With Lil Durk’s fate now resting with a federal jury, Boosie Badazz is focused on another aspect of the trial—not the verdict Hip Hop is waiting for, but how easily a podcast conversation can make its way from a studio into a courtroom. The Baton Rouge rapper shared a warning on X Thursday after seeing interviews used as evidence in several high-profile criminal cases. He urged artists to think carefully about what they say publicly and consider how prosecutors could potentially use their words against them.
“THESE LAST WELL KNOWN CASES THAT HAVE WENT TO TRIAL PODCAST INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN USED AS CRITICAL EVIDENCE TO TRY N CONVICT THE DEFENDENTS,” Boosie wrote. “WATCH WHAT U SAY ON THESE PODCAST. DONT AWNSER A QUESTION THAT U KNOW CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR FREEDOM.”
He followed the warning with a comparison that has fueled years of debate surrounding Rap lyrics and criminal prosecutions. “I THINK ITS MORE DAMAGING THAN THE MUSIC.”
Boosie’s comments come as jurors deliberate in Durk’s federal murder-for-hire trial in Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege that Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, helped finance and orchestrate a 2022 plot targeting Quando Rondo. Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson was killed in the shooting. Durk has pleaded not guilty.
Durk’s case offers Boosie a timely example of the risks he is warning artists about. As we reported, prosecutors played a clip from Durk’s 2023 appearance on DJ Akademiks’ Off The Record during closing arguments. Akademiks had asked Durk about people urging him to “slide for Von,” referring to calls for retaliation following King Von’s 2020 death.
Durk responded that he no longer heard those comments. Prosecutors focused not only on Durk’s answer but also on Akademiks’ reaction, arguing that the exchange supported their theory that something had shifted after the public pressure. Akademiks later said his facial expressions were simply for entertainment and denied that they carried the meaning prosecutors attributed to them.
The defense challenged the government’s use of the interview and requested an emergency hearing following closing arguments. The judge denied the request, leaving the jury to weigh the evidence that had already been admitted as they deliberate over the charges.
Boosie’s warning comes less than two weeks after Duane “Keefe D” Davis was convicted of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in connection with Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing. Davis’s media appearances and memoir formed a significant part of the prosecution’s case, along with recorded conversations he had with investigators.
As of publication, Durk’s jury was still deliberating Thursday, with no publicly announced verdict.
