BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Rapper NBA Young Boy has agreed to plead guilty to a federal weapons charge once the case is transferred from Louisiana to Utah, where he faces unrelated charges including running a prescription drug fraud ring.
In court documents filed last week, the rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, waived his right to a trial in Baton Rouge, news outlets reported. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick subsequently dismissed the case in Louisiana and transferred jurisdiction to federal court in Salt Lake City. Gaulden also signed a notice of his intention to enter his guilty plea once the case is transferred to Utah.
Prosecutors allege Gaulden, a convicted felon, had a gun while filming a music video in Baton Rouge in 2020. He was one of 15 people arrested after more than a dozen weapons were seized from the video set. Gaulden, 24, of Baton Rouge, faces up to 10 years in prison in the weapons case, federal prosecutors have said.
The move gives the federal government the authority to prosecute Gaulden in Utah, where he was indicted earlier this year on charges of more than 60 felony counts connected to a “large-scale prescription fraud ring.”
Gaulden had been living under house arrest in Utah while awaiting trial in Louisiana. He has been held without bail in the Weber County Jail, north of Salt Lake City, since May 10, awaiting trial in the drug case.
NBA YoungBoy, also known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, has achieved four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and one Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. His music includes “38 Baby,” “Outside Today” and the Tyler, The Creator song “Wusyaname,” which features Ty Dolla $ign. That collaboration earned them a 2022 Grammy nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance.