YNW Melly Murder Trial: Day 1 & 2 Recap

Tory Lanez’s sentencing date, scheduled for today, was rescheduled again to August 7th. Meanwhile, YNW Melly’s double murder trial is underway. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 & album chart 📈 (1 min read)

• Playboi Carti & NBA YoungBoy spark collab rumors 👿 (2 min read)

• YNW Melly’s lawyer drops bombshell on day 1 of trial 🤯 (3.5 min read)

• Metro x Pluto collab album may be sooner than you think 🦅 (1 min read)

• Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵 

Hot 100 Chart & Streams

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking, as of today, and the corresponding song streams for the week of June 2nd to 8th as reported by Hits Double Daily. Hot 100 ranks songs based on a combination of streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Latto and Cardi B’s song “Put It On Da Floor Again” debuts at #13 with 11M streams and Lil Durk’s song with J. Cole is the highest-charting rap song this week. Taylor Swift’s “Karma” remix with Ice Spice drops from #2 last week to #10.

Album debuts

Billboard’s 200 chart was updated today including albums from last week’s sales projections. Metro Boomin’s Spider-Man soundtrack debuted at #7 and Money Bagg Yo’s Hard To Love got the last spot in the Top 10. Toosii’s debut studio album, NAUJOUR, opened at #19.

Playboi Carti & NBA YoungBoy Spark Collab Rumors

What’s more intense than a group of Carti fans? A group of Carti fans united with NBA YoungBoy fans for a collab album that should be critiqued at your own risk.

The two rappers are known for having the most feral and passionate fan bases in rap. Drake fans might fight you in the comments but die-hard Carti fans are liable to seek retribution via Voodoo doll.

Playboi Carti posted a photo of YB on his IG stories this week that shows YB wearing an Opium chain (Opium is Carti’s record label) and the rumors started to fly. The luxury jewelry account, @jewelryunlimited bolstered the rumors of a collab album by posting the Opium chain they made with the caption, “Playboi Carti gifts YoungBoy a chain ahead of their new collab album.”

Unlike YB, Carti is elusive—sharing minimal information online—and has 1 album for every 10 YB’s dropped. By Carti standards, an IG story is a rare amount of information but considering his history of teasing with no climax, fans are skeptical about the collab ever seeing the light of day. U/michael.cookie commented “we all getting blue balled again stay woke” on RapTV’s post about the news.

The trifecta rage, emo, and rock rap with fervent fanbases would truly be Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and NBA YoungBoy but it’s unlikely that will ever come to fruition.

Context for those of you out touching grass

Last year, YB was accused of biting Carti’s sound on his joint album with DaBaby, Better Than You. The opening track, “Hit”, had a video game-inspired beat and a high-pitched flow that drew comparisons to Carti’s Whole Lotta Red album.

The two rappers have never been featured on the same song before but it’s not hard to see how their styles could be complimentary. YB’s experimented with the goth/rock star aesthetic Carti embodies and his murder raps are in the same vein as Carti’s rage rap sound.

Why this matters

This collab could be highly beneficial for Carti and YB’s individual careers. YB’s reputation and narrative in the media have been dominated by rap beefs often taking precedence over his music itself. The positive association with a rapper of Carti’s stature would benefit YB because it rebuilds his credibility and dispels the narrative that he’s an outcast in the industry.

On Carti’s side, his word carries no weight when it comes to releases. Fans are often frustrated at the lack of new music and the years-long drought between albums. Teasing this collab album and following through, with an artist like YB known for consistent and frequent releases, would instill hope in fans outside his core fanbase and reignite their enthusiasm for his music.

YNW Melly’s Lawyer Drops Bombshell During Day 1 of Trial

The highly publicized trial of YNW Melly has begun. Opening statements began Monday in Miami, Melly is facing 2 first-degree murder charges for the October 2018 killings of his friends, YNW Juvy (Christopher Thomas Jr.) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony Williams). It’s up to a jury to decide if Melly did have murder on his mind and if 8 out of 12 find him guilty, he could get the death penalty.

Day 1

The prosecution presented their charges and evidence to support them, citing blood splatter, phone data, and a bullet casing in a car Melly was in.

Melly’s defense lawyers focused on a lack of motive, saying that after 4 years of investigation, the state still can’t provide a reasonable explanation as to why Melly would murder his two best friends. They described the prosecution’s investigation as “incompetent and incomplete” and said the case is riddled with “reasonable doubt”.

Opening statements set the tone for what the prosecution and defense will back up with evidence as the trial unfolds. Think of it like the thesis in the intro paragraph of an essay. Lots of the headlines that came out yesterday are from the opening statements and don’t have to be supported with evidence—yet.

TikTok users likened Melly’s defense lawyer to Saul Goodman in the comments section of a video showing the defense’s opening statement.

“Shh, I did that” & YNW Melly’s alleged gang membership

In their opening statement, the prosecution claims to have evidence that a phone belonging to Melly was geographically linked to the scene of the crime and Melly is a member of the G-Shine Bloods gang proven by his behavior “indicative of blood membership”.

The prosecution cited an example of blood behavior when words typically spelled with a “c” are spelled with a “b” because “c” is associated with the rival Crips gang. This verbiage was allegedly found on Melly’s phone.

The morning after the shooting, when news broke on social media, Melly’s phone received multiple messages. One read, “Yo homie, you good? Let me know something” to which he responded, “I did that shh 🤫”.

YNW Melly’s lawyers drop bombshell

Before day 1 of the trial wrapped, Melly’s defense lawyers made a strong statement that would suggest detectives didn’t do a proper investigation. The defense told the jury that Melly’s co-defendant, Cortlen Henry, lied to police at the hospital right after the shooting, lied about the location of the shooting, and lied about not having a phone on him. Henry also showed up at the hospital wearing a change of clothes and had gunpowder residue on his hands.

The night of the shooting, Cortlen pulled up to a hospital in Flordia alone with the bodies of Juvy and Sakchaser and told authorities that they were victims of a drive-by shooting which he survived.

Day 2

There were noticeably fewer headlines from Day 2 but highlights include:

• Boosie Badazz attended court for the 2nd day in a row

• Tensions between the families of the defendant and victims continue to rise in court

• Various experts testified to the validity of evidence collected from the car Melly was in

• Tara Carroll, crime scene investigator, admits during the defense’s cross-examination that there’s a possibility of cross-contamination when examining items from the crime scene

• Carroll also admits she’s never retrieved a fingerprint from a shell casing in her 7-year career

• Melly says a prayer before the court is adjourned for the day

Context for those of you out touching grass

Last week, a judge ruled in favor of a motion that allows the death penalty if 8 out of 12 jurors vote for it. Previously it had to be a unanimous decision and this means Flordia now has the lowest threshold for imposing the death penalty in the U.S. Melly’s trial is the first to be determined under the new death penalty law.

Why this matters

Last week, explored the various stances on the death penalty given the lower threshold for Melly’s case. Research on racial and socioeconomic disparities and cognitive biases have been found to influence sentencing in death penalty cases.

Melly’s trial coverage shed light on some descriptors of the “death-qualified” jury. 9 out of 12 jurors are women and 6 out of 12 jurors are black. Racial diversity is important to try and ensure a fair trial—although biases are more complex. It’s worth noting that the last time a death penalty sentence was handed out in Broward Country, where Melly is being tried, was in 2015 to a black male convicted of first-degree murder.

New Metro x Pluto Music May Be Closer Than You Think

“MIXTAPE PLUTO,” tweeted Future last week cryptically announcing he’s on mixtape time? Dropping a mixtape soon? Appreciating his era of prolific mixtapes? It’s hard to say but coupled with some context, there’s a good chance his next release will be a joint collab with Metro Boomin.

In a series of since-deleted posts, Young Scooter and Doe Boy, artists signed to Future’s Freebandz label, recently teased Dirty Sprite 3—the follow-up to Future and Metro’s DS2 mixtape.

Metro Boomin first confirmed an album with Future in March during an interview with Flaunt magazine. He adamantly said he’s so sure it’ll arrive this year that you can “bet on it”. Following the release of Metro’s Spider-Man soundtrack, which featured Future, he responded to a fan on Twitter and said the Future album would be “next up.”

During a recent club appearance, Metro previewed an unreleased track with Future saying it’s not a full song yet but it’s a vibe. All signs are (hopefully) pointing to a full Metro x Pluto album and with Young Thug still in jail—Atlanta rap needs this.

Context for those of you out touching grass

Future and Metro began working together over a decade ago and their first release came in 2013 for “Karate Chop”. Their 2015 run was legendary delivering Future’s DS2 mixtape and Drake collab What A Time To Be Alive. Their working relationship has produced some of the biggest rap songs in the last decade. Something about Metro’s haunting melodies and crisp trap drums provides the best canvas for Future’s toxic bars and drug-infused sound.

Why this matters

The bar is high for a collaboration of this caliber, it’s been years since their last joint project, and if it doesn’t measure up to their previous work—the internet gangsters will be working overtime in the comments section. But Future and Metro have great creative synergy and a successful collab could be an album of the summer contender.

The Rap Index ft. Drake, Joyner Lucas, EST Gee, Kenny Mason & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories, describing subgenres of rap, 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. “Who Told You” by J Hus ft. Drake (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

2. “West Coast Weekend” by Tyga, YG & Blxst (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

3. “Cut U Off” by Joyner Lucas ft. NBA YoungBoy (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

4. “On Da Floor” by Rylo Rodriguez ft. EST Gee (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

5. “RICH” by Kenny Mason (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

6. “UK Rap” by Dave & Central Cee (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

7. “Big Steppa” by Amaarae (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

8. “Always You” by Lavi$h (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

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