In the volatile landscape of New York City’s drill scene, the OY crew (the “O’s”) has long been a dominant, albeit tragic, force. Known for their high-energy tracks and even higher-stakes street wars, the group has finally met its match not in a rival set, but in the relentless machinery of the legal system. In December 2025, the New York City District Attorney’s office dropped a bombshell: a massive RICO indictment charging at least 13 members of the Bronx-based crew with 66 different crimes.
The indictment paints a grim picture of a group that allegedly “tore up the streets” throughout 2024, engaging in everything from retaliatory shootings to a vicious fatal beating. This isn’t just a story about music; it’s a sobering look at how the “crash out” culture of modern drill has led to the systematic dismantling of one of the city’s most visible crews.
The Fatal Encounter on West 148th Street
The most severe charge at the heart of the RICO case stems from an October 2024 incident that resulted in the death of Tawn Clemens. According to the District Attorney, members of the OY crew spotted Clemens on West 148th Street and “pressed” him about his affiliations. In a terrifying display of street “justice,” the crew allegedly robbed him before AJ Watts, a prominent OY affiliate, delivered a punch so powerful it knocked Clemens unconscious.
Clemens never woke up. He struck his head on the pavement, fell into a coma, and died in the hospital weeks later. While some street sources claimed Clemens had ties to rival sets, the police have maintained he was an innocent man caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The cold-blooded nature of the attack—and the subsequent text messages between crew members joking about him being on life support—forms the emotional and legal backbone of the prosecution’s case.
Audacity in the Courthouse: The Scalpel Attack
The indictment also reveals a shocking level of brazenness, detailing an incident where OY members allegedly brought the violence directly into the halls of justice. Rosco Banger and an affiliate known as “Bloody” are accused of smuggling two scalpels through security at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.
The target? Rival “ops” who were inside the building for unrelated matters. The OY members reportedly waited for their targets to exit the building before jumping them with the smuggled blades. Only the swift intervention of court officers and police prevented a double homicide inside one of the city’s most secure environments. This incident, perhaps more than any other, illustrated to authorities that the OY crew felt entirely untouchable by the law.
Self-Snitching and the Digital Paper Trail
In a pattern that has become all too common in the drill era, the very tools used to build the OY brand—social media and text messaging—are now being used to destroy it. The indictment is filled with digital evidence that prosecutors say proves the crew’s criminal intent.
In one instance, after a shooting in May 2024, a member named JB Ratty reportedly texted his associates, “Look what we did last night,” despite the fact that no one was actually hit in the exchange. Later, JB accidentally shot himself while attempting another “hit” on rivals. Prosecutors also have logs of members warning each other to stay off their phones because “people were already ratting.”
Perhaps most damaging are the rumors of a “blacked-out” name in the indictment paperwork. In the world of RICO cases, a redacted name often indicates a cooperator. Rumors are currently flying through the Bronx that a high-ranking member has turned informant, providing the feds with a roadmap to the crew’s inner workings, including where weapons were stashed—sometimes in places as mundane as cereal boxes in the back of neighborhood delis.
A Legacy of Loss: From Notti to DD Osama
The fall of the OY crew is inseparable from the personal tragedies that have defined the group. The crew saw a massive surge in popularity following the meteoric rise of Notti Osama and his brother DD Osama. However, that rise was cut short in 2022 when 14-year-old Notti was fatally stabbed in a Manhattan subway station—an event that sparked a wave of “Notti Bopping” and retaliatory diss tracks that only served to increase the heat from law enforcement.
While DD Osama has managed to maintain a mainstream career and has allegedly tried to “stay out of the way,” the indictment suggests the police are looking closely at how rap money might be funding the crew’s activities. Lyrics from recent tracks, where members boast about “buying chops (guns) for the gang,” are being scrutinized as admissions of criminal conduct rather than mere artistic expression.
The End of an Era?
The OY RICO case arrives at a time when the New York drill scene is already in a state of decline. With major crews like DOA and the Drillies already dismantled by similar indictments, the “O’s” were one of the last standing major factions.
The prosecution’s strategy is clear: by charging the crew for 66 specific acts of violence and conspiracy committed in 2024, they aim to prove that the OY crew is not just a musical collective, but a criminal enterprise. As the case moves toward trial, the future of the remaining members hangs in the balance. If the rumors of an internal informant are true, the “O’s” may have finally been taken down by the very thing they prized most: their own circle.
The streets of the Bronx are quieter today, but the shadow of the RICO indictment looms large over anyone still repping the set. In the world of New York drill, it seems the music has finally stopped, and the reckoning has begun.