Dallas judge weighs rap lyrics as evidence before Yella Beezy murder trial
DALLAS - A pre-trial hearing has ended in a murder-for-hire case involving two Dallas rappers. A judge could decide soon whether Yella Beezy’s rap lyrics can be admitted as evidence.
Yella Beezy Hearing
What we know:
Attorneys for rappers MO3 and Yella Beezy returned to a Dallas courtroom on Tuesday morning.
The case centers on the murder of MO3, whose real name was Melvin Noble Jr. He was gunned down in the middle of a busy Dallas highway in 2020.
Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway, is accused of hiring the hitman.
The pre-trial hearing that started last week focused on whether Conway’s rap lyrics can be used as evidence.
Dallas rapper Yella Beezy court hearing focuses on song lyrics in MO3 murder case
A multi-day pre-trial hearing for Dallas rapper Yella Beezy focused on whether prosecutors can use his song lyrics as evidence in his upcoming murder-for-hire trial involving the 2020 death of rival rapper MO3.
Prosecutors said they are relevant because Conway put a bounty out for MO3 in a song. But the defense argued that the lyrics are artistic expression and not facts.
The judge has not yet made a final decision on whether the lyrics can be used as evidence.
MO3’s Murder
The backstory:
Conway, 33, was arrested in March 2025 after a Dallas County grand jury indicted him on a charge of capital murder while remuneration. Capital murder with remuneration means hiring someone to commit murder.
Prosecutors allege Conway orchestrated a "hit" on his rap rival. Noble was gunned down in broad daylight on Nov. 11, 2020, while driving on Interstate 35E in Dallas.
Investigators claim Conway hired Kewon Dontrell White to carry out the shooting because of a long-standing feud between the two artists.
White was arrested in December 2020 and is currently serving an 8-year and 9-month federal prison sentence on firearm charges related to the incident.
Dallas rapper Yella Beezy charged with hiring hitman to kill fellow rapper Mo3
Investigators now say rapper Yella Beezy was behind the ambush-style murder of fellow rapper Mo3 in the middle of the day on I-35 back in 2020.
What's next:
Conway’s trial is scheduled for next month.
If convicted of capital murder, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Tuesday's court hearing and past news coverage.