Rapper MHD was convicted by the Paris Assize Court for “intentional homicide” in a murder case, during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
The prosecution had requested 18 years. MHD was finally sentenced to 12 years of criminal imprisonment, after three weeks of debate at the Paris Assize Court. The rapper received a long prison sentence for participating in the murder of a 23-year-old young man in Paris in 2018. He was on trial alongside eight other defendants. The 28-year-old artist had until now denied, in front of the judges, his involvement in this fatal brawl which took place in the 10th arrondissement.
The “little prince of Afro-trap” was arrested in January 2019 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in Hauts-de-Seine, indicted for “intentional homicide” and imprisoned. He was released in July 2020, under judicial supervision. He has therefore appeared free before the Paris Assize Court since 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, looks like a settling of scores between two rival gangs in the capital. MHD, who belonged to the gang from the 19th arrondissement which 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, suffered around thirty wounds or scratches, according to franceinfo; the fatal wound being located along his left thigh. Nicknamed “Pépé” by those around him, reports Libération, the 23-year-old Franco-Cameroonian was represented by his parents during the trial.
MHD, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, was born on September 10, 1994 in La Roche-sur-Yon, in 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 album was a success and was certified double platinum. The public and the media are unanimous.
In 2018, MHD released their second album, 19, which was also successful. On YouTube and on streaming platforms, views and plays are counted in the hundreds of millions. But his career, which he also wanted to put on hold, came to an abrupt end when he was incarcerated. MHD made his return to music in May 2021, ten months after his release from prison, with a single called AFRO TRAP Part.11 (King Kong).