Opening statements in the long-awaited US gang conspiracy trial targeting rapper Young Thug are due next week -- and the prosecution controversially will be allowed to present rap lyrics as evidence.

Critics say the practice that's sparked controversy numerous times over past decades is a constitutional violation of expression that stifles creativity, taking slice-of-life lyrics out of context and criminalizing artists of color.

This time around the defense had sought to exclude lyrics from evidence, saying the use of verses could unfairly influence the jury.

But Atlanta Judge Ural Glanville ruled that 17 sets of lyrics could be admitted, and that additional verses could be presented if prosecutors can "lay the foundation" of how they connect to alleged real-life crimes.

The American Civil Liberties Union in the past has deemed prosecuting raps a violation of free speech, including in the trial of Christopher Bassett, an aspiring Tennessee rapper who was convicted of murder.

The ACLU contended in that case that the state's admission of a music video as evidence in the trial violated the first amendment protecting free speech, saying that both images and lyrics fall under its safeguards.

Young Thug, the 32-year-old rapper born Jeffery Williams, was one of 28 alleged street gang members originally swept up in a May 2022 racketeering indictment. Many of those defendants have since taken plea deals or will be tried separately.

The accusations included myriad predicate offenses that support an overarching conspiracy charge, including murder, assault, carjacking, drug dealing and theft.

Prosecutors say Young Thug's record label is a front for a crime ring, arguing that the defendants belong to a branch of the Bloods street gang identified as Young Slime Life, or YSL.

But defense lawyers insist YSL -- Young Stoner Life Records, a hip-hop and trap label that Young Thug founded in 2016 -- is simply a music label and vague association of artists, not a gang.

- 'Fictional art form' -

During a recent motions hearing on the matter of allowing lyrics as evidence, the prosecution said "the question is not rap lyrics. The question is gang lyrics."

"These are party admissions," said prosecutor Mike Carlson. "They just happen to come in the form of lyrics."

But the defense countered that "rap is the only fictional art form treated this way."

"As soon as you put these lyrics in front of a jury the blinders drop," said Doug Weinstein, who represents the artist Yak Gotti.

Several studies attest to Weinstein's argument, including a 2016 paper published in the "Psychology, Public Policy, and Law" journal that found rap was evaluated "more negatively" than country or in a control group.

The findings, authors said, "highlight the possibility that rap lyrics could inappropriately impact jurors when admitted as evidence to prove guilt."

Erik Nielson, a University of Richmond professor and specialist on the subject, told AFP in an interview earlier this year that prosecuting rap lyrics "resides in a much longer tradition of punishing Black expression."

He noted that the explosion of social media has exacerbated the "troubling" trend of prosecuting rap by making "this music and these videos far more accessible to everyone."

Nielson could not comment directly on the YSL case as he will testify in it as an expert witness, but said that "we know that this issue of rap on trial is just one manifestation of a system that is hell-bent on locking up young men of color."

The scholar said he thinks prosecutors see lyrics as "insurance" that they will secure a conviction.

"If you have other evidence, don't use the rap lyrics," Nielson said. 

"And if you don't have other evidence, don't bring the charges in the first place."

Monday's opening statements are slated to begin nearly 11 months after a painstaking jury selection process began, in the same courthouse where former president Donald Trump is also embroiled in a racketeering case.

The YSL trial could continue well into 2024: The prosecution filed a list of hundreds of potential witnesses. 

The defense's list includes expert and character witnesses including family members as well as fellow rappers T.I. and Killer Mike.

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