What’s trap music or gangster rap if you can’t talk about guns and crimes related to guns? Looks like Joey G should take some notes from Will Smith’s rap career as he faces a weird probation order which states he cannot rap about guns anymore, or even talk about the subject on his social media platforms. But is this abusive to his freedom of speech? Is the probation order justified? Or is it just a means to censor and restrict the public from owning firearms?
First and foremost, Joey G, legally named Joey Gauthier-Langlois, 29-years-old, has affiliated himself with a gang named Les Vikingz in Gatineau, Quebec, which was allegedly formed by another rapper who is currently incarcerated name Brandon ‘Cupidon’ D’Anjou-O’Meally. Cupidon has gained a ton of traction within the past couple years with his music, hanging around multiple famed rappers in the province.
Les Vikingz is considered by provincial authorities as a street gang, but in reality lies in a grey zone between a music following and actual street gangsterism. It’s also a clothing brand launched by Cupidon, meaning anyone can purchase either a hoodie, a t-shirt or even a ski mask with the gang’s logo. Their logo is reminiscent of a motorcycle club’s logo with a top rocker spelling out the name ‘Vikingz’, a specialized logo in the center and a bottom rocker noting ‘Canada’. Occasionally there will be an abbreviation ‘GDR’ where the ‘MC’ patch is traditionally placed. We can only assume ‘GDR’ is an abbreviation for ‘Gang de Rue’ or ‘street gang’. Les Vikingz use the abbreviation ‘LV’ or ‘LVz’.
Before we delve into the curious case of Joey G, we have to clear the air with his recent disassociation with Cupidon and Les Vikingz. In November of 2023, a video surfaced on a few platforms of Joey G in his prison cell, with what looked like a bruise on the right side of his head. A man recording tells Joey G to recite derogatory comments about his gang, LVz, making him say he’s in a gang of lames as well as making him repeat he is a big bitch.
Cupidon had mentioned in a rap magazine named, Le Journal du Hip Hop, saying “My team hasn’t heard of the disassociation, but those who know, know…Loyalty is the most important thing for us…It’s the last time you’ll see him by my side” clearly burning the bridge between him and Joey G. It’s a shame since Joey G has a huge tattoo across his stomach, spelling out ‘VIKING’. His Instagram still claims allegiance to the gang. It’s important to note that Cupidon and Joey G collaborated on a song 3 years back named ‘First Day Out’.
Last Wednesday, Joey G was sentenced to 45 months in prison and was handed a special condition on top of that. The court urged Joey G to stop rapping, or even making any references to toting pistols and rifles. This is a very rare order that walks the line between being lawful and abusive. Yes, it may influence young people to walk around with a strap, but who are you to tell him what he can and cannot talk about in his music. This is where freedom of speech starts to be at bay.
The case he was convicted of stems all the way back to a shooting of a business in March of 2023, where 8 search warrants were executed throughout the boroughs of Plateau-Mont-Royal, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rivieres-des-Prairies and even Laval in April of 2023. Police had managed to seize 2 handguns, an AR-15, high-capacity magazines, ammunition as well as a 3D printed weapon. Narcotics and cellphones were also seized.
The search warrants were executed after a shooting of a business names Bab Sharqi, a restaurant located in the St-Laurent borough of Montreal near the intersection of Deslauriers and Benjamin-Hudon. The window of the business was riddled with bullets in the wee hours of the morning on March 19th, 2023. Police later learned that the vehicle used in the shooting belonged to Nathan Purenne through the camera footage in the neighborhood. Police later verified that Purenne visited Joey G that same night before the shooting. Authorities arrested 5 people throughout that kerfuffle.
Police later found out that the 3D-printed pistol which had been seized had the exact same blueprints of which a file contained on Joey G’s computer, linking him to the crime. Along with the 45 months of prison time and the weird probation order of him ceasing to rap about firearms, he is also barred from owning a 3D printer for the rest of his life.
Let’s not forget to not that the Bab Sharqi restaurant also had crime related troubles in the past. It was target to two separate arsons in November and December of 2022. A 32-year-old suspect, by the name of Dore Badawi, had been arrested for setting fire to the restaurant for the arson which happened in December. The owner of Bab Sharqi also struggled to hold his liquor license as well as his gambling license in the past. The Syrian restaurant is currently temporarily closed.
This isn’t Joey G’s first brush with the law. Having several convictions in the past, most notably in December of 2019, where he tried to smuggle drugs in prison after being convicted. In November of 2019, he pleaded guilty to drug possession with intent to distribute and breaking his probation order as well as being in possession of a prohibited firearm. He received a sentence of a year and a half minus 45 days due to time spent. The firearms seized consisted of a .20 caliber and a .22 caliber.
Joey G once said in one of his raps “If I go to prison, I’ll put drugs in the sole of my shoes” (Roughly translated in English). Which is exactly what he did in December of 2019. During his entrance into the prison, guards had found 28.5 grams of weed in one of his shoes as well as rolling paper and even matches. Joey G had thought about all his essentials before entering the big house.
All-in-all, Joey G is a well accomplished rapper with 3 full-length albums out; Purifier (2021), Trapologie (2021) and Trapologie 2 (2023). He began his career between 2020 and 2021, releasing a handful of singles which have features such as Five Star, Sami Bad-X, Taga and as we mentioned previously Cupidon. He has a slew of music videos out on Youtube and streaming platforms.
