Philly rapper AR-Ab and his three co-defendants were convicted of turning their Original Block Hustlaz (OBH) record label into a large-scale North Philly drug trafficking operation that was implicated in several murders on Tuesday (November 19). He is facing a mandatory minimum of 15 years under recidivist provisions in federal drug laws after being charged with several counts of conspiracy and distribution of crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in the federal conspiracy case.

While AR-Ab and his co-defendants weren't charged in any murders, prosecutors used the rapper's lyrics to claim that he took credit for the murder of Robert Johnson in 2017. The lyrics read, "I’ll have da whole city scared. Stand near homie / I call Tez (the alleged shooter) and tell him / Bring dat n***a’s head to me." Investigators say they found a note on AR-Ab's phone with the lyrics four days after Johnson was murdered, which the Philly rapper said was a coincidence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett R. Witherell called AR-Ab "the most unlucky musician that ever existed, or he ordered that hit."

AR-Ab's lawyer maintained that OBH is a legitimate record label, but witnesses who were former OBH members pleaded guilty in the two-week trial and testified against the rapper, sharing details of the alleged drug ring. They claim that high-end apartments in the city were used as stash houses rented under fake names.

More details to come.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer