Rapper MHD is being tried by the Paris Assize Court for “intentional homicide” in a murder case, from Monday September 4, alongside eight other defendants.

MHD in the dock. The rapper is being tried by the Paris Assize Court for “voluntary homicide”, starting this Monday, September 4. The verdict must be delivered on September 22, after three weeks of trial. Alongside eight other defendants, the 28-year-old artist will have to answer for the murder of a 23-year-old man, killed during a brawl in 2018 in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. MDH risks up to thirty years in prison.

The “little prince of Afro-trap” was arrested in January 2019 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the Hauts-de-Seine, indicted for “intentional homicide” and imprisoned. He was released in July 2020, under judicial supervision. It is therefore free that he appeared before the Paris Assize Court, this Monday, September 4.

On the night of July 5 to 6, 2018, a 23-year-old young man, Loïc K., was hit by a car, beaten and stabbed by a gang of around ten individuals, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. The scene, filmed by a witness from a window, is believed to be a settling of scores between two rival gangs in the capital. MHD, who allegedly belonged to the gang from the 19th arrondissement which allegedly attacked the young man, was identified by at least three witnesses, according to the first elements of the investigation revealed at the time by Le Parisien.

The victim, Loïc Kamtchouang, would have suffered around thirty wounds or scratches, according to franceinfo; the mortal wound would be along his left thigh. Nicknamed “Pépé” by his entourage, reports Liberation, the 23-year-old Franco-Cameroonian will be represented by his parents during the trial which has opened.

MHD, real name Mohamed Sylla, was born on September 10, 1994 in La Roche-sur-Yon, Vendée. In France, he became known in the early 2010s and quickly became one of the faces of Afro trap, a mixture of African music and trap. In 2012, he started a group with friends from his neighborhood in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, before getting noticed with a rap freestyle in 2015. His first album, MHD, was released in 2016, his career was launched. The disc is a success and is certified double platinum disc. The public and the media are unanimous.

In 2018, MHD released their second album, 19, which was also successful. On YouTube as on streaming listening platforms, views and listening count in the hundreds of millions. But his career, which he wanted to put on hold, came to an abrupt halt when he was imprisoned. MHD had signed his return to music in May 2021, ten months after his release from prison, with a single called AFRO TRAP Part.11 (King Kong).