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YNW Melly is conflicted after Kendrick Lamar namedropped him in his reckless diss track aimed at Drake.
On the song "Euphoria," Lamar used the Florida rapper and his ongoing legal situation as a punchline in his long-awaited response to the Canadian artist's "Push Ups." Kendrick spits, "Cole and Aubrey know I'm a selfish n***a, The crown is heavy/I pray they my real friends, if not, I'm YNW Melly." The lyrics are a clear reference to Melly's legal troubles, but they might not help the jailed artist's case. Melly offered his mixed reaction to Kendrick's bars about him shortly after the song sparked chaos on social media.
"Kendrick Lamar is one of my favorite rappers so I feel honored and appalled," Melly told TMZ on Tuesday, April 30. "I'm a household name -- just for the wrong s**t!!!"
The "Murder On My Mind" rapper is currently locked up at a Broward County jail as he waits for his double murder retrial to start back up after it was recently put on pause. Melly is accused of working with his cohort Cortlen "YNW Bortlen" Henry to carry out and cover up the murders of their two friends Chris "YNW Juvy" Thomas and Anthony "YNW Sakchaser" Williams. Police believe Melly shot and killed both victims in 2018 and recruited Henry to make it look like they died in a drive-by shooting.
Melly went on trial for the first time last year, but it ended in a mistrial. He was scheduled to have a second trial this year, however, a judge ruled to suppress a documentary about Melly's life from evidence. The ruling sparked an appeal from the defense, which could take months to sort out. Because of the appeal, the entire case has been put on hold. With the status of the appeal up in the air, it wouldn't be too shocking if the defense motions to ban the jury from hearing Kendrick Lamar's song.
"Euphoria" dropped just a day before YNW Melly celebrated his 25th birthday. So far, he's spent the past five birthdays behind bars.