Latest news with #DrewFindling
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Trump pardons rapper NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced for gun-related charges
Louisiana rap artist NBA YoungBoy, who was sentenced to just under two years in prison on gun-related charges, was pardoned by President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The rapper is among a number of high-profile people Trump pardoned this week, including a former New York congressman, a labor union leader and a reality TV star couple. 'I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building — as a man, as a father, and as an artist," NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, said in a statement posted online. Gaulden's pardon was confirmed Wednesday evening by two White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail actions that had not yet been formally made public. In 2024, Gaulden was sentenced by a federal judge in Utah after he acknowledged possessing weapons despite being a convicted felon. He reached an agreement that resolved Utah state charges against him and settled two sets of federal charges against him — one carried a 23-month sentence and the other ordered five years of probation and a $200,000 fine. Gaulden was released from federal prison in March and sent to home confinement after receiving credit for time served, according to his attorney Drew Findling. With home confinement finished last month, the pardon means he won't have to follow the terms of his probation, including drug testing, he said. Findling said he was thrilled Gaulden's legal saga had reached an end. 'From Louisiana to Utah the battles have been endless, and now he can concentrate on first and foremost his family, and then, of course, his amazing career,' Findling said in a statement. The rapper has acknowledged that he possessed a Glock 21 .45-caliber pistol and a Masterpiece Arms MPA30T 9mm handgun while filming a rap video in Baton Rouge. He has also said he had a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol at his home in Huntsville, Utah. He had agreed to give up the guns. Gaulden had previously been convicted in Louisiana of aggravated assault with a firearm, according to his statement released in advance of the plea agreement. He had also pleaded guilty in November to his role in a prescription drug fraud ring that operated out of his home in Utah. He had to pay a $25,000 fine and was given no prison time. The rapper, whose stage moniker stands for 'Never Broke Again,' is preparing to set out on a major U.S. tour in September. He has achieved four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and one Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. His music includes '38 Baby,' 'Outside Today' and Tyler, The Creator's song, 'Wusyaname,' on which he is featured with Ty Dolla $ign. That collaboration earned them a Grammy nomination in 2022 for Best Melodic Rap Performance. ___
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Trump pardons rapper NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced for gun-related charges
Louisiana rap artist NBA YoungBoy, who was sentenced to just under two years in prison on gun-related charges, was pardoned by President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The rapper is among a number of high-profile people Trump pardoned this week, including a former New York congressman, a labor union leader and a reality TV star couple. 'I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building — as a man, as a father, and as an artist,' NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, said in a statement posted online. Gaulden's pardon was confirmed Wednesday evening by two White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail actions that had not yet been formally made public. In 2024, Gaulden was sentenced by a federal judge in Utah after he acknowledged possessing weapons despite being a convicted felon. He reached an agreement that resolved Utah state charges against him and settled two sets of federal charges against him — one carried a 23-month sentence and the other ordered five years of probation and a $200,000 fine. Gaulden was released from federal prison in March and sent to home confinement after receiving credit for time served, according to his attorney Drew Findling. With home confinement finished last month, the pardon means he won't have to follow the terms of his probation, including drug testing, he said. Findling said he was thrilled Gaulden's legal saga had reached an end. 'From Louisiana to Utah the battles have been endless, and now he can concentrate on first and foremost his family, and then, of course, his amazing career,' Findling said in a statement. The rapper has acknowledged that he possessed a Glock 21 .45-caliber pistol and a Masterpiece Arms MPA30T 9mm handgun while filming a rap video in Baton Rouge. He has also said he had a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol at his home in Huntsville, Utah. He had agreed to give up the guns. Gaulden had previously been convicted in Louisiana of aggravated assault with a firearm, according to his statement released in advance of the plea agreement. He had also pleaded guilty in November to his role in a prescription drug fraud ring that operated out of his home in Utah. He had to pay a $25,000 fine and was given no prison time. The rapper, whose stage moniker stands for 'Never Broke Again,' is preparing to set out on a major U.S. tour in September. He has achieved four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and one Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. His music includes '38 Baby,' 'Outside Today' and Tyler, The Creator's song, 'Wusyaname,' on which he is featured with Ty Dolla $ign. That collaboration earned them a Grammy nomination in 2022 for Best Melodic Rap Performance. ___ Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rapper Rod Wave arrested after shots fired at his metro Atlanta home
Rapper Rod Wave is facing more than a dozen charges after shots were fired at his Fulton County home last month. The rapper, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, turned himself in to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. He was released on a $50,000 bond later that same day. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Milton police say they were called to a home on Lost River Bend for a reported domestic disturbance on April 21. Officers learned the incident stemmed from a previous burglary that was never reported. They say shots were then fired at the home on Tuesday. TRENDING STORIES: Georgia Tech student 'targeted' in deadly shooting at off-campus apartment Gwinnett Co. elementary school bus comes across ICE enforcement operation at mobile home park These spots on GA rivers and lakes could be closed this summer Green, 26, has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, property damage, reckless conduct, tampering with evidence and more. Attorneys Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg, who represent Green, shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News calling Green's charges 'incomprehensible.' There is no truth to these charges. Rod Green was a victim of a burglary and committed no crimes. How he was even charged as a result of this situation is incomprehensible. This will absolutely be resolved favorably to Mr. Green. Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg Green first rose to prominence after releasing his song 'Heart on Ice' on TikTok, which quickly rose on Billboard's Hot 100. Most recently, Green released 'Sinners,' which was the lead single on the soundtrack for the 2025 film of the same name starring Michael B. Jordan. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Associated Press
Rapper Rod Wave faces more than a dozen charges, some involving a gun, in Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — The rapper known as Rod Wave faces more than a dozen charges, some involving a gun, after he turned himself in to sheriff's officials in Georgia on Tuesday. Wave, whose real name is Rodarius Green, voluntarily surrendered to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office on warrants stemming from an April 21 police call in the Atlanta suburb of Milton, police there said. 'There is no truth to these charges,' the rapper's lawyers Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg said in a statement to The Associated Press. 'Rod Green was a victim of a burglary and committed no crimes,' they said. 'How he was even charged as a result of this situation is incomprehensible. This will absolutely be resolved favorably to Mr. Green.' Milton police responded to a home in the town north of Atlanta after a 911 report described 'a possible domestic disturbance,' police said in a statement. Officers determined that the call was related to a previously unreported burglary and the discharge of a firearm at the location, police said. They later obtained arrest warrants for Green, who was a resident of the home. The charges include aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit a felony, criminal damage to property and pointing or aiming a gun at someone, and obstructing law officers, Fulton County Jail records show. He's also accused of tampering with evidence — a felony — and obstructing law officers. He was released on bond shortly after turning himself on the same day, Tuesday, authorities said. The 26-year-old Florida rapper is celebrated for his soul-trap sound, a unique melding of R&B and rap that has earned him 11 singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Four of his six albums hit No. 1 on Billboard's top R&B/hip-hop albums chart, including his most recent, 2024's 'Last Lap.' This year, he contributed the sing-song title track rap 'Sinners' to Ryan Coogler's record-breaking, critically acclaimed blockbuster of the same name. Green grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he has had at least one past scrape with the law before a domestic battery charge was dismissed in 2022. An ex-girlfriend had accused Green of entering her home in the Orlando area and choking her while their two children were in another room, according to an arrest warrant. The two had dated for about four years, and the girlfriend told investigators that Green accused her of seeing other men while they were broken up. Prosecutors later told court officials that the case was not suitable for prosecution. —- Associated Press Writer Maria Sherman in New York and Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed.
