Prosecutors Cite Fetty Wap’s Lyrics In Seeking Harsher Sentence: ‘Glamorized The Drug Trade’
billboard, May 19, 2023: Prosecutors Cite Fetty Wap’s Lyrics In Seeking Harsher Sentence: ‘Glamorized The Drug Trade’
“Federal prosecutors want a judge to sentence Fetty Wap to as much as nine years in prison after the rapper pleaded guilty last year to drug charges, citing lyrics they say ‘glamorize the drug trade’ and arguing that the court needs to ‘send a message’ to kids.
“The filing came just a day after lawyers for ‘Trap Queen’ star (real name Willie Junior Maxwell II) asked for just five years, arguing that he only turned to crime to support family members as his touring income dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In their own brief on Thursday, prosecutors told a darker story: Of a successful musician who had already earned millions but chose to ‘supplement his income’ by selling ‘drugs he knew would ruin lives.’ In a particularly notable move, they pointed to Fetty’s music itself, arguing he had used his ‘fame, sizeable platform and influence to glamorize the drug trade.’”
Additional reading:
Complex, May 19, 2023: Fetty Wap’s Lawyers Push for Minimum 5-Year Sentence in Drug Case, Pointing to Financial Issues Caused by Pandemic
NBC News, January 13, 2023: Black rappers call out double standard of using hip-hop lyrics as evidence in rapper Young Thug’s criminal trial
Pitchfork, April 27, 2023: RAP Act, a Bill to Ban Use of Lyrics as Court Evidence, Reintroduced to Congress
