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Although 2024 is coming to a close, the excitement amongst the hip-hop community is at an all-time high as the culture moves into the new year. From highly anticipated albums to massive tours, rappers are gearing up for an entertaining 2025.
Looking back on this year, hip-hop witnessed some major high-profile legal cases involving popular artists and music executives, like the highly followed YSL Trial. The three-year RICO trial, which started in 2021 involving Atlanta rappers Young Thug, his record label YSL, and Gunna, finally concluded today (December 4).
Popular hip-hop artists and their upcoming 2025 legal trials
While Young Thug is currently serving his fifteen-year probation at home after pleading guilty in the YSL RICO trial, several other high-profile hip-hop personalities are set to face trials in 2025. Below are five popular rappers scheduled to face criminal and civil cases next year.
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Lil Durk - January 2025
Lil Durk was arrested in October over multiple charges that stem from a supposed murder-for-hire plot against rapper Quando Rondo, in 2022, as retaliation for King Von's murder in 2020. The list of charges placed against the OTF CEO has been provided below:
- One count of use of interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death.
- One count of conspiracy and one count of using, carrying, and discharging firearms and a machine gun.
- Possession of such firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
According to authorities, Durk allegedly placed a bounty on Rondo following King Von's murder, where Quando's associate Lul Tim shot and killed the OTF rapper outside a hookah bar in Atlanta. In August 2022, five individuals with ties to Lil Durk's "Only The Family" hip-hop record label flew to Los Angeles to supposedly track down Quando Rondo.
The five men, named Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsey, and Asa Houston, eventually tracked the rapper to a Beverly Hills gas station where they opened fire on his black escalade.
While Rondo survived the encounter, his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson a.k.a Lul Pab, was shot multiple times before succumbing to their injuries. The Grammy-winning hip-hop star has pled not guilty against all charges in his criminal trial scheduled for January 7, 2025.
If convicted, Lil Durk and the five individuals allegedly associated with OTF could be looking at a maximum sentence of life in prison for the murder-for-hire plot against Quando Rondo.
A$AP Rocky - January 2025
A$AP Rocky is set to face criminal charges on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, stemming from a 2021 altercation with former friend Terell Ephron.
Alongside his criminal trial, Rocky will also face a civil lawsuit filed by Ephron's legal team seeking $25,000 for damages for assault, battery, and emotional distress. The hip-hop artist and fashion designer has denied all the allegations and maintains his innocence, with his defense team suggesting Ephron's allegations are "exaggerated and without merit".
Initially scheduled for November 2024, A$AP Rocky's trial was postponed to January 21, 2025, due to scheduling conflicts and a benefit concert in Bangkok. He potentially faces serious prison time if convicted on these charges.
Tay-K - February 2025
Tay-K, famously known for the 2017 hip-hop record The Race, is currently serving a 55-year sentence in prison for the shooting and murder of a Texas man, Ethan Walker, in 2016.
The rapper is now scheduled to stand trial, on charges of Capital Murder, over the killing of Mark Anthony Saldivar in 2017. According to authorities, while Tay-K was on the run after "jumping bail," in the Ethan Walker murder case, police claim the rapper shot and robbed Saldivar at a local Chick-fil-A restaurant in Texas.
After turning down a plea deal offered by the prosecution, Tay-K is scheduled to stand trial on February 10, 2025, and, if convicted, could potentially face life behind bars without parole.
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs - May 2025
Hip-hop producer and music mogul Sean Combs, professionally known as P. Diddy, is facing a litany of charges next year which include allegations of s*x trafficking, racketeering, s*xual assault, and transportation of prostitution.
Diddy will face a highly publicized trial defending claims that suggest the mogul had allegedly threatened and s*xually coerced multiple women and men, with some claims dating back to over 30 years ago.
Sean Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, six months following a Department of Homeland Security raid, where federal agents seized and searched his Los Angeles and Miami mansions.
After being denied bail a third time, the music mogul is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, and will remain behind bars until his trial, whose date has been set for May 5, 2025. If convicted, Diddy could potentially be looking at life in prison.
YNW Melly - September 2025
After YNW Melly's first murder trial ended with a "hung jury," the hip-hop star's case is scheduled to be revisited again next year.
YNW Melly has been held behind bars since February 2019, defending allegations that claim he orchestrated the shooting and murder of his friends, Christopher "YNW Juvy" Thomas and Anthony "YNW Sakchaser" Williams, in 2018.
The claims also list YNW Bortlen, the individual who drove Thomas and Williams' deceased bodies to the hospital claiming they were shot in a drive-by, as an accomplice to the crime.
Prosecutors have now added a charge of witness tampering, suggesting that both, Melly and Bortlen, attempted to contact the rapper's ex-girlfriend, Mariah Hamilton, to convince her of not testifying during his first trial.
While YNW Melly has maintained his not guilty stance, the hip-hop artist is scheduled for a re-trial on September 10, 2025. If convicted, Melly could potentially receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
While these rappers are scheduled to face legal trials next year, several artists are gearing up for major tours for projects released this year. Check out some of the most highly anticipated hip-hop tours for 2025 here.
