US rapper Young Thug arrested on racketeering and gang charges

FILE – Young Thug performs on day four of the Lollapalooza Music Festival on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, at Grant Park in Chicago. The Atlanta rapper, whose name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, was arrested Monday, May 9, 2022, in Georgia on conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO act and street gang charges, according to jail records. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

Atlanta rapper Young Thug co-founded a violent street gang and promoted it in his songs and on social media, prosecutors allege in a sprawling indictment that accuses him and 27 others of racketeering and other crimes.

The rapper, whose given name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, co-wrote the hit This Is America with Childish Gambino, which became the first hip-hop track to win the song of the year Grammy in 2019.