Young Thug's Father Questions Why Donald Trump Got Bail but Thug Didn't

If you’re wondering what Kanye’s up to in Italy, it involves a boat, a blazer with a split, and his uncovered 🍑 In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵 

• Why did Donald Trump get bail for RICO, but Young Thug didn’t? 💸 

• Drake weighs in on Noah Lyles’ criticisms of the NBA 🏀 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

The Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on a combination of streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” jumps 10 spots, from #15 to #5, and Gunna’s “fukumean” holds steady at #7. Rod Wave’s new single debuts at #26 in preparation for his new album, Nostalgia, scheduled to release on September 15th.

Not pictured above, Travis Scott’s Utopia holds the #1 album spot on the Billboard 200 chart for the fourth consecutive week. It’s the first rap album to spend its first four weeks at #1 since Drake’s Scorpion in 2018.

The Rap Index ft. J. Cole, Gucci Mane, Burna Boy, Lil Yachty & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories describing rap subgenres, songs are placed according to their style and sound—giving you a better idea of what songs will appeal to your musical taste. Only releases from the previous New Music Friday are included to help keep you up to date.

1. “There I Go” by Gucci Mane, J. Cole, Mike WiLL Made-It (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

2. “Rapper of the Year” by Luh Tyler (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

3. “No Amiris” by Peezy, Key Glock (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

4. “Tesla” by Lil Yachty (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

5. “Cheat On Me” by Burna Boy, Dave (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

6. “Mercy” by Fridayy, Byron Messia (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

7. “Thanks” by Burna Boy, J. Cole (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

8. “Wish U Well” by French Montana, Swae Lee (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

Young Thug’s Father Questions Why Donald Trump Got Bond But Thug Didn’t

When Donald Trump turned himself in at the Fulton County jail, where Young Thug is imprisoned, he spent a total of 20 minutes there before being released on a $200K bond and hopping back on his private jet.

If Trump is facing the same RICO charges as Thug, in the same state, brought forth by the same D.A., why was he granted his freedom pre-trial, but Thug remains behind bars? It’s the question Thug’s father is publicly asking.

On Saturday (August 26), a few days after Trump’s release, DJ Akademics shared a post with the caption, “Message from Young Thug’s dad.”

Jeffrey Williams Sr. (yes, Thug has the same name as his father) calls out D.A. Fani Willis, who has been a controversial figurehead leading the YSL and Trump RICOs. Comments on the post were mixed, with the majority opposing the statement that Trump and Thug are facing the exact charges. “There’s no bodies involved, big difference 💀” commented u/thebighash.

Are Trump and Thug’s cases the same?

Both Trump and Thug are accused of breaking a variety of criminal laws, which differ in their indictments, but D.A. Willis strategically uses the Georgia RICO law to tie all of their alleged misconduct together, and it is the backbone of both indictments.

At Young Thug’s latest bond hearing in July, Judge Ural Glanville denied the request for bond for the fourth time, citing fears of witness intimidation. Thug’s attorney, Brian Steel, tried to argue that Thug’s pre-trial incarceration was causing severe harm to his health, making his existing kidney condition worse with poor nutrition, and the lack of sleep was interfering with preparation for trial.

Steel likened the jail conditions to “torture” and said the court could set “whatever conditions needed” to grant bond. In comparisons drawn by this Rolling Stone article, Lashawn Thompson was found dead in a Fulton County Jail cell with inhumane conditions, eaten alive by bed bugs, last year, and alleged mobster Ralph DiMatteo was granted bail while awaiting federal RICO charges in New York.

Meanwhile, Trump is not accused of being the leader of a criminal street gang, but he was granted bail on the condition that he cannot intimidate witnesses, co-defendants, or other people. Trump is free to continue his political campaign, and there seems to be no concern for him repeating the same illegal activities he’s being accused of (trying to reverse his 2020 electoral loss in Georgia).

He also made a casual $7M from merchandise with his mugshot—directly benefitting his presidential campaign.

Context for those of you out touching grass

In May 2022, Young Thug was arrested after authorities searched his home and revealed an 88-page RICO indictment against the YSL crew. His trial is moving at a glacial pace while he’s been incarcerated for over a year. September will be the nine-month mark since jury selection began, and not a single juror has been sat yet.

Why this matters

As Trump and Thug’s trials progress, it’ll be easier to draw comparisons and point out differences that could support the double standard accusation made by Thug’s father. RICOs are lengthy trials by nature, and both cases are highly publicized, so Trump’s jury selection, in theory, should be as difficult as Thug’s.

Lawyer and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani spoke to Rolling Stone about the strategic advantages of keeping a defendant like Young Thug in jail. There’s a higher chance of convincing a defendant to take a plea deal if they’re in jail while awaiting trial—Gunna is an excellent example of this. It also makes it harder for the defendant to defend their case and prepare for trial if they don’t have the freedom to meet with their lawyer as they please.

Drake Claps Back at Noah Lyles’ Criticisms of the NBA

Drake, an NBA fan and professional courtside heckler, entered the Noah Lyles chat, clapping back at the track star’s remarks that the winners of the NBA finals are unfairly titled “world champions.”

Who even is Noah Lyles? You’re probably wondering. The 26-year-old athlete won the 100 and 200-meter sprints at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest last week, making him the first male to win both since Usain Bolt in 2015.

At a post-meet press conference, Lyles threw shots at the NBA when asked about how to grow or improve his sport. You can hear his complete response below, along with Drake’s hot take.

Drake’s comment was on DJ Akademik's post, highlighting the backlash from NBA stars like Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and Devin Booker.

Devil’s Advocate Opinion

Sports journalist Gary Al-Smith, who covers African sports, spoke to NPR about why other countries agree with Lyles’ take on the NBA.

“I would say a disproportionate amount of Americans actually believe that the NBA is — or that the winner of the NBA is — the world champion because people from multiple nationalities, or the best NBA players in the world, play in the NBA,” Smith said.

“That is very odd for me, because as a sports journalist, when you hear anything being described as the "world championship," automatically in your mind, it's different countries competing,” he said, concluding his opinion.

Why this matters

Similar to the NBA, rap as a genre is dominated by American artists. The Billboard charts, which are exclusive to sales in the US, are the only rankings that matter in the global conversation of rap music. Even countries like the UK, with a prominent rap scene, are considered inferior when it comes to artist vs. artist debates. There is no American awards show that crowns artists “the best of the world,” but the Noah Lyles controversy can be applied to a conversation about underrepresentation in music, too.

• Travis Scott vows to help Kai Cenat get iShowSpeed unbanned from Twitch. Kai has previously said he’ll end his partnership with the streaming platform if iShowSpeed isn’t allowed to return.

• Future defeats copyright lawsuit as judge quotes Kanye and Biggie lyrics in dismissal. The suit, from 2021, alleged that his song “When I Think About It” was a ripoff of DaQuan Robinson’s song.

• Diddy donates $1M to Jackson State University football team, presented during their win versus South Carolina State. As an alum himself, he first pledged the donation at the 2022 BET Awards.

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