YNW Melly: 'Murder On My Mind' earns over 2 million streams in third week of homicide trial
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Jamell Demons, Gifford rapper known professionally YNW Melly, is making headlines after his double homicide trial began June 12.
Demons, and his childhood friend and recording partner Cortlen Henry — YNW Bortlen — now both 24, are from Gifford and are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm in the 2018 shooting deaths of friends Anthony Williams, 21 — aka YNW Sakchaser — and Christopher Thomas Jr., 19 — aka YNW Juvy.
But who is the 24-year-old rapper and how did he rise to fame?
'Murder On My Mind' goes 6x platinum
"Murder On My Mind" was released in 2018 on his record "I Am You." The song skyrocketed the 24-year-old rapper to fame achieving double platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America, three months after he turned himself in to Broward County officials on charges in connection with the murders of Williams and Thomas.
The single went six times platinum in January 2022 by RIAA, a distinction given to singles with 6 million certified units. A unit is defined by the Recording Industry Association of America as:
A permanent digital download
150 on-demand audio and/or video streams
Since the trial began on June 12, "Murder On My Mind" Spotify streams skyrocketed in the United States, earning 2,037,678 Spotify streams for the week ending June 22. This brings the cumulative streams to more than 907,061,254 as of June 26, according to Kworb.net, a streaming tracking website.
The song is shy of 92.9 million streams from reaching 1 billion streams.
What is #FreeMelly? Rapper takes to Instagram for support
Supporters of Demons have been using the #FreeMelly hashtag on social media to show their support for the rapper.
Brandon King, who goes by YNW BSlime, is Demons' 16-year-old brother. King released the song "Free Melly featuring DC The Don" in October 2022. Since its release, the video has garnered over 1 million views.
With over 4.4 million Instagram followers, Jamell Demons posted a photo gallery of himself smiling in court with "#YnwMellyHome2023," as the caption on May 3. Since then, he has shared an Instagram post promoting new music with the #ynwmellyhome2023 hashtag.
Who has YNW Melly collaborated with?
Demons collaborated with rapper Kanye West on the 2019 song "Mixed Personalities." He also released a remix with the late rapper Juice WRLD, who died in 2019, on his song "Suicidal" in 2020.
On his latest album, "Just a Matter of Slime," Demons features rappers Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak Black and Lil Baby on some of his tracks amongst his features. The album was released in 2021 while he was incarcerated at Broward County Jail.
How to watch the YNW Melly trial
You can watch the livestream and read trial updates on TCPalm.
Law&Crime Network partnered with hip-hop music journalist Byson Paul as a correspondent on the trial for the livestream.
The trial is being broadcast through the network's YouTube Channel livestreaming every day. Law&Crime has compiled a YouTube playlist with the live stream of the day and new videos highlighting courtroom moments including testimonies and opening statements.
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Melissa E. Holsman contributed to this report. She is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of Uncertain Terms, a true crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not,become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm's trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on Twitter @gonthescene.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: YNW Melly double homicide trial boosts Spotify stream for rapper
