This is Why Young Thug's Lawyer, Brian Steel, Was Arrested in Court

Young Thug’s trial for the YSL RICO needs a documentary, and it’s not even halfway through. If you think Thug is cooked because his lawyer was arrested—read our breakdown. The headlines don’t tell the full story. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• This is why Young Thug’s lawyer was sentenced to jail time 🤯 

• Kendrick Lamar’s first public appearance since Drake feud 🎓️ 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

Billboard Hot 100

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

Eminem’s “Houdini” makes a strong debut at #2 while Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” drops to #5 after keeping a chokehold on the #2 spot for a few weeks. Central Cee and Lil Baby’s collab hit “BAND4BAND” rises from #22 to #18 in its second week. Glorilla’s “Wanna Be” gets a boost from the remix, jumping from #39 to #15.

This is Why Young Thug’s Lawyer Was Arrested & What It Means For His Trial

Brian Steel, Young Thug’s lawyer in his ongoing YSL RICO case, was arrested for criminal contempt of the court and ordered to spend 10 weekends (20 days) in jail. 

Steel asked that if the appeal doesn’t get him a bond, he could spend those weekends in jail with Thug to continue working on their case, and the judge agreed. 

Bits of information about the trial have trickled onto social timelines, with reactions to Steel’s arrest varying from, “Bro, they locked up the attorney omg ysl never getting freed, to “realest n***a I’ve ever seen in my life.” But the headline doesn’t tell the whole story…

Below, we broke down the proceedings that led to Steel’s arrest, why both sides are accusing each other of foul play, and how this relates to Thug’s case.

Wait…What did Steel do?

Steel got information about a side meeting on June 10 between the judge, the DA, critical witness Kenneth Copeland (AKA Lil Woody), and his counsel.

When Steel refused to reveal his source after asking the Judge why that meeting occurred without his knowledge, he was charged with criminal contempt that same day.

Chaos erupted in the courtroom, on live stream, when Steel was taken into custody, only to return later so the trial could resume. Cathy Russon, the managing editor of Law&Crime, tweeted that there was “a ‘sea of attorneys"’ in the hallway ready to stand in solidarity” with Steel.

Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, the president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, was among the supporting crowd. She came in to defend Steel alongside attorney Alex Susor, representing him as a “strike force” from the defense association.

What was the meeting that Steel called out?

The meeting between Judge Glanville, witness Copeland and his attorney, and the DA is considered an ex parte, or “one that occurs at the request of and for the benefit of one party, usually without the knowledge and participation of any other party,” according to Merriam-Webster.

Copeland began his testimony on Friday, June 7, and his lawyer, Jonathan Melnick, told the judge that Copeland would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. This means Copeland would not answer the DA’s questions on the stand and would respond with, “I plead the Fifth.”

In response, Judge Glanville told Copeland that “given the fact that you’ve invoked your Fifth Amendment privilege but the state has already given you immunity … this court holds you in willful contempt, and we’ll see you on Monday. And we’ll see if we can get some more testimony at that point in time.”

Copeland’s defiance on Friday led to the ex-parte meeting on Monday. When Steel questioned the meeting, he said it appeared to be witness intimidation and coercion.

Why are both sides accusing each other of foul play?

Without court transcripts, the following information can’t be verified, but Steel’s source said Copeland refused to testify in the Monday meeting and asserted that he’ll sit in contempt for two years in jail if he has to.

Judge Glanville allegedly replied, “I can hold you until the end of this trial,” and a prosecutor said it could be for all 26 remaining defendants’ trials, not just the six currently on trial.

The insinuation that Copeland will face severe consequences of being jailed for the remainder of all trials is the witness intimidation and coercion that Steel mentioned—all to force Copeland to testify.

Judge Glanville fired back and demanded to know Steel’s source, implying he believed Copeland’s lawyer informed Steel about the meeting and, if so, violated attorney-client privilege. On Friday, the DA accused Copeland’s lawyer of colluding with the defense to block Copeland’s testimony.

How does Kenneth Copeland play a role in all of this?

Copeland is a key witness in the trial. He was initially charged with the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas, but the case was eventually dismissed. He was not charged in the ongoing RICO and did not enter a plea deal that requires his cooperation in this trial.

Thomas’ murder is a big part of the RICO against Thug and his co-defendants and is one of two murder charges cited in the indictment. Thomas was a rival gang leader, also involved in the music business, and the DA is accusing Thug of ordering the hit on Thomas.

Copeland’s testimony could support the accusation that Thug ordered the murder of Thomas in furtherance of the conspiracy (RICO). This context should shed light on why both sides have gotten heated over this witness and why Copeland wanted to plead the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination.

What happens now?

Colette Steel, Brian Steel’s wife, will represent him and filed an appeal on June 11 to Judge Glanville’s contempt order. She has over 26 years of experience in cases, including RICO, drug defense, and fraud.

It is currently unclear if Steel is legally obliged to reveal his source, if Judge Glanville is at fault for holding the meeting without Steel’s knowledge, and whether he can continue to preside over the YSL RICO case.

Other attorneys are weighing in with their opinions on X, but if witness coercion is found to be present in the case, there might be grounds for a mistrial.

Kendrick Lamar Surprises Students at Compton College

Kendrick Lamar continues to show out and prove that he is “Not Like Us.” On June 8, he surprised Compton College’s 2024 Graduation Ceremony by delivering a speech with words of encouragement for the graduates. It was his first public appearance since the feud with Drake started.

Did K. Dot drop any bars?

Dressed in a suit with “They not like us” sneakers, Kendrick walked out to a censored version of “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe. +100 aura for the kicks and walking out to a hit you created.

Lamar first addressed the graduates and his city. 

"I wanted to come out here just to tell y’all how much I appreciate y’all. I’m proud of the city of Compton, I’m proud of Compton College, most importantly I'm proud of the graduates out here,” he said.

He spoke about how specifically Gen Z can change the world, despite what the haters may say. 

“Some people tell us this generation don’t have what it takes. Gen Z. We talk about it all day. They try to pull us down and say we don’t know what we’re doing …They wrong though.  Because not only you all have what it takes, you have something bigger: You have the heart, y’all the courage to be independent thinkers. Independent thinkers. There’s nothing more valuable than that,” he said.

The city of Compton has continued to have Kendrick’s back throughout his career. When it comes to how he addressed the OV-HOE on the song, those interviewed by the LA Times were in full support. 

“Everything that he does is for Compton. He always been a big inspiration to the neighborhood. As long as Kendrick doin’ it, it’s Compton,”  one interviewee said.

Life Is Good for Kendrick

The timing of Kung Fu Kenny’s graduation speech further disproves Drake’s claims on “Family Matters” that Kendrick’s support of Compton is performative, only appearing in his music.

As of June 10, “Not Like Us” is the fastest hip-hop track in history to reach 300 million Spotify streams, achieving the feat in only 25 days.

The rapper has even more to celebrate with his Juneteenth “The Pop Out” concert in Inglewood drawing a ticket queue of 100K. Don’t worry if you couldn’t cop tickets—it will be livestreamed on Prime Video and Twitch.

• Howard University has responded to the recent Diddy news. They revoked his honorary degree from his alma mater and also refunded his one million dollar scholarship in his name.

• Travis Scott debuts a Boston Celtics-esque Jordan Jumpman Jack. La Flame sported the never-before-seen sneaker to Game 2 of the NBA finals.

• Spotify’s HiFi add-on could cost an extra $5 per month. The rumored audio tier could also come with tools to generate playlists and manage your library.

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