FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial Saturday in the South Florida trial of rapper YNW Melly on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago. The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will…

ATLANTA—An Atlanta rapper signed to Young Thug’s record label has been arrested and charged with murder for his suspected role in the fatal shooting of a man outside an apartment complex. Atlanta Police on Saturday said 20-year-old Jakobe Moody, who goes by FN DaDealer, was taken into custody and charged with felony murder and possession…

HOUSTON—A Texas grand jury declined to indict rap superstar Travis Scott in a criminal investigation of a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld festival, where some spectators were packed so tightly they could not move their arms or even breathe, his attorney and prosecutors said Thursday. Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the Harris County…

HOUSTON—Big Pokey, a popular Texas rapper and original member of Houston’s pioneering Screwed Up Click, died Sunday after a Juneteenth performance. Born Milton Powell, Pokey was 48. Known for Texas and Gulf Coast hits such as “Ball N’ Parlay,”“Who Dat Talking Down,” and a verse on DJ Screw’s nearly 36-minute iconic freestyle known as “June…

HOUSTON—Big Pokey, a popular Texas rapper and original member of Houston’s pioneering Screwed Up Click, died Sunday after a Juneteenth performance. Born Milton Powell, Pokey was 48. Known for Texas and Gulf Coast hits such as “Ball N’ Parlay,”“Who Dat Talking Down,” and a verse on DJ Screw’s nearly 36-minute iconic freestyle known as “June…

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Friday to helping two other men charged with fatally shooting rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush at a Memphis bakery. Jermarcus Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact. Judge Lee Coffee approved a plea deal with prosecutors, allowing him to avoid trial. Johnson…

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y.—As friends and family looked on, rapper Fetty Wap on Wednesday apologized for his actions and said he was “exactly where I’m supposed to be,” before a judge sentenced him to six years in federal prison for his role in a New York-based drug-trafficking scheme. The “Trap Queen” rapper, whose legal name is…

SOLEDAD, Calif.—Rapper MoneySign Suede has died after he was stabbed in a shower at a California prison, authorities and his attorney said. Jaime Brugada Valdez, 22, of Huntington Park, was found in the shower area of the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from the California Department…

LAKE WORTH, Fla.—Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose testimony against his own gang helped convict two high-ranking members, was assaulted by several people at a gym in Florida, officials said Wednesday. An “altercation between several individuals” brought Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies to an LA Fitness outlet in Lake Worth on Tuesday night, the sheriff’s office said…

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—A Florida judge has issued an arrest warrant for rapper Kodak Black for failing a drug test while on bail for a drug charge, court records show. The warrant was issued Thursday after Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, did not appear for a scheduled drug test in early February and then…