Tekashi

Tekashi 6ix9ine is facing jail time, ag ain. This time, it's for his involvement with
a violent US gang.

The rapper was arrested on Sunday night and faces 32 years in jail for racketeering
and other offences, according to a prosecuting US attorney.

The sentence would be for life in prison and stems from his involvement with the Nine
Trey Bloods.
The Nine Trey Bloods are a New York gang and also known as TreyWay which
Tekashi69 has mentioned on Twitter.

But now his involvement could cost him his freedom.

"In the history of the US, the one thing that seems to get someone locked up is
racketeering, money-laundering or tax evasion," UK hip hop and culture writer, Jesse
Bernard tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"This could be what takes him to prison."

Multiple acts of violence'

Tekashi69 has evaded jail time on previous charges, including child sex offences in
2015, but experts believe the racketeering charges could mean a lengthy jail spell for
the star.

Racketeering is when people use criminal actions to repeatedly take money from
others, and most likely associated with protection rackets.
"This defendant participated in multiple acts of violence," said assistant US attorney
Michael Long at a court hearing on Monday night, reports Rolling Stone.

According to US reports, the new arrest relates to a five-year federal investigation

and Tekashi69 is also facing a number of other charges including drug dealing,
involvement in an armed robbery and a conspiracy to commit murder charge.

Tekashi69's most recent arrest caps a turbulent year in which the rapper rose to
international fame with a string of hit singles, but so did his legal history.
In 2015 he pleaded guilty to an incident involving a "sexual performance" with a 13-
year-old girl and is currently serving a four-year-probation sentence following legal
problems that followed the case.

He has previously spent time in jail for assault and drug offences.

But none of Tekashi69's previous charges have stopped his fame from growing. He's
even due to release his debut album later this week - which features both Kanye
West and Nicki Minaj.

But Jesse believes these collaborations are "an industry thing" and says record
labels should spend more time considering the behaviour of the stars they sign.

"There's not enough vetting taking place, when these artists are being signed, maybe
someone is turning a blind eye, who knows. But it's not just that," he says.

"There does need to be more vetting because when the mainstream itself is
becoming littered with these conveyor-belt artists that really don't have much
longevity."