MUMBAI: Rapper Young Thug co-founded a violent street gang and promoted it in his songs and on social media, prosecutors allege in a sprawling indictment that accuses him and 27 others of racketeering and a laundry list of other crimes meant to further the gang’s interests.

He was arrested Monday at his home in Buckhead, an upscale neighborhood north of downtown Atlanta. He was being held at the Fulton County Jail on charges of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s RICO Act and participation in a criminal street gang.

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Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, told local news outlets that “Mr. Williams committed no crime whatsoever” and he would “fight till his last drop of blood to clear him.”

He was scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday.

Also charged in the indictment were Atlanta rapper Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, and aspiring rapper Christian Eppinger, who was already in jail and is accused of shooting an Atlanta police officer six times in February. It was not immediately known if Gunna, who is accused of conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO Act, has been arrested.

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Gunna, who is signed to Thug’s Young Stoner Life record label, scored his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with “DS4Ever” this year. The Grammy-nominated artist is known for boosting the viral catchphrase “Pushin P,” a term that has been regularly used on social media by popular athletes such as LeBron James and Dez Bryant, along with professional sports teams such as the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors. The rapper said the term is based on “keeping it real.” 

Credit: The Indian Express