The rapper Casanova has pleaded guilty to charges in a gang-related federal racketeering case in which he has been accused of drug dealing and robbery, federal prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Caswell Senior, was charged in a 2020 indictment against several other members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang. He admitted to participating in offenses including a robbery in New York City and to conspiring to traffic marijuana, prosecutors said. He had surrendered to cops in 2020.

“Like twelve of his co-defendants, Caswell Senior, an accomplished recording artist and performer, now stands convicted of playing a leadership role in Gorilla Stone, a particularly violent Bloods gang that operates throughout New York and across the country,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

“In addition to his supervisory role, Senior was an active, hands-on participant in the gang’s senseless violence, including a shooting in Miami and contributing to a robbery at a Manhattan diner.”  

Defense attorney James Kousouros said the government dismissed more serious charges as part of the plea. 

The rapper “has accepted responsibility fully and respectfully and we hope that the court will consider all the facts and circumstances,” the lawyer said.

He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison at sentencing on December 6. Prosecutors are expected to ask for a higher term.

Who is rapper Casanova?

Caswell Senior was raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.  He is best known for hits like “Don’t Run” and “Set Trippin.” He had been signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and released a full-length album called “Behind These Scars.”

He appeared on Revolt Radio’s The Breakfast Club during which he spoke about how he got involved in gang life from a young age. He later spent close to eight years in jail.

He was signed to the record label Roc Nation in 2020. 

His bio on the label’s website said, “Casanova’s commanding presence was shaped by his Flatbush upbringing, where he learned to deal with a variety of people and situations at an early age.

“Although his family provided him with a nice home and everything he wanted as a child, the corrupting allure of instant gratification and the high of peer acceptance had him committing robberies by the age of 11.”

It added that he never really aspired to a career in music.