Yung Filly music projects shelved as rapper appears in court on rape charges
Exclusive: Warner Records puts rapper’s new music releases on hold following his arrest in Australia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Yung Filly’s record label has put all of his planned future releases on hold after the rapper and YouTube star was charged with rape and assault in Australia, The Independent can reveal.
The internet personality, born Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday (9 October) charged with three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and four counts of sexual penetration without consent.
He has also been charged with one count of impeding another person’s breathing or circulation by applying pressure to the neck.
The Independent understands that Warner Records has now shelved any planned new music releases pending the results of the case against him.
He is understood to have signed with the major label around 2021.
The 29-year-old has released several singles through Warner Records, including “Grey”, his 2024 collaboration with Brit Award-winning Manchester rapper Aitch.
On Spotify, the track had over 63 million streams at the time of writing and hit No 35 in the UK on the Official Singles Chart.
Through Warner, Mr Barrientos has also released the 2024 track “Tempted”, which failed to chart but has received over nine million Spotify streams, and the “100 Bags Freestyle”, which has close to 12 million streams.
Since launching his music career in 2017, the Colombia-born rapper, who moved to London with his family as a child, has collaborated with other artists including his fellow YouTube star Chunz, and grime veteran Chip.
More recently, he has been pursuing a career in TV and film, hosting shows for the BBC including Yung Filly’s Celeb Lock-in and Hot Property. He appeared as a celebrity contestant on Channel 4’s The Great Celebrity Bake Off in 2022.
His alleged assault of a woman in her twenties took place on 28 September in a Perth hotel room, after a performance at the nightclub Bar120 on 27 September.
He was arrested in Brisbane and extradited to Perth on Wednesday (8 October).
Mr Barrientos was granted bail during a court hearing on Thursday 10 October on strict conditions and a personal undertaking of 100,000 Australian dollars (£52,000), alongside a surety of 100,000 Australian dollars.
The case has next been listed in Perth Magistrates Court on December 19 at 9.30am for a committal mention.
In a press release, the Government of Western Australia said the “investigation is ongoing and Sex Assault Squad detectives urge anyone with information relating to this matter, or any similar incidents” to come forward.
ABC Australia reported earlier this week that Mr Barrientos is being represented by Perth barrister Seamus Rafferty SC.