Fetty Wap was sentenced to six years in prison for a federal drug charge on Wednesday (May 24). This comes nine months after the rapper pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine in his home state of New Jersey.
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Fetty Wap’s guilty plea came less than a year after he was arrested in October 2021 while on the way to perform at Rolling Loud New York festival. Because he had such a large amount of cocaine on him at the time of his arrest, prosecutors alleged that the 31-year-old was “a kilogram-level re-distributor” for a trafficking organization that “distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey,” per FADER.
Additionally, prosecutors used an alleged conversation between Fetty Wap and a previous parole officer to suggest he rapped about his crimes in his songs. Specifically, he once mentioned to his P.O. that his breakout 2014 hit “Trap Queen,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, was inspired by real-life drug trafficking practices.
“(Fetty Wap) admitted to the Probation Department that his hit song ‘Trap Queen,’ which was released in 2014, was an ‘ode to a former girlfriend who assisted him a cocaine base distribution operation in Patterson, New Jersey,’” the prosecutors stated during the emcee’s sentencing. “The defendant was never held accountable for that conduct, but that does not diminish its significance.”
Before his official sentence was handed down Wednesday, Fetty Wap was expected to serve a minimum of five years behind bars. Last week, prosecutors in the case urged for a sentence between 87-108 months, which would be anywhere from 7-9 years. However, in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence, Fetty Wap had his attorney Elizabeth Macedonio issue a statement to the court that insisted his drug involvement was a result of “depression” and “compounding financial obligations” from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ultimately, made official on Wednesday, the court decided that six years was the appropriate sentence for Fetty Wap, who will likely put his rap career on pause for more than half a decade.
Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images
