Young Thug: US rapper's racketeering trials opens in Georgia

Rapper Young Thug's racketeering trial has begun in Georgia with opening arguments starting on Monday morning.

The Atlanta rapper, born Jeffery Lamar Williams, stands accused of co-founding a violent street gang in the Atlanta area.

Prosecutors are using the critically-acclaimed performer's own lyrics as evidence of the gang's existence.

Some are watching for the parallels to the Georgia case developing against former President Donald Trump.

Mr Williams, 32, has been in jail since his arrest in May 2022 on charges that include participating in criminal street gang activity and conspiring to violate a federal law aimed at combatting organised crime.

Prosecutors in Fulton County have argued that his music label YSL, despite producing Grammy-winning talent, is not a true business. Instead, they allege, it is a street gang affiliated with the national Bloods gang enterprise.

In an indictment in May, the district attorney's office tied the YSL men charged to a series of felony offences, including murder, armed robbery and carjacking.

Georgia prosecutors used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act - famously used in mafia prosecutions - to charge the rapper and 27 associates who were allegedly involved in the criminal enterprise at various levels.

Fulton County prosecutors also cited the Rico Act to prosecute Mr Trump and his 18 co-defendants for allegedly attempting to pressure state officials to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

A handful of Mr Williams' YSL co-defendants took plea deals or had their cases separated from the trial over the 10-month jury selection process, which was finally completed in early November.

Prosecutors say they plan to call up to 400 witnesses and that the investigation into YSL has been ongoing for roughly 10 years.

During that period, Young Thug - who co-wrote the critically acclaimed Donald Glover song This is America - has been a growing force in hip-hop.

This month the judge overseeing the trial ruled that prosecutors will be allowed to use some rap lyrics as evidence that crimes had been committed by the defendants.

That lyrics from his songs are being used as evidence in the case has raised questions about free speech, artistic expression and racial bias, but prosecutors dismissed those arguments.

"I have some legal advice: don't confess to crimes on rap lyrics if you do not want them used - or at least get out of my county," the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a September 2022 news conference.

Popular rappers such as Killer Mike, Lil Wayne, and TI could be among those to testify in the trial.

The trial, expected to around six months, will also be watched for its parallels to Mr Trump's election fraud case in the state.

The indictment against Mr Trump and his co-defendants in the case also uses Rico laws to allege the former president "unlawfully conspired" to change the election outcome while participating in a "criminal enterprise".