YFN Lucci has been waiting for a trial date since this May; yesterday, he received an answer. The 30-year-old-rapper will have to wait to see his day in court until May 12, 2022.
Lucci is currently jailed on charges of murder and racketeering. He turned himself in after police issued a warrant for his arrest in connection to the shooting death of 28-year-old James Adams. Lucci was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, participation in criminal street gang activity, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Lucci swiftly posted bail. However, shortly afterward, he landed back in jail when his name popped up in a racketeering indictment. After surrendering to authorities, Lucci was not allowed to post bail again.
75 pages in length, the full indictment includes 105 counts of racketeering going all the way back to 2010. However, Lucci’s name does not pop up until February 2020. Around that same time, the music video for “Shine On,” Lucci’s track alongside Bloody Jay and Check PFK, came to life.
Authorities also said that the video for the track “includes lyrics promoting criminal gang activity” and displays “common Blood gang identifiers including hand signs, language, clothing, and colors.”
Shine On Analysis
According to a gang intelligence report, traditional Blood gang colors are red and black. However, gang subsets have also used green, brown, pink, beige, and orange as well. Black, orange, and yellow are the main colors for the video; two out of three are gang colors. Blood gang signs appear all over “Shine On.” Throughout the video, the crew almost constantly throws them out. The lyrics include references to 0, 3, and 1. These numbers are “very significant to East Coast affiliated Bloods and will appear in their graffiti and tattoos. Zero represents Bloods, three stands for the 31 rules they have to follow, and one represents the love for all Bloods under one umbrella.” While there are no flags within the video, the artists wear jewelry associated with the Bloods. The lyrics to “Shine On” describe partaking in gang-related activities at night.
However, none of that means anything. After all, hip-hop has featured songs praising the gang lifestyle since the beginning.
“He’s not a gang member,” Lucci’s lawyer said. “What he is is an internationally recognized musical artist that is a triple platinum winner, that has performed all over the United States and all over the world.”
Written by Justin Acosta
Twitter: @hahalacka