Billboard’s Neena Rouhani sat down with Latto at Billboard’s MusicCon 2022 in Las Vegas.
On Friday (May 13), a lawyer for Young Thug filed an emergency motion with the Georgia Superior Court alleging that the rapper has been jailed in “inhumane” conditions and requesting he be granted an “expeditious” bond hearing or be placed in a “non-torturous” environment while behind bars.
“Specifically, the State of Georgia, by and through its public officials, has detained Mr. Williams in dungeon-like conditions,” wrote attorney Brian Steel in the filing (Young Thug’s real name is Jeffrey Williams). Those conditions are said to consist of “solitary confinement/total isolation”; a “windowless cement compartment with only a bed and a toilet and an overhead light which remains on 24 hours per day, preventing any sleep, rest or meditation”; “no access to any type of media,” including TV or internet; and no opportunities to “exercise, shower or have human contact” aside from his attorneys.
Throughout the filing, Steel reasserts Young Thug’s innocence and slams prosecutors for quoting song lyrics to support the allegations against the rapper, which were included in a sprawling 88-page indictment filed against Young Thug and 27 others, including fellow rapper Gunna, on Monday (May 9). “To weaponize these words by charging overt acts to support a supposed conspiracy is unconscionable and unconstitutional pursuant” to the U.S. Constitution as well as the Georgia state constitution, Steel writes. On Thursday (May 12), lawyers for Gunna also criticized the use of song lyrics to back up charges against the rapper, warning it could lead to criminal charges against “any artist with a song referencing violence,” as others have previously argued.
In the indictment, Young Thug is alleged to be one of three founders of the Young Slime Life, “a criminal street gang that started in late 2012” in Atlanta. Charges include “Preserving, protecting and enhancing the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise through acts of racketeering activity including murder, assault and threats of violence.” He was subsequently charged with seven more felonies on Wednesday (May 11), including possession of drugs and illegal firearms, based on items found at his home during his arrest earlier in the week. On Thursday (May 12), a Fulton County judge denied the rapper bond based on that second round of charges brought after the indictment.
In Friday’s filing, Steel claims that under Georgia state law, the allegations made against Young Thug in the May 9 indictment “do not constitute any evidence of guilt” but rather contain “nothing more than the inadmissible, non-probative hearsay statements of the prosecutor bringing the charges.” Steel does not mention the subsequent charges filed against the rapper on Wednesday, which are technically separate from those listed in the indictment.
One of the allegations listed in the indictment is that Young Thug rented a car that was later used in a 2015 drive-by shooting that killed 26-year-old Donovan Thomas and wounded two others. But in the new filing, Steel writes that there “is no allegation by the Grand Jury that Mr. Williams had knowledge of this crime, had knowledge that this rented vehicle would be used in any supposed crime or that Mr. Williams was a party to this supposed crime.”
As a result, Steel continues, Young Thug “is entitled to bond as a matter of law” given that he is not a convicted felon, a flight risk, a danger to the community, a risk to commit a felony while out on bond or a risk to obstruct justice by influencing witnesses or bribing jurors. In the filing Steel cites the case of Ayala vs. State, which found that defendants meeting those criteria should be eligible for pretrial bond in the state of Georgia, as precedent.
Steel adds that despite the fact that a motion for bond was filed on Tuesday (May 10) on Young Thug’s behalf, the court has not yet scheduled a date for the hearing. “This incarceration of an innocent man is unconscionable and cannot continue,” he concludes.
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Sweden and Poland, both among the favorites to win this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, joined eight other countries advancing to the Grand Final on Saturday in Turin, Italy.
Also moving on after the second semi-final on Thursday were Finland, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Australia, Estonia, Romania, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
Failing to make the grade were Israel, Georgia, Malta, San Marino, Cyprus, Ireland, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
The latest reports from the bookmakers who take bets on who will win Eurovision each year shows that Ukraine has a 57% chance of victory, followed by the United Kingdom with an 11% chance, based on averaging the odds from 13 different companies.
That portends a high showing for Sam Ryder’s “Space Man,” which would be a reversal of fortune for the U.K., which placed last in 2021 with zero points. The U.K. has not had a top-10 entry since 2009, when Jade Ewen’s “It’s My Time,” written by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren, finished fifth. The U.K. has not won since 1997, when Katrina & the Waves triumphed with “Love Shine A Light.”
If Ukraine wins on Saturday, as expected, it will be the country’s third championship, following Ruslana’s “Wild Dances” in 2004 and Jamala’s “1944” in 2016.
The “big five” countries — Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the U.K. — did not perform in the semi-finals. Because they contribute the most to the production budget they do not have to qualify and are always represented in the contest.
Thursday’s 10 new additions range from deeply personal and intimate songs to straight-ahead rock and country-tinged pop. Finland kicked off Thursday’s semi-final with a rock performance by The Rasmus, a veteran Finnish band that formed in 1994 when the members were in the eighth grade. They had four consecutive No. 1 albums on the Finnish charts and five No. 1 singles. Their Eurovision entry, “Jezebel,” co-written and produced by Desmond Child, peaked this year at No. 4.
Australia’s Sheldon Riley, diagnosed at age six with Aspberger syndrome, struggled with his sexual identity growing up until he came out as gay. He told Australia’s SBS Radio that feeling set apart from other children made “growing up a little bit harder.” That was the inspiration for his very personal Eurovision entry, “Not the Same.”
Following the broadcast, Riley was asked by journalists about the status of LGBTQ+ rights in Australia. “There is still a lot to be done, but I am happy for the strides that are being made,” he said.
Representing Estonia is Stefan, the son of Armenian immigrants, who has been releasing music since 2017. In 2020, he won the first season of the Estonian version of The Masked Singer. An avowed fan of Johnny Cash and the late film composer Ennio Morricone, his entry “Hope” starts off as a country song and grows into a cinematic power anthem.
Six-time Eurovision winner Sweden is making a bit of Eurovision history this year with Cornelia Jakob’s “Hold Me Closer,” co-written by Isa Molin. This is Molin’s first time at Eurovision, but her father, Bobby Ljunggren, has composed six Eurovision entries, five for Sweden and one for Lithuania. As of this year, he has had 50 songs compete in Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s national final for Eurovision.
This appears to be the first time that a father and daughter have written separate Eurovision songs. In 1996, Anna Mjöll from Iceland and her father Ólafur Gaukur Þórhallsson wrote her jazz-tinged entry, “Sjúbídú.”
“I’ve been involved with music all of my life and it has been awesome to have that in common with my father,” Molin tells Billboard. “It feels so good to have my parents here and my brother also arrived today, all the way from Singapore.”
The 10 countries moving forward from the second semi-final join the 10 nations that advanced after Tuesday’s first semi-final: Ukraine, Armenia, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.
Additional Reporting By Silvia Danielli from Billboard Italia
