In 2018, Jacksonville rapper Y&R Mookey flashed a gun in a music video.
His lawyers claim it was a prop gun. However, the state convinced a jury it was real and they convicted him of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The prosecution also used his lyrics, which had multiple references to drugs and murdering his opps, against him in his trial.
It was all part of ‘Operation Rap Up’, a 2019 initiative that had the Jacksonville Sheriff’s office and the State Attorney’s office searching YouTube and social media for evidence of Hip Hop crimes.
Mookey, who had a very long criminal history at 23, had been facing 30 years.
He got his sentence this week: 10 years.
"I'm not a violent person," Jackson said before he was sentenced.. "I'm not no gang member...Music is my craft and how I make my livelihood and should not be taken literally. I'm an entertainer who gives his fans what they want to see and hear."
However, Judge Meridith Charbula was unmoved.
"I'm sort of stunned when you take a look at the defendant's criminal history, beginning back in 2015 [because it] shows a consistent pattern of not learning from mistakes," Charbula said. "Mr. Jackson I've watched the music videos and I have to say that I'm appalled at the content of them."