Rapper Tekashi 69 on Thursday named fellow rapper Jim Jones as a member of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods gang, an admission which stunned the court and people following the trial on social media.
Tekashi, whose birth name is Daniel Hernandez, is on trial for racketeering, drug trafficking, and other crimes, and was asked by prosecutors who Jones was.
“He's a retired rapper,” Hernandez said in a Manhattan federal courtroom.
“Is he a member of the Nine Trey Bloods gang?” prosecutors asked.
Hernandez replied, “Yes.”
Hernandez also named Cardi B as a member of the gang. She has publicly talked about her affiliation with the gang before, most recently in a 2018 profile by former GQ writer Caity Weaver.
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“I used to pop off with my homies,” Cardi said. "And they'd say, 'Yo, you really get it poppin'. You should come home. You should turn Blood.' And I did. Yes, I did. And something that — it's not like, oh, you leave. You don't leave.”
However, in a statement to BuzzFeed News, a representative for Cardi said, "This news is not true."
Cardi herself, seemingly responding to the allegation, posted a video on Instagram of the much-used meme where actor Keke Palmer says, "Sorry to this man."
Instagram: @undefined
In a now-deleted tweet, Cardi said she was associated with a different set of Bloods called Brim, not Nine Trey.
Jones' representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But people on Twitter had plenty to say.Nicole Perez@nicole_perez1
*Tekashi will you continue to be a snitch yo whole life?* 6ix9ine :08:42 PM - 17 Sep 2019ReplyRetweetFavoriteScooby@TheRealistDom
Tekashi 69 is on that stand like: You’re a Nine Trey Gangster Blood You’re a Nine Trey Gangster Blood