Rapper Kodak Black pleaded not guilty to a felony drug trafficking charge stemming from a November incident, after being arrested in central Florida this week.
The 28-year-old artist, whose real name is Bill Kahan Kapri, entered the written plea during a court hearing on May 7 and requested a jury trial. Bond was set at $75,000, as future court proceedings are pending.
The day before, Kapri was taken into custody in Orange County on a felony charge of trafficking MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or molly. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years and thousands of dollars in fines.
His arrest follows a months-long investigation connected to an incident in Orlando late last year, when officers responded to reports of gunfire outside the nonprofit “Children’s Safety Village.”
Upon arrival, authorities encountered several people—Kapri among them—gathered around luxury vehicles at the scene. During a search of a Lamborghini SUV, officers discovered suspected MDMA, $37,000 cash, and personal items linked to the rapper.
According to investigators, the drugs were found inside a pink plastic bag, which was matched to one seen in a photo posted to Kapri’s Instagram account.
The incident marked another legal challenge for the rapper, who over the past decade has faced several arrests involving weapons and narcotics offenses.
In 2018, Kapri was arrested on seven felony counts, including possession of a weapon and child neglect, after an Instagram livestream from his home allegedly displayed drugs and a gun near a small child.
The following year, he pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges that included falsifying information in order to purchase firearms from a Miami-area gun shop. He was serving a three-year prison term when President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in 2021.
In 2022, the rapper was arrested during a traffic stop in South Florida on charges of trafficking in oxycodone and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was released on a $75,000 bond and was ordered to undergo regular drug testing.
In 2023, a Florida judge issued an arrest warrant for Kapri after he failed a drug test while out on bail. The judge ruled that he had violated the terms of his pretrial release for the oxycodone trafficking charge and tested positive for fentanyl.
Kapri has remained a major figure in the hip-hop music scene, selling over 30 million singles and releasing hit tracks including “Super Gremlin,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Tunnel Vision,” “ZEZE,” and more.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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