WATCH: Young Thug grooves to his Barter 6 track Halftime played in courtroom during YSL RICO trial

American rapper Young Thug, who has been named as one of the defendants in the Georgia case, was seen vibing to his track Halftime, during the trial on May 8, 2024. It has been almost two years that the rapper, along with 27 others, faced indictment on RICO gang charges in Atlanta.

It has been more than five months that the state of Georgia is fighting the case against five defendants including rapper Young Thug.

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According to Fulton County prosecutors, the rapper allegedly was leading a gang named Young Slime Life. The case garnered national attention mostly due to the involvement of the rapper.

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Young Thug grooved to his music in the courtroom

While fans are on the edge and eager to know the updates of the criminal trial involving rapper Young Thug, he was seen grooving to his song Halftime in the courtroom and his attorney Brian Steel was seen smiling at it. The video footage of the incident did not take much time to go viral.

Steel and the rapper have been seen sharing a good bond even before this video garnered attention. Last month, they were photographed doing a fist bump, which, according to many, could be an album cover. On day 73 of the trial, when the state played the song in the courtroom, Thug couldn't stop himself from vibing to his own beats.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had previously accused the rapper of being the mastermind behind YSL or Young Slime Life. YSL is a street gang based in Atlanta and also reportedly has an affiliation with the Bloods Gang.

Quite some time before Thug's trial started in November 2023, Judge Ural Glanville ruled that lyrics and verses from about 17 of his songs could be used against him and the co-defendants in the criminal trial, as reported by Billboard. When the defense team attempted to use the First Amendment as a defense criterion, the judge said:

"They're not prosecuting your clients because of the songs they wrote. They're using the songs to prove other things your clients may have been involved in. I don't think it's an attack on free speech."

In the clip of the courtroom that went viral, Young Thug was seen vibing to the following lyrics of his track:

"I done figured this s*** out / If you think you gone bite on my swag it's a virus. I don my swag and I pull up on b****** dressed in all white like Miley Cyrus / No, I'm not gay, I f*** b***** on b***** ..."

While the rapper grooved to the expletive lyrics, his attorney briefly smiled and looked at him before looking around the courtroom.

This is not the first time that a rapper has been involved in a RICO violation case. In 2019, the court ordered two years behind bars after 6ix9ine pleaded guilty to a racketing conspiracy along with eight separate charges.

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Prosecutors claimed that Young Thug authorized several violent activities while operating YSL

The main case against Young Thug is based on the allegations that he founded and operated a street gang in Atlanta. The indictment against him contained the mention of several alleged crimes since 2013. This was shortly before Thug stepped on the Billboard Hot 100, with his tracks like Lifestyle as well as Stoner.

As per CNN, The charges against the 32-year-old American rapper include "conspiring to violate RICO, participation in criminal street gang activity, violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, and possession of a machine gun."

Young Thug vibing on his own song in court, (Image via Debating Hip-Hop/X)

Apart from Young Thug, many other rappers who chose to sign to his label Young Stoner Life, had been indicted. This list includes rappers like Gunna and Slimelife Shawty. Both faced charges of one count of conspiracy to violate RICO and eventually entered a plea deal in December 2022.

Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love referred to Young Thug as "King Slime" in the opening arguments that happened last year in November. Love added:

"The evidence will show that the members of YSL knew who their leader was, and they knew the repercussions of not obeying him."

According to the indictment, while Young Thug was becoming a famous name in the hip-hop world, he was also operating a street gang who were allegedly involved in violent acts.

While the prosecutors have been using the rap lyrics against the rappers, the defense team and several other music executives believed that it was wrong to do so. When the trial began last year, 300 Entertainment’s Kevin Liles said that the scene would be different had it been country music in question.