South Florida’s rising emcee, record producer and ‘Young New Wave’ affiliate YNW Melly’s murder trial has officially begun in Broward. Melly, real name Jamell Maurice Demons is under an ongoing trial which includes two first-degree murder charges in the Oct. 26, 2018 killings of 21-year-old Anthony Williams and 19-year-old Christopher Thomas in Miramar.
The former YNW affiliates themselves, Thomas, referred to as YNW Juvy and Williams, referred to as YNW Sakchaser were reportedly murdered by Melly following a studio session. XXL confirmed that Melly and another ‘Young New Wave’ affiliate YNW Bortlen reportedly staged a “drive-by shooting”.
Melly was arrested on February 13th 2019.
Melly, who was one of the hottest emcees on the come-up at the time, took a massive overture in his rap career. While the young emcee, who was just 20 at the time of the controversial first-degree murders, had no RIAA certifications to his name.
However, ever since being accused of killing his “best friends”, the “Murder on My Mind” emcee has at least 10 platinum certifications by the RIAA to his name. Earlier this year, Lil Baby and Meek Mill severed ties with YSL-affiliate Gunna allegedly “snitched” against Atlanta’s Hip-Hop pioneer Young Thug.
During the trial, in which Melly continues to plead not guilty, Melly’s attorney asserted that Bortlen was in fact the shooter. “YNW Bortlen had gunpowder residue on his hands and a change of clothing when he dropped off the body of SakChaser and Juvy. YNW Bortlen and YNW Melly were the only two men in the vehicle with the deceased,” Melly’s attorney told the jury during the Monday trial.
“The gentleman that shows up at the hospital, telling lies about two deceased people in his car… doesn’t occur to you that the place he goes directly next, might be a source for you to find evidence, right?” Melly’s attorney David Howard asked on further cross-examination.
The prosecutors have further asserted Fredo Bang’s potential involvement in the controversial murder. As per Juvy and Sakchaser’s attorney, Melly reportedly texted Bang after the murder and asked the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-born rapper to pick him up after the incident.
Besides asserting Fredo Bang’s involvement during the YNW murder trial, the prosecutor presented a set of Melly’s “self-incriminating” messages and photographs of the crime scene.
YNW Melly’s murder trial is expected to last for the rest of this summer. The prosecutors are in fact seeking the death penalty if Melly is found guilty of murdering the former affiliates.
Melly’s trial arrives amidst an unprecedented rise in hate crimes and violence against emcees, rap record producers and artists across the globe. Yesterday, the “Gangsta Grillz” mixtape pioneer DJ Drama was reportedly robbed in Toronto by “Drake fans”.
In fact, there has been an alarming rise in the number of Hip-Hop artists being shot and killed in broad daylight across the globe. Most recently, Migos’ former affiliate Take Off was shot during a violent altercation in Houston.
Further, India’s global rap pioneer Sidhu Moose Wala was reportedly murdered in May last year. The rapper’s family, survived by his parents, continues to seek justice from the Indian authorities.
More details on YNW Melly’s murder trial as it unfolds.
