wasted literally hours on this one point, asking every witness about it.
The rest of the theatrics feel warranted because this case has actually been insane.
GSC: The state’s defense, in particular Ms. Love, has been relentless and nasty where the judge has had to call her out several times. What do you make of her approach? Do you think she has any underlying motivations? I know the defense had an unsuccessful motion to try and have her removed.
TD: Through my page, I’ve been very blessed with the opportunity to talk to many, many practicing attorneys local to Fulton County. Normally, they would be too professional to trash talk another attorney, especially to a “fan page” like mine. However, with Ms. Love they are all singing the same tune. She has a reputation, far before this case, of being the single most unethical ADA they’ve ever had to deal with. She’s nasty, disrespectful, and downright malicious.
In a normal trial, which last only a few days or a couple weeks at most, this may work well in her favor. However, through the months in that courtroom, and the viral social media clips, its impossible that the jury does not pick up on Ms. Love’s nastiness. I think it will backfire on her.
I do not think she has any specific underlying motives other than winning.
GSC: What insight or perspective have you been able to gleam from talking with practicing attorneys in Fulton County? Are they all as appalled by this process as we are? Does it seem like they are generally rooting for Thug?
TD: The trial has highlighted unethical practices and general unfairness by Fulton County prosecutors that practicing defense attorneys have to face in their work every single day. They are happy the world gets to see it. I don’t get the sense they’re rooting for Thug, they’re just rooting for him to get a fair trial.
GSC: One member of Thug’s defense, Nicole Fagan, was arrested on an unrelated gun charge. Is there anything to this story past the wild headline? She was not representing Thug, but could this negatively impact his case?
TD: She actually was arrested on an unrelated gang charge. But no, I don’t see it affecting Thug since she’s not accused of anything related to YSL.
The summary is basically she’s accused of telling someone, who wasn’t her client, to hide evidence because the cops were coming to arrest them – info she found out while sitting in court for a different person.
GSC: This has become the longest trial in Georgia history and the prosecution still has 90 witnesses to bring to the stand. It seems like a major tenant of their strategy is to overwhelm the court with evidence. Is there any hope of resolution in sight or do you see this going on for a good while longer?
TD: There have been at least five points in the trial where, if it wasn’t for the months-long jury selection, a mistrial would have certainly been called. So no, I don’t think there’s any hope of a resolution in sight. Going to have to thug it out.
GSC: Do you see hope for Thug’s innocence in the eyes of the law? The state’s case looks flimsier to me by the day in my eyes but it seems there is a long road ahead.
TD: Honestly, the case does look very flimsy due to how the prosecution designed it, but I think there really could have been a decent case under all of this with the right prosecution team. But my prediction is I don’t think we see Thug walk away with a “not guilty” verdict, I think it ends in a mistrial, either because the jurors couldn’t come to a unanimous decision, or on appeal. And with all the time served credits Thug is building up (one day equals three days of credit) it won’t be worth it for the prosecution to continue to prosecute him.
GSC: Who else have you seen doing good reporting on the case that deserves more attention and shine for their work?
TD: Jozsef Papp has been in the courtroom almost every day and doesn’t get enough attention on his in-court reporting.
GSC: I saw that Metro Boomin reposted a screenshot that I believe you had taken, have any high profile people inside or outside of Thug’s orbit reached out and commended you for your coverage? I hope you are getting the flowers for your good work.
TD: Inside Thug’s orbit, plenty. His sisters, nephew, father, girlfriend, exes, other YSL artists, have all reached out and it’s been amazing to receive their support on my page. Outside of the very close circle, nah, no one high profile has reached out.
GSC: Is there anything else about the Young Thug case that people should know that you have not had the chance to mention yet?
TD: Nothing that can be public yet, but rest assured, as soon as some of the crazy stuff I’ve heard can be made public, it’ll be right on my twitter!
