Chaos in YNW Melly Case Could Lead to Mistrial

Gunna cryptically announced he’s releasing new music tonight. We’ll find out at midnight if it’s his comeback album or a single. In other news today:

• Song streams & revenue 📈 

• Polo G clowns Dillon Brooks in new freestyle 🤡 

• Chaos erupts in YNW Melly trial 💥 

• Gunna announces potential comeback album 🔫 

• Industry Insights

Song Streams & Revenue

It’s a new Thursday and a new song revenue chart. As reported by Hits Double Daily, which tracks streaming revenue week over week, the above chart reflects the streaming period from June 2nd to 8th.

Lots of new song entries this week, Latto and Cardi B’s new single debuted with almost 12M streams generating 57K in revenue. Metro Boomin has 2 songs from the Spider-Man soundtrack that amassed a combined 20M streams and 97K in revenue.

Meanwhile, Gunna’s first single post-jail nabbed 8M streams and 42K, and The Weeknd’s first single from his show The Idol got 9M streams and 45K in revenue.

The tweet of the day goes to La Flame 🔥 Travis Scott’s Utopia rollout continues in London as he was spotted shooting an iconic tribute to The Beatles.

Polo G Clowns Dillon Brooks in New Freestyle

Has anyone checked in on Dillon Brooks? Polo G visited Power 106’s Justin Credible this week and threw shots at Brooks in a new freestyle. Ditching his melodic crooning and pain beats, he leans into his drill side, menacingly rapping over Ja Rule’s classic “New York” single.

“All I hang with is crooks, and they play with the choppers / If he a lame like Dillon Brooks, I’ll take him straight off the roster,” Polo rapped, evoking a laugh from Credible.

The diss references the news that the Memphis Grizzlies will reportedly not bring back Brooks “under any circumstances” next season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Brooks first made himself a suitable subject for a rap diss when he made unfavorable comments about LeBron James during the NBA playoffs, only to be defeated by James and the Lakers 4-2 in the first round.

Polo’s wordplay pokes fun at Brooks’ performance and removal from the Memphis Grizzlies. Aside from that, he bodied the beat and was in his element, even switching his flow for a few bars. He ended the freestyle by announcing he has a new album otw.

Context for those of you out touching grass

Polo G is no stranger to a good NBA diss. In May, he re-enacted Ja Morant’s infamous gun-toting incident on IG live (the first one) in the music video for SleazyWorld Go’s “Off The Court.” Polo appears in a strip club on IG live with a gun in his hand while he raps, “Walk down on him, grrah grrah, I got my stick in the club like Ja.” Ja Morant walked so Dillon Brooks could run.

Why this matters

Freestyles are a cultural tradition in rap dating back to the ‘80s. It’s questionable how many freestyles today are done on the spot and not prepared beforehand, but they’re still unique from traditional releases.

Polo G’s freestyle got the internet’s attention which is ultimately the goal of any promotion leading up to an album release. By flexing his lyrical skills and wordplay, he’s getting fans excited for new music in a way that traditional interviews can’t.

The Chaos on Days 3 & 4 of the YNW Melly Trial Could Lead to a Mistrial

It’s day 4 of YNW Melly’s trial, and the prosecution’s case hinges on forensic evidence from a gun they don’t have. Melly’s defense successfully rebuttals the use of his “Murder On My Mind” music video, a win for the rap on trial movement, and select Snapchat footage as evidence.

The prosecution’s forensic evidence (so far)

Crime scene photos from inside the vehicle and outside the alleged location have been presented, along with expert testimony to explain the findings. Surveillance footage shows Melly entering the vehicle along with the 2 victims and his co-defendant, Cortlen Henry, on the night of the murders.

Day 3 was taken up by long and tedious testimony from firearm and ballistics experts. After 4 hours of riveting information (so much so that a juror fell asleep), the takeaway was anti-climactic. The evidence shows the trajectory of the bullets shot inside the car, but without a murder weapon, it’s impossible to determine the make and model of the firearm used.

However, the forensic evidence does support the notion that a drive-by shooting didn’t occur and the fatal shots were fired inside the vehicle.

“Murder On My Mind” will not be used as evidence

In a win for Melly and his defense team, the judge denies the request to use certain Snapchat memories and the “Murder On My Mind” music video as evidence deeming both “prejudicial.” The judge limited Snapchat evidence severely, dismissing the footage of Melly with a firearm and racks of cash from admission.

Day 4 included the presence of Kevin Liles, CEO of 300 Entertainment aka the record label Melly is signed to.

Melly’s Lawyers Request a Mistrial

Tensions hit an all-time high in court today during the testimony of Felicia Holmes, the mother of Melly’s ex-girlfriend.

In 2018, Holmes told investigators she overheard a call between Melly and her daughter on the night of the murders. During the call, Melly said the shooting was a drive-by, and he was at Fredo Bang’s house. She later recanted her statement.

The prosecution grilled Holmes about the alleged call (she testified she couldn’t remember) and receiving money from Melly’s manager (she testified the money was not for personal use). Holmes fired back at the prosecution, saying she felt threatened and intimidated.

This led to the defense requesting a mistrial and arguing that the state put Holmes on the stand to attack Melly’s character and taint the jury’s perception of him, which is irreversible. More on factors that lead to a mistrial are below. The judge said he needed time to decide, and the court was adjourned until Tuesday.

Context for those of you out touching grass

YNW Melly signed with Kevin Liles’ 300 Entertainment in 2018 in a joint deal with Atlantic Records. Liles has been a lead advocate of the #protectblackart movement, which stands against the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials.

“Murder On My Mind” was first released on SoundCloud on March 4, 2017, and later released by 300 Entertainment as a single on June 1, 2018. It’s a stretch to say the song's creation aligns with the shooting's timeline.

Why this matters

The Snapchat evidence and “Murder On My Mind” music video are relevant to any trial that includes rap lyrics and social media posts (YSL RICO indictment included both). Let’s look at the difference between probative and prejudicial evidence.

Probative evidence is rooted in logic and tends to prove the truth or falsity of a particular claim. Prejudicial evidence carries the risk of unfairly swaying the jury through bias and compromising the fairness of the trial. It’s often inadmissible or subject to limitations, and if presented in court—it can lead to a mistrial.

Like prejudicial evidence, if attorneys make improper statements or engage in misconduct that could taint the jury’s perception, the court may declare a mistrial. Melly’s lawyers argue that the prosecution did just that during Felicia Holmes’ testimony.

Gunna Surprisingly Announces First Album Post-Jail

On Wednesday, Gunna celebrated his 30th birthday and announced a gift for his fans—his new project, A Gift & A Curse. Scheduled to drop on June 16th, the news comes as a surprise. The “Pushing P” rapper didn’t specify if the release was a single or an album, but speculation is that it’s his comeback album.

He recently dropped the single “bread & butter”, potentially to warm fans up to his return, and it debuted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. He’s also been teasing snippets of unreleased music on social media—another telltale sign an album is coming.

While public sentiment towards Gunna is mixed, many of his fans have been outspoken about their love for his music and belief that he’ll still do numbers. His last 2 albums, DS4EVER and WUNNA, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with over 100K units for first-week sales.

Context for those of you out touching grass

Plagued by snitch allegations since his acceptance of a plea deal in the YSL RICO trial, Gunna’s been alienated by many of his rap peers. Everyone from Lil Durk and Boosie Badazz to Bobby Shmurda has weighed in with a negative opinion.

He addressed some of the controversy in his recent single “bread & butter.” “Never gave no statement or agreed to take no stand on ‘em”, he rapped, asserting he didn’t provide evidence on anyone else in the YSL trial.

Why this matters

We previously explored the topic of snitches in rap and how the label has damaged Gunna’s authenticity and credibility as a rapper. If A Gift & A Curse is indeed an album, this is his one shot at redemption. A fire album could successfully change his reputation and rebuild his credibility as one of the best rappers to come out of Atlanta in recent years.

However, a bad album would only further push him into the depths of cancellation and embarrassment. His first post-jail album will unlikely do the same numbers as before, but it will be heavily covered in the media if he continues to speak on his allegations and betrayals. Maybe he’ll even throw a few direct shots at rappers who’ve dissed him for clickbait measures.

• Twitter sued for $250M by music publishers over “massive” copyright infringement. Talks to cut a licensing deal with music labels reportedly stalled after Elon Musk took over.

• Meta releases an AI music generator trained on 20,000 hours of licensed music. MusicGen follows Google’s MusicLM as the 2nd experimental text-to-music AI model.

• Snoop Dogg defers Songwriters Hall of Fame induction due to “personal reasons”. However, he’s still open to being honored as part of the class of 2024.

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