DALLAS — Federal prosecutors say they have video evidence showing rapper Pooh Shiesty demanding to be released from a fellow rapper’s record label while an armed man stood guard at the door during an alleged robbery at a Texas music studio back in January.
Court records show the video was entered as evidence in federal court in Dallas, where Pooh Shiesty — whose legal name is Lontrell Williams Jr. — along with eight other individuals face charges of kidnapping and extortion. According to prosecutors, the victims were held at gunpoint after traveling to Dallas to discuss Pooh Shiesty’s recording contract with Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records label.
The victims have been identified only by their initials in court filings. One victim, referred to as R.D., is described as the owner of 1017 Records. Gucci Mane’s legal name is Radric Delantic Davis. Notably, a song called “Crash Dummy” that Gucci Mane put out this spring contains the lyrics: “I thought it was a business meeting, but it was a set up.”
The court filing was submitted by prosecutors in response to a motion Pooh Shiesty filed last month seeking home confinement. In that motion, he argued the evidence against him was not strong enough to justify keeping him behind bars while awaiting trial — a detention order that a judge had put in place back in April.
Prosecutors disagreed, saying the motion should be denied and that the case against Pooh Shiesty was “extraordinarily strong.”
According to prosecutors, they have secured the cooperation of all five victims and witnesses involved in the case, along with cellphone location data. Surveillance footage also places the defendants at the scene. Additionally, there is video showing the owner of 1017 Records being pressured into stating that Pooh Shiesty had been “dropped” from the label.
Prosecutors say that just before the video was recorded, Pooh Shiesty produced a printed contract release and demanded the record label owner sign it. When the man initially refused, Pooh Shiesty allegedly pointed an AK-style pistol at his head, after which the man signed the document.
Prosecutors also say that rapper BIG30 — whose legal name is Rodney Wright — recorded the video on his cellphone, while another defendant stood at the door armed with a weapon resembling an AK-47 style rifle.
The record label owner was allegedly robbed of approximately $450,000 worth of property, including his wedding band, a watch, a pair of earrings, and cash.
Prosecutors have also noted that at the time of the alleged incident, Pooh Shiesty was already serving home confinement stemming from a prior firearms conspiracy conviction out of Florida, and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Attorneys representing Pooh Shiesty and BIG30 had not responded to requests for comment as of Thursday.
Gucci Mane is widely recognized as one of the founding figures of trap music, alongside fellow Atlanta rappers T.I. and Jeezy. He first rose to prominence in the mid-2000s with his breakout hit “Icy” and has since built an extensive music catalog.
