French rapper MHD, née Mohamed Sylla was charged with voluntary manslaughter yesterday over an incident that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old man. According to The Guardian and the initial report out of Paris from France24, MHD stands accused of participating in a "gang-related" brawl in the neighborhood set (Paris' 19th district) of his childhood.
MHD has since instructed his lawyer Elise Arfi to help clear his name. As of this writing, Sylla denies any involvement "whatsoever" in the altercation. The 23-year-old who was found dead as a result of the reported violence has been identified as "Loïc K."
"His presence at the scene of the incident remains to be proven," Elise Arfi expressed on the behalf of her client. She also maintained that MHD contacted, and thereby complied with investigators "as soon as he became aware" that his car was being used by a member of the 19th district gang. His lawyer added that MHD has “never been involved" in gang activity, much less the turmoil beset by the running animosity between the 19th and 10th district neighborhood sets.
MHD put out his 2nd ever full-length project last year, under the mantle of the ever-popular "Afro Trap" sound. Sylla is best known Worldwide for "Afro Trap Part. 3 (Champions League)," a song he wrote in support of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer club. As of this writing, the song has amassed over 100 million streams on YouTube alone.