What are the charges against Lefty Gunplay? Rapper featured on Kendrick Lamar's GNX booked into the El Paso County Jail

On Sunday, February 23, Lefty Gunplay was arrested in El Paso ahead of a scheduled performance that brought him into the city. The Los Angeles rapper was to perform at Friends Sports Bar & Kitchen before he was arrested and then booked into the El Paso County Jail.

Per AllHipHop, Lefty Gunplay was hit with three charges, including failure to wear a seatbelt, possession of a prohibited item in a correctional facility, and possession of a controlled substance.

For the unversed, a "controlled substance" is a drug or chemical that the government regulates in a state, because of the potential of its abuse and addiction. In other words, the manufacture, possession, and use of such a drug is strictly monitored and controlled by law. Prescription medications and illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine are some examples of controlled substances.

Gunplay first gained popularity in November 2024, when he was featured in Kendrick Lamar's Tv Off - a track from his sixth album, GNX. Tv Off also became Lamar's closing performance at the Super Bowl Halftime show a few weeks ago, on Sunday, February 9.

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Lefty Gunplay was arrested with two other people

On Wednesday, February 26, KFOX 14 reported that Lefty Gunplay - born Franklin Scott Holladay - was arrested after he got pulled over because the rapper, alongside a fellow passenger - Rafael Rueda, 40 - had not been wearing their seatbelts.

El Paso Police arrested Rennell Cordova, 46, along with Gunplay and Rueda. Cordova was found with cocaine, while police later discovered methamphetamine on Holladay, according to KFOX 14.

Gunplay posted a bail bond of $35,000 - in addition to paying $184 as a fee for the seatbelt violation - on the same day of his arrest and was subsequently released. Following his release, the rapper addressed the situation briefly while talking to a local radio host, Pati Diaz, saying:

"Later on, I’ll get into further details on what really happened, but if you know, you know. I feel like I gotta make it up to my El Paso fans. I know I got a lot of fans in Texas. Things didn’t work out the way they were supposed to."

Holladay continued:

"At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and I love Texas… They gotta come see me in California if they really wanna see me. Things ain’t matching up right when I make an attempt."

Diaz also asked the rapper about his beef with Texas rappers, to which he said, "Don't believe everything you hear on the internet."

According to Texas Law, a conviction of the charges pressed against Lefty Gunplay could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years with a fine of up to $10,000.

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Gunplay addressed royalty allegations over Tv Off earlier this month

Lefty Gunplay's brief arrest comes over a week after he addressed online allegations about him not collecting publishing royalties for Tv Off.

The allegation was voiced by Brian Zisook - the co-founder of Audiomack - who tweeted on February 16, 2025, that Gunplay wasn't registered with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO), and couldn't collect royalties for Tv Off - as well as his other works without it.

The thread quickly went viral, receiving more than 3 million views and 14K likes. The following morning, Holladay replied to the viral tweet, sharing his publisher and composer credentials over X, indicating that he was signed with PRO.

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Lamar's Tv Off, which has sold more than 2 million units in the US so far, led Lefty'd streaming numbers to surge by 84%, Tribune reports.